评论
打印
Wolves Howl For Pals, Not Leaders
狼嚎是为了找寻同伴，而不是找寻首领
The lone wolf’s howl has long been chosen as a symbol of melancholy and loss. Now researchers have demonstrated that the choice was accurate. Howling is not related to the stress level of the crying canine or the dominance status of the departing wolf; the best predictor of a wolf’s howl is the closeness of the howler’s relationship with the wolf leaving its side. The study is in the journal Current Biology.
独行的狼嚎叫被认为是忧郁迷失的象征。现在科学家证明了这种说法是正确的。嚎叫跟狼的压力程度没有关系，跟狼的地位也没有关系。对狼的嚎叫最好的预测是该狼与离它而去的那只狼的关系亲密。这份研究发表在《当代生物学》上。
The researchers separated individuals living in Austria’s Wolf Science Center. They recorded the resulting howls for 20 minutes after separation. Then the scientists took a sample of saliva from the howling wolves to measure circulating levels of cortisol, a hormonal stress indicator.
研究人员将位于奥地利狼科研中心的狼分开。他们记录了分开后20分钟内狼的嚎叫状况。接着科学家从嚎叫的狼口中取了唾液样本，测量皮质醇循环水平。皮质醇是一种激素压力指示剂。
Cortisol levels increased during all separations, whether a preferred partner or any other pack mate was taken away. But howling was much more pronounced when a close partner was removed.
所有的分离都导致了皮质醇水平增加，不管是关系更好的同伴或者是其他同伴被带走。但是当关系更好的同伴被带走时嚎叫声更凄惨。
The researchers thus concluded that the level of howling was determined by the relationship of the howler with the separated wolf, regardless of the removed wolf’s rank. Because even a wolf, apparently, can have a best friend.
研究人员从而得出结论嚎叫程度取决于嚎叫者与离开者的关系，跟离开者的等级没关系。原因很明显，因为即使是狼也有好朋友。
—Arielle Duhaime-Ross
