The real reason dodo birds went extinct - Leon Claessens

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: Gentle Yang

Dodos are commonly considered brainless, blundering birds

渡渡鸟通常被认为是 迟钝、笨拙的鸟，

that were poorly adapted and doomed to die off,

不适应环境，并注定被淘汰。

making their human-mediated extinction effortless and inevitable.

外加人为因素， 它们的灭绝迅速而无法避免。

But that's not the case.

但事实并非如此。

So, what were dodos actually like? And what really caused their downfall?

那么，渡渡鸟究竟是怎么样的？ 是什么导致了他们的覆灭？

Let's start at their origin.

让我们从头开始。

Okay, rewinding more than 20 million years,

好吧，回到 2000 多万年前，

some tropical pigeons from Southeast Asia voyaged across the Indian Ocean,

一些来自东南亚的 热带鸽子旅行穿越印度洋，

perhaps by gradually journeying from island to island.

也许是逐渐在岛与岛之间穿梭。

Eventually, their descendants came to a remote archipelago east of Madagascar.

直到他们的后代来到 马达加斯加以东的一片偏远群岛。

Those that settled likely diversified over time.

在那里定居的个体逐渐分化。

Then, about 8 million years ago,

然后，大约 800 万年前，

an underwater volcano formed another island on the chain,

一座海底火山使岛屿链扩张，

which would come to be known as Mauritius.

这现在称为毛里求斯 (Mauritius)。

Some of the birds populated this new island, too,

一些鸟类也栖息在新的岛屿上，

and down the line, dodos emerged as a distinct species.

慢慢地，渡渡鸟成为 一类独特的物种。

They shared Mauritius with bats, lizards, giant tortoises, and other birds.

他们与蝙蝠、蜥蜴、巨型乌龟 和其他鸟类在毛里求斯共生。

The closest large predators were held back by about 800 kilometers of ocean,

距离最近的巨型捕食者 相距大约 800 公里宽的海洋，

so getting murdered was basically a non-issue.

因此被猎捕的概率很小。

Without the need for defensive adaptations, like flight,

不需要类似飞行的防御机制，

expending energy on them would have been wasteful.

只会消耗更少的能量。

So, as with the kākāpōs of New Zealand and the cormorants of the Galápagos,

因此，像新西兰的卡卡波， 和加拉帕戈斯群岛的鸬鹚，

their flight muscles shrank.

它们的飞行肌肉萎缩了。

Dodos probably nested on the island's forest floor,

渡渡鸟大概在岛上的森林地表

feasting on fruits and seeds.

筑巢，食用水果和种子。

Reaching just under a meter tall,

刚刚接近一米高，

they were among the island's largest animals.

它们是岛上体型较大的动物。

And they were well-adapted to their environment,

而且它们很好地适应了环境，

which could fluctuate between extreme dry and wet conditions.

在极端干燥和潮湿的条件之间变动。

They also survived some major disruptions.

他们也在一些重大灾害中幸存下来。

Around 4,300 years ago,

大约 4,300 年前，

a megadrought caused waves of mass mortality events on Mauritius.

一场特大旱灾在毛里求斯 引起了大规模死亡。

Fresh water grew scarce and lakes likely grew saltier

淡水变得稀缺，湖泊可能变得更咸，

and became treacherous traps.

成为可怕的陷阱。

This lasted for around 150 years.

这种情况持续了大约 150 年。

However, dodos prevailed... until a few millennia later,

但是，渡渡鸟存活着， 直到几千年后，

when everything changed— quickly.

一切都很快变了样。

In 1598, Dutch sailors came ashore on Mauritius,

1598 年，荷兰水手 在毛里求斯上岸，

and the island soon became a welcome stopover for their trade ships.

该岛很快成为他们商船的停靠点。

The sailors described natural wonders,

水手们记录了自然奇观，

including large numbers of birds twice as big as swans

包括许多是天鹅两倍大的鸟类，

and tortoises with shells huge enough to fit 10 men.

还有带有足以容纳 10 个人的巨壳的乌龟。

Mauritian animals hadn't evolved to fear being hunted by humans,

毛里求斯的动物本身并不害怕人类猎杀，

so they were an easy catch.

所以它们很容易被捉到。

Sailors ate some dodos, but this alone didn't cause their doom.

水手们吃了一些渡渡鸟， 但这并未终结他们的命运。

The Dutch sailors came with company.

荷兰水手们是有伴而来的。

They brought macaques that were probably pets.

他们带来了猕猴，作为宠物。

They released goats and pigs on the island to establish food sources.

他们在岛上引进山羊和家猪， 以保证食物。

And at some point, sailors also inadvertently introduced rats.

与此同时，水手们还 无意中带来了老鼠。

It's thought that goats and pigs grazed and rooted through the forest understory,

人们推测，山羊和家猪在 渡渡鸟栖息的

which dodos lived in;

森林底层中吃草、掘根；

pigs, macaques, and rats preyed on dodo eggs and chicks;

家猪、猕猴和老鼠则 捕食渡渡鸟蛋和幼崽；

and all of them competed with dodos for resources.

它们都与渡渡鸟争夺资源。

Dodos were last seen less than a century after Dutch arrival.

渡渡鸟最后一次出现在 荷兰人抵达后大约一个世纪。

At the time, people didn't recognize that species could disappear.

当时，人们没有意识到 该物种会消失。

It wasn't until a century later, in the 1790s,

直到下个世纪的 1790 年代，

that a scientist conclusively demonstrated the concept of extinction.

一位科学家才系统性地 提出了灭绝的概念。

By then, many thought dodos were fake.

到那时，许多人 认为渡渡鸟是虚构的。

But discoveries from digs and sparse remains helped confirm their existence.

但是考古和零星的遗骸 印证了它们的存在。

Nevertheless, representations of dodos were misleading.

尽管如此，关于渡渡鸟的描述 还是有误导性的。

One popular natural history text of the late 1700s

1700 年代后期的一篇 流行自然历史文本

characterized them as stupid, voracious, and grotesque.

给它们的描述是愚蠢、 贪吃和怪诞的。

Once Lewis Carroll included a dodo

1865 年，刘易斯·卡罗尔 (Lewis Carroll)

in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in 1865,

在《爱丽丝梦游仙境》中 加入了一只渡渡鸟，

the birds quickly amassed popularity.

这些鸟很快获得了人气。

But dodos continued being framed as inept, clumsy, lazy, and unfit for survival

但是在学术著作、 讽刺杂志和儿童诗歌中，

in scholarly works, satirical magazines, and children's poems alike.

渡渡鸟显得无能、 笨拙、懒惰，难以生存。

And yet, there's no evidence that dodos were less intelligent

但是，没有证据 表明渡渡鸟在智商层面

than their relatives.

比它们的亲戚逊色。

The dodo's brain size relative to its body was similar to that of other pigeons.

渡渡鸟的大脑身体比例 与其他鸽子相似。

And especially rotund dodo depictions are misleading.

那些渡渡鸟的“圆润”形象 是不准确的。

They may have been inspired by what dodos looked like during mating displays

它们也许是被渡渡鸟交配时

or in captivity—

或被捕获后的模样所启发，

or they were just poor artistic renderings.

要么只是艺术手法不佳。

Scientists think dodos were fairly muscular birds.

科学家们认为渡渡鸟 的肌肉是发达的。

All in all, the dodo was, in fact, a survivor

总而言之，渡渡鸟其实是 大型自然灾害的幸存者，

that withstood major natural disasters and thrived on its island home.

在岛上家园茁壮成长。

It simply wasn't prepared for a sudden onslaught of invasive species.

但它无法应对入侵物种的危机，

And neither were other endemic Mauritian animals,

像毛里求斯其他本土物种一样，

including raven parrots, fruit bats, and giant tortoises.

包括乌鸦鹦鹉、水果蝙蝠和巨型陆龟。

In the aftermath, perhaps it was easier to declare the dodo's extinction

现在看来，也许更容易将它的灭绝

the result of its personal failing than to admit it was a human one.

归因于物种自身的缺陷， 而非人为因素。