如何让暴躁狮子变成温顺小猫咪?(下)
But even more dramatic was the third test--in which the researchers played an audio recording of an unfamiliar lion’s roar.
但更引人注目的是第三个测试——在这个测试中,研究人员会播放一段陌生狮子咆哮的音频。
Which can be as unnerving as it sounds.
这听起来很令人不安。
It’s like having a stranger in your bedroom saying I own this place, right?
这就像一个陌生人在你的卧室里说我是这里的主人,对吧?
Now, in the control conditions, in which lions got spritzed with a simple saline solution about half of them roared in return, maybe 50 or 60 times.
现在,在控制条件下,向狮子喷洒简单的盐水溶液,大约有一半的狮子会咆哮,可能会咆哮50或60次。
That’s about right.
这是对的。
So half of the lions are gonna actually roar and the other half are gonna be looking, probably standing behind the guy that’s roaring, and just looking and watching.
一半的狮子会咆哮,另一半狮子则会看着,可能会站在吼叫的狮子身后,仅仅是看着、瞧着。
But when the lions were dosed with oxytocin…
但当狮子被注射催产素后…
There were zero. I mean, zero. They completely did not roar. That was astounding.
零头狮子。我的意思是零头狮子。它们完全不会咆哮。这个结果是令人震惊的。
You could just see this difference in demeanor.
你可以看到这种行为上的差异。
They just laid there and they looked, they turned their heads, they were curious and they watched.
它们只是躺在那里看,它们转转头,即使它们很好奇,但也只是看看。
But they’re not getting up, puffing up, scent marking, and roaring, roaring, roaring.
但它们没有站起来,没有弓起身子,没有标记气味,也没有不停地咆哮。
With the oxytocin it was like, huh, strangers. No big deal.
狮子吸入了催产素,就像陌生人一样。没什么大不了的。
And in some cases it seemed they were more interested in head rubbing with each other rather than worrying about the stranger.
在某些情况下,它们似乎对互相摩擦头部更感兴趣,而不是担心陌生人的举动。
The results give the team hope that oxytocin could provide a more effective way to introduce new lions into sanctuaries or reserves.
这一结果给了团队希望,催产素可以提供一种将狮子引入保护区的更有效的方法。
Because getting animals to become used to and accept strangers in their midst is an enormous challenge.
因为让动物们习惯并接受陌生人是一项巨大的挑战。
That would be a big boost for conservation efforts.
这将大大促进保护工作。
And very key to using oxytocin to actually make a difference in the world.
这是使用催产素来改变世界的关键。
A world with more tolerance and less roaring.
一个更多宽容,更少咆哮的世界。
It sounds darn near purr-fect.
这听起来接近完美。
For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Karen Hopkin.
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。
So lions will do these sequences where they’re like, roar, roar, uhh, uhh, uhh, and then they do grunts.
狮子会发出一连串的声音,它们会像这样,吼叫,吼叫,嗷,嗷,嗷,然后它们会发出咕噜声。