Are pandas the most misunderstood animal? - Lucy Cooke

譯者: Ng Kai Yuan 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

In the late 1930s, a grand panda drama unfolded at the Chicago Zoo.

1930 年代，芝加哥動物園 上演了一齣熊貓鬧劇。

Su-Lin, who had been a media darling since she was a cub,

蘇林，自幼年起就一直是媒體寵兒，

passed away.

去世了。

Zookeepers were already in the process

動物管理員已經爭取採購一隻

of procuring another female panda named Mei Mei,

名叫美美的母熊貓，

and they were determined to find her a mate before tragedy struck again.

當時他們決心在憾事發生之前， 爲牠尋找另一半。

So when they acquired a prospective suitor named Mei Lan,

當園方找到美蘭這隻適婚熊貓時，

it seemed their troubles were over.

他們以爲問題都解決了。

Magazines monitored their progress,

媒體當時一直在追蹤他們的進展,

and the public eagerly awaited the patter of tiny panda paws.

大衆也熱切地期待小熊貓的到來。

But the wait dragged on.

但這一等卻是遙遙無期。

At first, headlines declared that Mei Mei was "getting nowhere" with her love life.

起初，頭條新聞宣稱 美美的愛情生活一無所獲。

But eventually zookeepers realized their significant slip-up:

但後來動物管理員才發現 他們嚴重出了大錯。

both bears were male.

其實兩隻熊貓都是公的。

This is just one of many mistakes humans have made when it comes to pandas.

關於熊貓，搞錯牠們的性別 只是人類會犯的諸多錯誤之一。

We've incorrectly classified them as raccoons,

我們曾誤以爲熊貓屬浣熊類，

misrepresented them as cuddly vegetarians,

把毛茸茸的牠們描述爲素食者。

and— since the doomed union of Mei Mei and Mei Lan—

由於美美和美蘭的結合失敗，

declared them as incompetent lovers.

牠们就被說成是「無能」的情人。

Some people have taken this even further,

有些人甚至更進一步說，

suggesting it's remarkable this sex-shy species

這個物種性趣缺缺，

has been able to sustain themselves at all.

居然可以繁衍至今，叫人稱奇。

However, this common perception of pandas having low libidos

然而，其實是我們的理解不夠完全，

actually has more to do with human incompetence.

才會普遍認為熊貓缺乏性欲，

When it comes to breeding pandas in captivity,

圈養熊貓的時候，

zookeepers face multiple challenges.

動物管理員面臨著各樣的挑戰。

As the Chicago case suggests, it can be tricky to figure out a panda's sex.

正如芝加哥動物園的案例， 要搞清楚熊貓的性別是很困難的。

Their external genitals don't appear until they're a few months old,

牠們的外生殖器 要幾個月大後才會顯現，

and once visible, they look very similar.

即便顯露出來， 兩性的生殖器也難以分辨。

This forces zookeepers to rely on inconsistent methods,

這逼得動物管理員 使用各種自相矛盾的方法，

like trying to measure the distance between the anus and genitals,

例如測量肛門和生殖器間的距離，

or simply going by feel.

或者乾脆憑感覺來判斷。

And even when males and females are paired up correctly,

而且，即使雌雄性別配對正確，

chemistry isn't guaranteed.

也不能保證牠們會來電。

In one case at the Moscow Zoo,

莫斯科動物園就有一個案例，

a female bear that had been isolated from other animals

一隻單獨圈養的雌熊，

proved more interested in zookeepers than other pandas.

更喜歡管理員，對其他熊貓沒興趣。

Complicating things further,

更複雜的是，

female pandas can only be impregnated 1 to 3 days each year

雌性熊貓一年只有一至三天能受精，

due to their incredibly short ovulation window.

因爲牠們的排卵期極短。

Zookeepers try to track fertility levels by measuring the hormones in their urine,

動物管理員試圖透過測量 尿液中的激素來追蹤受孕率，

but this data is often cryptic to decipher and messy to capture.

但這些數據通常難以解譯， 收集起來也很麻煩。

Females have also evolved the ability to reabsorb their own fetuses,

雌性熊貓還演化出 再吸收自生胎兒的能力，

meaning that even a successful impregnation can be reversed.

即便成功受孕，情況也可能反轉。

The difficulty of breeding pandas has reinforced the idea

繁殖熊貓的難度更讓人們認為

that they're not naturally inclined to procreate.

牠們天生生育能力較弱。

But there's a huge gap between how these animals behave in captivity

但是熊貓在被人工圈養的生活習慣 與在野外獨立存活時，

and the privacy of the wild.

有著巨大的差異。

Prowling through her home territory,

母熊貓會在自家地盤徘徊，

a female panda rubs her anal glands on tree trunks to attract mates,

將肛門附近分泌的肛周腺 塗抹在樹幹上，吸引伴侣，

then waits in the treetops bleating as loudly as she can.

然後在樹梢上等待， 同時盡可能大聲地咩咩叫。

Soon enough, males crowd around the tree and compete for her attention

很快，公熊貓就會聚集在樹邊， 爭取牠的青睞。

by seeing who can pee the highest.

比賽看看誰撒的尿最高。

Suitors adopt a variety of poses in these competitions,

追求者會在這場競賽中 用各種姿勢，

including the "squat," "legcock," and "handstand."

其中姿勢包括 「深蹲」、 「腿部露鳥」和 「倒立」。

They're also known to dab urine behind their ears

眾所周知，牠們還會在耳後輕拍尿液，

to broadcast their virility through the breeze.

通過微風傳播自己的男人味。

Once a female picks a winner,

一旦女方選出勝利者，

the mating pair will often have sex over 40 times in a single afternoon.

牠們通常會在一個下午 進行超過 40 次的性行爲。

At these rates, you might expect panda populations to be booming,

照這樣的速度，你可能會以爲 熊貓的人口數量會激增，

especially since panda sperm is incredibly potent.

尤其是熊貓的精子非常精悍。

But females' short ovulation cycles and ability to reabsorb fetuses

但是雌性的排卵周期較短 和再吸收胎兒的能力

keep the population in check.

使熊貓數量受到抑制。

In the wild, young pandas are usually able to witness at least one breeding season

野生的幼熊貓通常能在性成熟之前，

before reaching sexual maturity,

會經歷至少一個發情季，

giving them time to learn the rituals of seduction.

讓幼熊有機會觀察、學習求偶儀式。

But in captivity, pandas are never able to learn these customs.

但是在圈養中， 熊貓永遠無法學習這些習俗。

And while breeders have tried to kick start young pandas' sexual awakenings

雖然育種人員啓動了幼熊性覺醒計劃，

by showing them footage of mating elders and offering them doses of Viagra,

但是給幼熊觀看前輩圓房的片段， 以及給牠們打劑威而剛的策略

none of these strategies have worked consistently.

不一定每次都奏效。

The most reliable approach they've found is artificial insemination,

過去的幾十年來，

他們發現最可靠的方法是人工授精， 大大地增加了圈養熊口。

which has dramatically increased the captive population

in the past few decades.

But if pandas are so much better at reproducing in the wild,

但如果熊貓在野外繁殖的能力 比起圈養的要好很多，

one has to ask why are conservation efforts so focused on breeding them.

那我們不禁要質疑為什麼 保育工作要專注於熊貓的生育。

Maybe our time would be better spent

也許時間應該花在

protecting the pandas' natural environments,

保護熊貓生長的生態環境，

giving them all the space they need to get down to business.

作為牠們增添新丁所需的空間。