The best nose in the animal kingdom - Chase LaDue & Bruce A. Schulte

翻译人员: Zizhuo Liang 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

As a breeze blows through the savannah,

当微风吹过稀树大草原，

a snake-shaped tube stretches into the air and scans the horizon like a periscope.

一根蛇形的管子伸向空中， 如潜望镜般扫描着地平线。

But it’s not seeing— it’s sniffing for odors

但它并不是在看—— 而是在嗅

like the scent of a watering hole or the musk of a dangerous predator.

诸如水坑或是 危​​险捕食者携带的麝香的气味。

The trunk’s owner is a young African elephant.

这象鼻的主人 是一头年轻的非洲象。

At only 8 years old, she still has a lot to learn about her home.

年仅八岁的她, 关于她的家，还有很多要学。

Fortunately, she’s not alone.

幸运的是， 学习路上并不只有她一头象。

Elephants are extremely social creatures,

大象是社会性极强的动物，

with females living in tight-knit herds led by a single matriarch.

雌象生活在由一个女首领领导的 关系紧密的象群中。

And every member of the group has one of the most versatile tools

这个象群的每个成员都有 一个在大草原生存的通用的工具

in the savannah to help them get by.

来帮助她们度过难关。

Today her herd is looking for water.

今天雌象首领的象群正在寻找水源。

Or, more accurately, smelling for water.

或者，更准确地说， 用嗅觉寻找水源。

Elephants have more genes devoted to smell than any other creature,

大象拥有比其它任何生物 都要多嗅觉基因，

making them the best sniffers in the animal kingdom.

这让它们成为 动物王国中最好的嗅探者。

Even at our elephant’s young age, her trunk is already 1.5 meters long

即使是年幼的大象， 她的鼻子就已有 1.5 米长，

and contains five times as many olfactory receptors as a human nose,

并且其嗅觉感受器的数量 是人类鼻子的五倍，

allowing her to smell standing water several kilometers away.

这让她能够嗅到几公里外的水源。

And now, the matriarch uses her own keen sense of smell to plot the herd’s course.

现在，雌象首领用她自己敏锐的嗅觉 来绘制象群的路线。

Their journey is long, so our elephant keeps her energy up

她们要走的路途很长， 所以大象们在偶尔途径茂密草地时

by snacking on the occasional patch of thick grass.

会吃草来保持充沛的精力。

But this light lunch isn’t just about staying fed—

不过，这顿清淡的午餐 不仅仅是为了吃饱——

she’s also looking for clues.

她还以此寻找线索。

Like many other mammals,

与许多其它的哺乳动物一样，

vents in the roof of an elephant’s mouth lead directly to the vomeronasal organ.

大象口腔上颚的开口会直接 通向犁鼻器。

This structure can detect chemical signals left by other elephants.

这一结构使其能探测到 其它大象留下的化学信号。

So as the herd forages, they’re also gathering information

所以在象群觅食的同时， 她们也在收集

about what other herds have come this way.

其它路过此处象群的信息。

All the while, the group’s adults are on the lookout for signs of other animals,

与此同时，象群的成年象会观察 其它动物的迹象，

including potential threats.

包括潜在的威胁。

Fortunately, while lions might attack a young or sickly elephant,

幸运的是，虽然狮子可能会攻击 一头年幼或病弱的大象，

few are foolish enough to take on a healthy adult.

但很少有狮子会愚蠢到 攻击一头健康的成年大象。

Weighing 3 tons and bearing powerful tusks nearly a meter long,

重达 3 吨， 长着将近 1 米长且有力的象牙，

our elephant’s mother is a force to be reckoned with.

大象妈妈 是一股不容小觑的力量。

Her dexterous trunk doubles as a powerful, flexible arm.

她灵巧敏捷的象鼻 可兼作强壮而灵活的手臂。

Containing no bones and an estimated 40,000 muscles,

象鼻虽不含骨骼 却有大约 4 万块肌肉，

these agile appendages can bend, twist, contract, and expand.

这些敏捷的附器 可以弯曲、扭转、收缩和扩张。

At 8 years old, our elephant’s trunk is already strong enough

在 8 岁时，大象的象鼻就已强壮到

to move small fallen trees,

可以搬运倒下的小树。

while finger-like extensions allow for delicate maneuvers like wiping her eye.

而象鼻末端的指状突 可做精细动作，如擦拭她的眼睛。

She can even grab a nearby branch,

她甚至可以抓住身边的一根树枝，

break it to just the right length, and wave off pesky insects.

把它折断至合适的长度， 然后用它挥赶讨厌的昆虫。

Suddenly, the matriarch stops their march and sniffs the air.

突然，雌象首领停下脚步， 嗅了嗅空气。

Using smell alone, elephants can recognize each member of their herd,

仅凭嗅觉，大象就可以辨认出 自己象群中的每一个成员，

and their exceptional memories can retain the smells of elephants

而且它们非凡的记忆力 可以让它们记住不属于这个象群的

outside their herd as well.

其它大象的气味。

It’s one of these old but familiar odors that’s caught the matriarch’s attention.

正是这种似曾相识的气味 引起了雌象首领的注意。

She bellows into the air,

她向空中咆哮，

sending out a sound wave that rings across the savannah.

发出响彻整个大草原的声浪。

But it travels even further through the earth as infrasonic rumbles.

但她发出的次声波隆隆声 可以在陆地上传得更远。

Elephants up to 10 kilometers away can receive these rumbles with their feet.

10 公里外的大象 可以用脚接收到隆隆声。

If the matriarch’s nose is right, her herd should expect a response.

如果首领鼻子的判断正确， 她的象群应该期待获得回应。

Smelling the secretions from her daughter’s temporal glands,

大象母亲 闻着她女儿颞腺的分泌物，

our elephant’s mother can sense her daughter’s unease

能感觉到她女儿

about this unfamiliar encounter.

对这一陌生遭遇的不安。

As the herd of unknown elephants approaches,

当一群陌生的大象接近时，

trunks from both herds rise into the air, sounding trumpets of alarm.

两群大象的象鼻都升到了空中， 发出警报的号角。

But upon recognition, apprehension quickly gives way to happy rumbles.

但经过辨认，先前的忐忑 很快被快乐的隆隆声所取代。

Members from each herd recognize each other despite time apart,

两个象群的成员虽然长久未见， 但还是能认出对方，

and many investigate each other’s mouths with their trunks

许多象用鼻子 互相探查对方的嘴巴，

to smell what their counterparts have been eating.

嗅嗅对方吃了什么。

With the reunion now in full swing, both herds head toward their final destination:

团圆如火如荼进行的同时， 两个象群朝着最终目的地前进：

the long-awaited watering hole.

那期待已久的水坑。

Here, older elephants suck up to 8 liters of water into their trunks

水坑边，年长的大象 将多达 8 升水吸入象鼻，

before spraying the contents on themselves to cool off.

随后把水喷洒在自己身上 用来降温。

Meanwhile, our young elephant plays in the mud with her peers,

与此同时，小象和同伴们 一起在泥泞中玩耍，

digging into the muck and even using her trunk as a snorkel

挖泥巴，甚至用鼻子作为通气管

to breathe while submerged.

以便在潜入泥巴时呼吸。

The pair of matriarchs look contentedly on their herds,

两个雌象首领 心满意足地看着她们的象群，

before turning their trunks to the horizon once more.

然后再一次， 将她们的象鼻转向地平线。