The sneakiest tricksters of the animal kingdom - Eldridge Adams

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

雄性螢火蟲於夏夜裡在原野上發光，

emitting a series of enticing flashes.

發出一連串迷人的閃光。

He hopes a nearby female will respond with her own lightshow

牠希望附近的雌性螢火蟲 會用自己的發光秀來回應，

and mate with him.

並和牠交配。

Sadly for this male,

這隻雄蟲沒那麼好運，

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

發展並不如牠所計畫的那樣。

A female from a different species mimics his pulsing patterns:

一隻其他物種的雌蟲模仿了 牠的發光節奏模式：

by tricking the male with her promise of partnership,

用交配的承諾欺騙了這隻雄蟲，

she lures him in–

誘惑牠接近——

and turns him into an easy meal.

然後輕易地把牠當食物吃了。

He’s been deceived.

這隻雄蟲被騙了。

Behavioral biologists have identified three defining hallmarks of deception

行為生物學家發現非人動物的

欺騙行為會有三項關鍵特色：

by non-human animals:

it must mislead the receiver,

牠必須要誤導被騙者，

the deceiver must benefit,

行騙者必須要受益，

and it can’t simply be an accident.

且不能只是個意外。

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

在這個案例中，我們知道捕食者 用螢火蟲信號並不是意外，

because she flexibly adjusts her flash pattern

因為牠能很有彈性地 調整牠的閃爍模式，

to match males of different species.

來配合不同物種的雄性。

Based on this definition,

根據這個定義，

where is animal deception seen in nature?

大自然中何處可見 動物的欺騙行為呢？

Camouflage is a good starting point–

偽裝是個很好的起始點——

and one of the most familiar examples of animal trickery.

也是動物的騙術中 最為人所知的例子之一。

The leaf-tailed gecko and the octopus fool viewers

葉尾壁虎和章魚都能融合到

牠們所在處的表面，來欺騙觀者。

by blending into the surfaces on which they rest.

Other animals use mimicry to protect themselves.

其他動物用擬態的方式 來保護牠們自己。

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

無害的猩紅王蛇演化出 有紅、黃、黑的圖案，

resembling those of the venomous eastern coral snake

貌似有毒的金黃珊瑚蛇，

to benefit from the protective warnings these markings convey.

借用這種圖案來傳達出 警告訊息，以保護自己。

Even some plants use mimicry:

甚至有些植物也會用到擬態：

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

有些蘭花看起來、 聞起來會像雌性黃蜂，

以吸引運氣不好的雄蜂，

who end up pollinating the plant.

讓雄蜂來為它們授粉。

Some of these animals benefit by having fixed characteristics

有些動物的優勢則是演化出

that are evolutionary suited to their environments.

適合牠們環境的固定特徵。

But in other cases,

但在其他情況中，

the deceiver seems to anticipate the reactions of other animals

行騙者似乎能預測 其他動物的反應，

and to adjust its behavior accordingly.

並依這些反應來調整 牠自己的行為。

Sensing a threat,

感受到威脅時， 章魚會快速改變牠的顏色

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

來配合牠所處的環境。

Dwarf chameleons color-match their environments more closely

侏儒變色龍在看到 捕食牠們的鳥類時，

when they see a bird predator rather than a snake–

會變色以符合牠們的環境， 看到蛇時反而不會——

birds, after all, have better color vision.

畢竟，鳥類的視覺 對顏色比較敏銳。

One of the more fascinating examples of animal deception

動物的騙術中，最炫的例子之一

comes from the fork-tailed drongo.

是叉尾卷尾鳥。

This bird sits atop tall trees in the Kalahari Desert,

在喀拉哈里沙漠，這種鳥 會棲息在很高的樹木頂上，

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

察看整個視野中有沒有捕食者， 若感到威脅就會發出叫聲。

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

牠的警告聲會讓貓鼬、斑鶇鶥， 和其他動物立刻去找掩蔽。

But the drongo will also sound a false alarm

但在其他物種捕捉到獵物時，

when those other species have captured prey.

叉尾卷尾鳥也會發出假警報。

As the meerkats and babblers flee,

當貓鼬和斑鶇鶥逃亡時，

the drongo swoops down to steal their catches.

叉尾卷尾鳥就會俯衝下去， 偷走牠們捕捉到的獵物。

This tactic works about half the time–

這種戰略成功的機會 大約是一半——

and it provides drongos with much of their food.

叉尾卷尾鳥大部分的食物 都是這麼來的。

There are fewer solid cases

比較少有動物用信號

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

來欺騙同類的確切例子，

but that happens too.

但也的確會發生。

Consider the mantis shrimp.

蝦蛄就是一例。

Like other crustaceans,

如同其他甲殼綱動物， 蝦蛄在成長過成會脫殼，

it molts as it grows,

which leaves its soft body vulnerable to attack.

此時它柔軟的身體 就無法抵禦攻擊。

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

但牠仍然會需要對抗敵人 來保護牠的家。

So it has become a masterful bluffer.

所以牠就變成了虛張聲勢大師。

Despite being fragile,

雖然剛脫殼的蝦蛄很脆弱，

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

但牠其實更有可能去威脅入侵者，

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

把牠通常用來打擊或刺擊 對手的大型肢體伸展開來。

And that works –

這招行得通——

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

會虛張聲勢的動物比那些不會的 更有機會保住家園。

In its softened condition,

在變軟弱的情況下， 蝦蛄無法承受打鬥——

a mantis shrimp couldn’t withstand a fight–

which is why we can be confident

這就是為什麼我們很確信 牠的行為只是虛張聲勢。

that its behavior is a bluff.

Biologists have even noticed that its bluffs are tactical:

生物學家甚至發現牠虛張聲勢的 方式是有戰略考量的：

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

剛脫殼的蝦蛄比較有可能 對較小的對手虛張聲勢，

who are especially likely to be driven away.

這類對手比較有可能會被嚇走。

It would seem that instead of just threatening reflexively,

看起來，蝦蛄並不是 本能地在做威脅，

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

牠其實會快速評估情況

並預測對方的行為，

to get the best result.

以得到最好的結果。

So we know that animals can deceive,

所以，我們知道動物懂得欺騙，

but do they do so with intent?

但牠們是刻意這麼做的嗎？

That’s a difficult question,

那是個很難的問題，

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

許多科學家認為 我們永遠不會有答案。

We can't observe animals’ internal thoughts.

我們無法觀察動物的內在想法。

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

但我們不用知道動物在想什麼，

也可以識破牠們的欺騙行為。

By watching behavior and its outcomes,

透過觀察動物的行為和行為的結果，

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

我們就能發現動物會操弄 捕食者、獵物，和對手，

and that their capacity for deception

且牠們的欺騙能力

can be surprisingly complex.

有可能非常複雜。