The sneakiest tricksters of the animal kingdom - Eldridge Adams

翻译人员: Xu Xingruo 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

A male firefly glows above a field on a summer’s night,

夏夜，一只雄性萤火虫 在田野上闪闪发光，

emitting a series of enticing flashes.

释放着一串求偶的灯光信号。

He hopes a nearby female will respond with her own lightshow

他盼望附近的异性 会用她的灯光秀来回应，

and mate with him.

并且和他交配。

Sadly for this male,

可悲的是，

it won’t turn out quite the way he plans.

计划赶不上变化。

A female from a different species mimics his pulsing patterns:

另一雌性物种正模仿着 他的灯光频率：

by tricking the male with her promise of partnership,

用虚假的爱情承诺

she lures him in–

将他引诱到自己身边，

and turns him into an easy meal.

并轻易将他化为盘中之餐。

He’s been deceived.

他被耍了。

Behavioral biologists have identified three defining hallmarks of deception

行为生物学家们已经确定了

动物欺骗术的三个特征：

by non-human animals:

it must mislead the receiver,

误导受骗者，

the deceiver must benefit,

施计者得利，

and it can’t simply be an accident.

欺骗行为并非偶然产生。

In this case we know that the predatory firefly’s signal isn’t an accident

在上述情境中，我们可以确定 雌性捕食者的信号不是偶然产生的，

because she flexibly adjusts her flash pattern

因为她灵活地调整着灯光信号

to match males of different species.

以和其它雄性物种的信号对应。

Based on this definition,

基于以上定义，

where is animal deception seen in nature?

自然界中有哪些动物欺骗现象呢？

Camouflage is a good starting point–

不妨从天然保护色说起，

and one of the most familiar examples of animal trickery.

这是最为熟知的动物骗术之一。

The leaf-tailed gecko and the octopus fool viewers

枯叶平尾壁虎和章鱼通过

by blending into the surfaces on which they rest.

与其栖息的环境融合骗过其他生物。

Other animals use mimicry to protect themselves.

其它动物通过模仿进行自我保护。

Harmless scarlet kingsnakes have evolved red, yellow, and black patterns

无毒的猩红王蛇进化出了 红、黄、黑色的图案，

resembling those of the venomous eastern coral snake

和剧毒的珊瑚蛇极为相似，

to benefit from the protective warnings these markings convey.

这便占了这些保护性 恐吓图案的便宜。

Even some plants use mimicry:

更有甚者，一些植物也会进行模仿：

there are orchids that look and smell like female wasps to attract hapless males,

有些兰花在外观和气味上 与雌性黄蜂相似，

以此吸引不幸的雄性黄蜂为它们授粉。

who end up pollinating the plant.

Some of these animals benefit by having fixed characteristics

有些动物从其固有的特征上获益，

that are evolutionary suited to their environments.

这些都是长期进化、适应环境的结果。

But in other cases,

但在其它情况下，

the deceiver seems to anticipate the reactions of other animals

行骗者似乎能预料到 其他动物的特定行为，

and to adjust its behavior accordingly.

并据此相应地调整自身行为。

Sensing a threat,

当察觉到危险时，

the octopus will rapidly change its colors to match its surroundings.

章鱼会迅速变为 与周围环境相似的颜色。

Dwarf chameleons color-match their environments more closely

在发现鸟类捕食者时， 侏儒变色龙的颜色会变得与环境极其相似，

when they see a bird predator rather than a snake–

遇见蛇时颜色却未如此相近——

birds, after all, have better color vision.

毕竟鸟类对颜色更加敏感。

One of the more fascinating examples of animal deception

动物诈骗者中最耀眼的明星

comes from the fork-tailed drongo.

当属叉尾乌鹃。

This bird sits atop tall trees in the Kalahari Desert,

这种鸟栖于卡拉哈里沙漠的 高大树木之顶，

surveying the landscape for predators and calling when it senses a threat.

视察领地，关注捕食者的身影，

并在察觉危险时发出警报。

That sends meerkats, pied babblers, and others dashing for cover.

警报声使非洲獴、斑鸫鹛 和其它动物四处逃窜。

But the drongo will also sound a false alarm

但当其它物种的动物捕获了猎物时，

when those other species have captured prey.

乌鹃也会发出假警报。

As the meerkats and babblers flee,

当非洲獴和斑鸫鹛逃离时，

the drongo swoops down to steal their catches.

乌鹃飞旋而下， 偷走它们的战利品。

This tactic works about half the time–

这种战术有一半的成功几率，

and it provides drongos with much of their food.

是卷尾鸟重要的食物来源。

There are fewer solid cases

动物很少利用信号欺骗同类物种，

of animals using signals to trick members of their own species,

but that happens too.

但这也会发生，

Consider the mantis shrimp.

比如说，螳螂虾。

Like other crustaceans,

和其它甲壳动物一样，

it molts as it grows,

它在生长过程中也会蜕壳，

which leaves its soft body vulnerable to attack.

蜕壳后身体柔弱， 易受攻击。

But it’s still driven to protect its home against rivals.

但它还是无法推卸 保家抗敌的重任。

So it has become a masterful bluffer.

环境将它塑造成了 老谋深算的江湖骗子。

Despite being fragile,

虽然身体不堪一击，

a newly molted shrimp is actually more likely to threaten intruders,

刚蜕壳的螳螂虾更爱伸展开

spreading the large limbs it usually uses to strike or stab its opponents.

通常用于击打对手的粗大肢节， 以此吓退对手。

And that works –

这还真有有效。

bluffers are more likely to keep their homes than non-bluffers.

这些骗术大师们比正常的螳螂虾 更可能守住自己的洞穴。

In its softened condition,

在身体柔弱的条件下，

a mantis shrimp couldn’t withstand a fight–

螳螂虾没有能力干上一架，

which is why we can be confident

这也是我们能够确定

that its behavior is a bluff.

此类行为是骗术的原因。

Biologists have even noticed that its bluffs are tactical:

生物学家们发现， 如此虚张声势也是有针对性的：

newly molted mantis shrimp are more likely to bluff against smaller rivals,

刚蜕壳的螳螂虾更倾向于 吓唬体型较小的对手，

who are especially likely to be driven away.

这类对手容易被吓退。

It would seem that instead of just threatening reflexively,

与其说是本能地虚张声势，

the mantis shrimp is swiftly gauging the situation and predicting others’ behavior,

不如说螳螂虾是在快速地掂量 所处现状，和预测对方的行为，

to get the best result.

以取得最优结果。

So we know that animals can deceive,

所以我们明白地知道， 动物们会欺骗，

but do they do so with intent?

但它们是在有意识地欺骗吗？

That’s a difficult question,

很难回答。

and many scientists think we'll never be able to answer it.

很多科学家认为我们 永远无法揭开这个谜底。

We can't observe animals’ internal thoughts.

我们无法窥见动物的思维，

But we don’t need to know what an animal is thinking in order to detect deception.

但无需通过知晓动物的思维 来辨别欺骗行为存在与否。

By watching behavior and its outcomes,

通过观察它们的行为及其结果，

we learn that animals manipulate predators, prey, and rivals,

我们发现动物能够操纵 捕食者、猎物和对手，

and that their capacity for deception

而且，骗术的复杂程度

can be surprisingly complex.

超乎我们的想象。