The history of the world according to cats - Eva-Maria Geigl

譯者: Hoi Fei (Belinda) Cheung 審譯者: Helen Chang

On May 27th, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank in a fierce firefight,

1941 年 5 月 27 日

德國戰艦俾斯麥號 在一場激烈的交火中沉沒

leaving only 118 of her 2,200 crew members alive.

2200 名船員中 只有 118 名生還者

But when a British destroyer came to collect the prisoners,

當英國驅逐艦準備接收這些戰俘時

they found an unexpected survivor -

他們找到了一名意外的倖存者

a black and white cat clinging to a floating plank.

一隻黑白色的貓緊抓著浮木

For the next several months this cat hunted rats and raised British morale -

接下來的幾個月，這隻貓捕殺老鼠 提升英國軍隊士氣

until a sudden torpedo strike shattered the hull and sank the ship.

一直到船隻被魚雷突襲擊沉

But, miraculously, not the cat.

這隻貓居然神奇地活了下來

Nicknamed Unsinkable Sam,

牠被稱為「不會沉沒的山姆」

he rode to Gibraltar with the rescued crew

跟隨生還的船員坐船到直布羅陀

and served as a ship cat on three more vessels –

在另外三艘船隻上充當船貓

one of which also sank - before retiring to the Belfast Home for Sailors.

其中一艘船在回程 至貝爾法斯特市時也沉沒了

Many may not think of cats as serviceable sailors,

很多人不把貓當成得力的水手

or cooperative companions of any kind.

或與合作夥伴劃上等號

But cats have been working alongside humans for thousands of years -

但貓與人類合作已有幾千年歷史

helping us just as often as we help them.

兩者之間互利互惠

So how did these solitary creatures go from wild predator to naval officer

究竟這些獨行俠是如何 從野生獵人變成英勇海軍

to sofa sidekick?

再成為沙發夥伴？

The domestication of the modern house cat

貓馴化成家貓的歷史

can be traced back to more than 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent,

可追溯到超過一萬年前的新月沃土

at the start of the Neolithic era.

新石器時代的開始

People were learning to bend nature to their will,

當時的農夫學習役使大自然

producing much more food than farmers could eat at one time.

產出比食用分量更多的食物

These Neolithic farmers stored their excess grain in large pits and short, clay silos.

這些新石器時代的農民將多餘的穀物 儲存在大凹洞和粘土做的短筒倉中

But these stores of food attracted hordes of rodents,

但這些貯存的食物 吸引了成群的囓齒動物

as well as their predator, Felis silvestris lybica -

以及他們的捕食者──非洲野貓

the wildcat found across North Africa and Southwest Asia.

一種棲息於北非和亞洲西南部的野貓

These wildcats were fast, fierce, carnivorous hunters.

這些野貓身手敏捷 是凶猛的肉食狩獵者

And they were remarkably similar in size and appearance to today’s domestic cats.

在體型和樣貌上，非洲野貓 與現代的家貓非常相似

The main differences being that ancient wildcats were more muscular,

兩者主要的差別是，古代的非洲野貓 身上有更多肌肉和斑紋

had striped coats, and were less social towards other cats and humans.

而且對同類和人類更少社交

The abundance of prey in rodent-infested granaries

鼠患肆虐的糧倉

drew in these typically solitary animals.

就特別能吸引到這些獨居動物的到來

And as the wildcats learned to tolerate the presence of humans

正如野貓在進食時學會忍受人類

and other cats during mealtime,

與其他同類的存在

we think that farmers likewise tolerated the cats in exchange for free pest control.

我們認為農夫也同樣地接受了貓 來換取免費的鼠害控制

The relationship was so beneficial that the cats migrated with Neolithic farmers

這種互利關係使貓隨著農夫們

from Anatolia into Europe and the Mediterranean.

一同從安那托利亞 遷徙到歐洲和地中海

Vermin were a major scourge of the seven seas.

當時老鼠是七大洋的主要禍害

They ate provisions and gnawed at lines of rope,

牠們吃掉糧食、啃咬纜繩

so cats had long since become essential sailing companions.

所以貓是絕不可少的航海夥伴

Around the same time these Anatolian globe trotting cats set sail,

這些安納托利亞貓環繞世界航行

the Egyptians domesticated their own local cats.

在差不多同一時間 埃及人馴化了當地的貓

Revered for their ability to dispatch venomous snakes, catch birds, and kill rats,

鑑於貓的驅蛇、捕鳥及殺鼠能力

domestic cats became important to Egyptian religious culture.

家貓在埃及宗教文化中變得重要

They gained immortality in frescos, hieroglyphs, statues, and even tombs,

他們不死的身影可見於 壁畫、象形文字、雕像

甚至被主人製成木乃伊陪葬在墓中

mummified alongside their owners.

Egyptian ship cats cruised the Nile,

埃及船貓在尼羅河上巡航

holding poisonous river snakes at bay.

讓毒蛇不能靠近

And after graduating to larger vessels,

貓從大型船隻退役後

they too began to migrate from port to port.

開始移居至不同的港口

During the time of the Roman Empire, ships traveling between India and Egypt

在羅馬帝國時期 航行於印度和埃及之間的船隻

carried the lineage of the central Asian wildcat F. s. ornata.

載著有中亞野貓血統的亞洲野貓

Centuries later, in the Middle Ages, Egyptian cats voyaged up to the Baltic Sea

幾個世紀後的中世紀 埃及貓跟隨維京海員

on the ships of Viking seafarers.

航行到波羅的海

And both the Near Eastern and North African wildcats

近東與北非的野貓兩者

– probably tamed at this point -- continued to travel across Europe,

可能在當時已被馴服 牠們持續跨越歐洲

eventually setting sail for Australia and the Americas.

最後啓航前往澳洲及美洲

Today, most house cats have descended

現時所見的家貓

from either the Near Eastern or the Egyptian lineage of F.s.lybica.

大多來自近東或埃及的非洲野貓譜系

But close analysis of the genomes and coat patterns of modern cats

仔細分析的基因組 我們從毛色圖案中得知

tells us that unlike dogs,

現代貓與狗不一樣

which have undergone centuries of selective breeding,

狗經過了幾個世紀的選擇性繁殖

modern cats are genetically very similar to ancient cats.

而現代與古代貓在基因上非常相似

And apart from making them more social and docile,

除了讓他們更加社交和溫順

we’ve done little to alter their natural behaviors.

人類並沒有刻意做些什麽 去改變貓的天性

In other words, cats today are more or less as they’ve always been: Wild animals.

換句話説，現代的貓或多或少 還保持昔日野生動物的習性

Fierce hunters. Creatures that don’t see us as their keepers.

依然是凶猛的獵人 不會視人類為主人的生物

And given our long history together, they might not be wrong.

根據我們共同的悠久歷史 牠們應該不會錯