How pigeons took over the world - Elizabeth Carlen and Joanna Moles

翻译人员: Siyu Lian 校对人员: Helen Chang

It’s the morning of June 12th, 1944

在 1944 年， 6 月 12 日的早晨。

and a pigeon named Paddy is making an epic 368 kilometer journey.

一只名叫帕迪(Paddy)的鸽子

进行着 368 千米 传奇般的旅程。

He manages to dodge Nazi falcons then beats on through stormy weather,

它设法躲避纳粹猎鹰， 然后在暴风雨中继续前进。

flying an average of 79 kilometers per hour for almost five hours straight.

帕迪大约连续飞行 5 小时, 平均飞行 79 千米每小时。

Paddy’s carrying the first news of the D-Day invasion back to England.

帕迪带着最早诺曼底 登陆的讯息回到英国，

He wins a medal for gallantry for this accomplishment.

这个成就为它赢得了英勇勋章。

Paddy was one of around 250,000 pigeons

帕迪是大约 250,000 只 在二战期间里

used by the British during World War II to speedily transport secret messages.

被英国人用来快速传递 秘密信息的鸽子之一。

In fact, pigeon delivery systems are ancient human practices.

事实上，信鸽通信是 一种人类古老的做法。

Seeing their meat as a protein source

由于鸽子的肉是蛋白质的来源，

and their nitrogen-rich poop as the perfect fertilizer,

它们富含氮的粪便是完美的肥料，

humans brought pigeons into captivity as far back as 10,000 years ago.

早在一万年前，人类就将鸽子圈养。

We then tapped into other traits.

人们还利用了鸽子的其他特征。

Pigeons are naturally speedy and possess a powerful homing instinct

鸽子拥有有天俱来的速度 和强大的归巢本能，

that drives them to navigate long distances

这促使它们长途跋涉地 回到它们称为家的地方。

back to the location they consider “home.”

So we began developing pigeon posts and breeding and training them for racing.

人们发展了鸽舍，并进行 育种和训练以用于比赛。

In a hobby called “pigeon fancying,”

在叫做“鸽子比赛”的爱好中，

people selected for traits like head plumage

人们在鸽子中选择了像头部羽毛 和极好的羽毛脚这样的特质。

and fabulously feathered feet.

As we carried pigeons around the world, they escaped or were released,

在鸽子被带往世界各地的途中， 有些逃脱或被放生了，

forming the wild urban flocks we're familiar with today.

形成了我们今日熟悉的都市鸽群。

Pigeons are now one of the most abundant, widespread species on the planet,

鸽子现在是地球上最丰富、 分布最广的物种之一，

managing to thrive in chaotic cities.

它们在混乱的城市中蓬勃发展。

They owe their success to an ideal combination of traits,

鸽子的成功源于理想特征的组合，

including some that were accentuated by humans.

包括一些人们注重的特征。

Unlike birds that nest on the ground or in trees,

不同于其他鸟在陆地或树上筑巢，

pigeons were originally cliff-dwellers.

鸽子最初在悬崖上筑巢。

City buildings mimic their natural habitat.

城市建筑仿造了它们自然栖息地。

And pigeons set a notoriously low bar when it comes to homemaking.

众所周知，鸽子对筑巢 有一个很低的标准。

Add some sticks to any window ledge or highway overpass

对于鸽子来说，在任何窗台 或高速公路的桥上搭一些枝条，

and it's a great spot to raise babies.

这就是一个鸽子极好繁殖的地方。

This unfussiness allows them to live in environments

一些更特殊的物种 不能在这种环境下生活，

where more specialized species can’t.

但鸽子可以，因为它们不讲究。

As generalists, pigeons take advantage of urban food waste.

作为一个多面化的物种， 鸽子用它们喉咙里

With an organ in their throats called a crop,

一个叫作“嗉囊”的器官去 食用城市里的食物垃圾。

they can gorge themselves when food is available and store some for later.

鸽子可以在有食物时饱餐一顿， 然后储存一些以备后需。

They provide “crop milk” to their young instead of having to fetch them live food.

鸽子为它们的幼鸟提供 “嗉囊奶”, 而不是活食。

Chicks grow quickly with this fat and protein-rich meal.

这种富含脂肪和蛋白质的食物 使幼鸟迅速成长。

If conditions are right, pigeons breed year-round

鸽子可以每六个星期在合适的环境 繁殖新的幼鸟。

and produce new offspring every six weeks.

They actually have higher breeding rates in cities

鸽子实际上在城市中 有更高的繁殖率，

because of the abundance of food and shelter.

因为城市为它们提供 足够的食物和遮风避雨所需。

These booming populations attract predators.

这些日渐增多的鸽子 吸引了掠食者，

New York City is home to a million pigeons,

纽约市是一百万只鸽子的家园，

which support large populations of raptors.

这些鸽子支撑着城市中 巨大数量的猛禽。

But pigeons’ aptitude for swift flight,

但是，鸽子快速飞行的能力

further exploited by being bred for racing,

在为比赛而繁育的过程中 被进一步利用，

means they’re made for high speed chases.

这同样意味着它们是 为高速飞行而生的。

Compared to barn owls, which are a similar size,

与体型相似的仓鸮相比，

pigeon wing bones are thicker and more curved,

鸽子的翼骨更加的粗和弯曲，

providing extra space for muscle mass.

为肌肉块提供了额外的空间。

They can reach speeds of 125 kilometers per hour.

鸽子可以达到每小时 125 千米的速度。

And their large flocks ensure safety in numbers and more eyes on the lookout.

大群的鸽子确保了整个 鸽群的安全和警惕性。

While pigeons play a starring role in urban wildlife,

鸽子在城市的野生动物 里扮演主角的同时，

we’re not always enthusiastic neighbors.

人们和鸽子并不总是热情的邻居。

In 1966, New York’s parks commissioner coined the term “rats with wings”

在 1966 年，纽约公园管理 局长将鸽子称为“带翅膀的老鼠”，

and it stuck.

这一称号在很长时间里挥之不去。

Indeed, their poop,

人们原本珍视作为肥料的鸽子粪便，

which we originally cherished as fertilizer, presents a unique problem.

带来了一个独特的问题:

Just one pigeon can leave behind 11 kilograms of acidic excrement per year,

仅仅一只鸽子每年就能留下 11 千克的酸性排泄物。

which, in the United States, scales to about $1.1 billion

在美国，这导致了每年 11 亿美元 价值的建筑结构性损坏。

in structural damage annually.

Though incidents of infection are rare,

虽然鸽子粪便导致 感染的情况非常罕见，

this poop can host fungi that are harmful to people if inhaled.

但是这些的粪便可能寄生真菌，

如果吸入真菌是对人体有害的。

They may be numerous, noisy and a little too keen on your lunch,

鸽子可能太多和太过吵闹了， 和对你的午餐有点过于热衷，

but the pigeons that swirl around us

但是在我们周围盘旋的鸽子，

are evidence of an ancient, ongoing relationship.

证明了一种古老且持续的关系。

Their rise to world domination has been a collaborative effort.

鸽子在世界的崛起 是我们的共同所做导致的。

For better or for worse, we did this to ourselves.

无论是好是坏，是我们自找的。