BBC地平线：猫的秘密生活（2013）

when we started farming.
他们需要以工作换食物
and they had to work for a living.
我们给他们提供食物和庇护
We gave them food and shelter,
作为回报他们替我们抓老鼠
in return for keeping mice and rats at bay.
这也是这些猫得以生活在
It’s the same reason these cats
戴维·希克斯牛津郡农场的原因
live on David Hicks’s Oxfordshire farm today.
我们鼠患成灾 捕鼠器也没什么作用
We were just overrun with rats and the poison wasn’t working.
他们在建筑的地板下打洞
They were burrowing under the floors of the buildings,
戴维·希克斯
破坏地板导致地板塌陷
undermining the floor so the floor collapsed,
在粮食袋子上嗑洞
making holes in the bags of food,
在粮食里大小便
and mucking and peeing in the food,
弄得动物们都不吃
making it inedible for the animals.
鼠患十分严重
We had such a rat problem,
后来 一个朋友建议我们养些猫
in the end, a friend suggested we got some cats
因为他们会解决老鼠的问题
because they sorted his rat problem out.
这方法已经用了三四年了
We’re three, four years on now,
猫多了 老鼠少了
we’ve got lots of cats but no rats.
这段关系解释了为什么猫保持野性
This relationship explains why it was beneficial
是有益处的
for cats to hold on to their wild side.
这样的猫的生存方式
Cats like these must live much in the same way
差不多跟刚被驯化时期的猫猫们一样
as we imagine cats must have lived right at the beginning of domestication,
当猫与人类开始建立联♥系♥的时候
when cats were first beginning to associate themselves with man.
这些猫作为捕猎者
These cats are really here as hunters,
他们在此保证了老鼠们远离农田
they are here to keep the rats and mice down on this farm.
在捕猎方面 他们就像野生的一样
And in that respect, they behave much like wild animals,
他们与野猫运用同样的捕猎技巧
they use the same hunting tactics that wild cats do,
每只猫都还保留着狩猎的本能
and every cat still has within it the instinct to go hunting.
毫无疑问 猫的习性比一般家畜
Cats are undoubtedly much wilder
更接近野生动物
than the average domestic animal is.
他们会自己选择配偶
They choose their own mates,
决定由谁来照料某只小猫
who is going to father which kittens,
而不是像大多数家畜
rather than, as with most domestic animals
比如羊和牛或其他家畜
like sheep or cattle, or whatever,
是由农场主决定一切
it’s the farmer that makes the decisions.
猫的生活仍然完全由他们自己掌控
Cats are still really in charge of their own destinies.
而他们能否成为我们的宠物
And whether they do become our pets
是由他们小时候的养育方式决定的
is down to how they are reared as kittens.
这是一个稍纵即逝的机会
There is really a very short window of opportunity
能让小猫们学会
during which kittens can learn about
如何与人类打交道
how to socialize with people.
这个机会在他们四周到八周大之间
It’s just between about four weeks of age and eight weeks,
与其他家畜相比 这段时间非常之短
which is considerably shorter than other domestic animals.
所以如果小猫出生头八周内
So if a kitten doesn’t meet people
没有接触过人类
within that first eight weeks
它将很难与人亲近
then it essentially goes feral,
变得更像是一只野生动物
it becomes an animal which is more or less like a wild animal.
它仍带有家畜的基因
It’s still got the domestic genes in it,
但它的行为方式
but it is, in terms of its behaviour
和对人类的态度
and its attitude to people,
更接近于野生动物
much more like a wild animal.
既能与人类共存
This ability to tolerate humans
又能保留一部分野性
yet hold on to their wild side
这种能力对猫的驯化至关重要
was crucial for the domestication of the cat.
即便我们认为猫已经被驯化
Even if we think we’ve managed to domesticate cats,
他们仍保留着自己野性的一面
they still retain their wild sides.
而这是因为猫天生就是捕猎好手
And that’s because cats remain natural born hunters.
他们经常被抨击为杀害其他动物的凶手
They’re often vilified for killing off other animals.
但猫还保有多少这种捕食习性
But the extent of this predatory behaviour,
至少对英国的猫而言
in the UK at least,
仍不明朗
is uncertain.
今早在这里发现了这只鼹鼠
We found this mole here this morning
不知道是不是被小姜抓住的
and we don’t know if Ginger caught it or not,
但它已经死了 我要把它装到盒子里
but it’s dead, so we’re going to pop it in here.
把它收起来 然后今晚拿到市政厅去
Pick him up so we can take him up to the hall tonight
让那里的工作人员看一下
and they can have a look at him up there.
科学家们希望
The scientists are hoping
杉莫利格林镇的研究
to use this study in Shamley Green
能为了解猫的真正习性 提供一点线索
to see if there are any clues as to what’s going on.
这是一只小鼩鼱 菲布斯带回来的
It’s a little shrew, from Phoebus.
是前几天晚上被他抓住的
And he caught it a couple of nights ago.
我们请猫主人们把一周内
We’ve ask the owners to collect everything
猫猫总部
猫带回家的所有猎物都收集起来
their cats bring home throughout the week.
真棒
Lovely!
昨晚把它放在了冰箱里
It’s been in the freezer for one night.
可能早就已经死了
Probably died of old age.
我猜它很久以前就在院子里了
I think he’s been around the gardens for ages.
因为猫通常会避开人群进行捕猎
Because cats usually hunt out of sight,
一般都有夜色做掩护
often under the cover of night,
科学家希望猫携带的摄像机和GPS项圈
the scientists are hoping the cat cameras and GPS collars
也许能帮他们搞明白猫的行踪
may help reveal what they are up to.
我今天早上下楼
When I came down this morning,
打开后门的时候
I opened the back door
在门外的垫子上发现了这个
and on the mat outside was this.
你们说是在后院的草坪上发现的 对吗
OK, as you said. On the back lawn, was it?
对 在后院草坪上
Yes, on the back lawn.
我猜是只鸟
Think it’s a bird.
他若无其事地走进来
He walked in very nonchalantly,
一脸餍足
looking very satisfied,
所以我出去看了一下
so I went out and had a look,
发现只剩下一颗眼珠
and all that was left was one eyeball.
是这片草坪
This is the green.
在那片草坪活动
That’s the green over here,
还有路边的另一片草坪
this is the other green on the side of the road.
约翰 萨拉和艾伦
John, Sarah and Alan
开始分♥析♥猫的活动轨迹
have started combing through the cats’ traces
以找出可能代表着他们在捕猎的
to look for unusual night-time activity
与众不同的夜间活动
which may indicate hunting.
那是比利
So that’s Billy,
看起来他一直走到了一个农场
and he looks like he’s travelling up to a farm
或一座独♥立♥的房♥子
or a single household,
一口气走过去再回来
one single trip up and back down.
这是和他住在一起的另一只猫 对吗
This is another cat that he lives with, is it?
对 茉莉和比利属于同一个主人
Molly’s, yeah, from the same house as Billy,
251号♥ 茉莉
252号♥ 比利
他们都是纯种的英国蓝短毛猫
they’re both British Blues, pedigree cats.
他是在晚上出门跑了这一大圈
This big trip is at night-time.
252号♥ 比利
我猜他是去那片灌木丛里捕猎
So I guess he’s going to be hunting up that hedgerow.
他在农场那到底做了什么
What he was doing at the farm,
我们无从得知
of course, we don’t know.
他们对他出去捕猎的推测是正确的
They were right to suspect hunting that night.
比利和茉莉的主人
Billy and Molly’s owner
在第二天早上见到过他们
has seen the cats the following morning.
我猜那天晚上他们大部分时间
I think they were out pretty well
都在外面活动
most of the night, actually.
我很肯定他们是在我们睡觉以后出门的
I’m pretty certain they went out as soon as we went to bed.
特别是比利 回家时肚子撑得鼓鼓的
Billy in particular came in with a very bloated tummy,
我不太清楚他在外面干了什么
so I don’t know quite what he’s been up to,
但他可能一路上吃了不少东西
but probably eaten quite a few bits and pieces along the way,
而且今天他特别贪睡
and he’s very sleepy today.
实际上他们两个都很贪睡
In fact, both of them are very sleepy,
所以我猜昨晚他们应该一直在捕猎
so I think they’ve been hunting a lot last night.
他们开始找出那些
They start to identify the cats
很显而易见
that seem to have the strongest indications
会在外捕猎的猫
they’ve been hunting.
491号♥ 苏提
比如苏提
Like Sooty.
在那里待了很长一段时间
Spends quite a lot of periods of time there.
不停地来回走动
Backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards,
说明那里可能是他的狩猎场
suggesting he may be using that as a bit of a hunting ground.
491号♥ 苏提