BBC地平线：猫的秘密生活（2013）

And sometimes it’s…
类似这样的声音 他的叫声是不一样的
..This sort of thing. He does have various purrs, yes.
我们也许认为猫是宠物
We may think cats are our pets,
但许多主人有时候有种不太舒服的感觉
but many owners are left with the uncomfortable feeling
其实猫才是说了算的
that the cats are really calling the shots.
我们会主动去适应猫的生活方式
We tend to fit in with the cat’s lifestyle.
经常这样
Very much so.
-猫是老大 -毫无疑问的
– The cat’s in charge? – No doubt about it.
这也许令我们变得很特殊
It probably makes us quite unique,
-某种意义上 -你赞同吗
– in some respects. – Do you reckon?
我同意 在大多数家庭中猫是老大
I reckon, most households, I think the cats are in charge.
-但在我们家尤其严重 -没错
– Not quite as much as this one, I don’t think. – Yes.
我们绝对是以猫科动物为中心的一家
This is very much a feline-focused family, we are.
通过他的叫声我多少能知道他想要什么
By his purrs, I know more or less what he wants.
他们有自己独特的方式
They get their own way
因为在猫的驯化过程中
because as cats have become domesticated,
他们学会如何改变交流的方式
they’ve learnt to change the way they communicate.
当动物喵喵叫或呜呜叫时
When an animal meows or purrs,
我们常常会回应之
we tend to verbalise back to that.
我们似乎认为
And it’s almost like we have this idea
这就是一种对话
of there being a conversation.
我认为这在肯定有助于
And I think that definitely does
促进宠物与人之间的感情
have a part in strengthening the bond.
莎拉·埃利斯将重复一项实验
Sarah Ellis is going to repeat an experiment
当初在萨赛克斯大学时用自己的猫做的实验
first conducted at the University of Sussex on her own cats.
实验的重点是两种不同的咕噜声
It focuses on two different types of purr.
她将进行录音
She’s going to record them
以揭开为何咕噜声能够成为
to find out what makes purring such an effective way
猫吸引人注意力的有效方式
for cats to get our attention.
首先是非乞求式咕噜
The first is the non-solicitation purr.
非乞求式咕噜
The non-solicitation purr
是最为人们所熟悉的
will be the one that people are most familiar with.
这种咕噜声在猫满足 放松时
That’s the purr that cats do when they are content, relaxed,
被主人抚摸 与主人互动时
when they’re being stroked or interacted with by their owners,
或者是他们坐在你大腿上时发出
or if they’re sitting on your knee, for example.
进来吧 乖乖
In you come, good boy.
然而科学家对另外一种咕噜声
But scientists are particularly interested
十分感兴趣
in another type of purr,
即所谓的乞求式咕噜声
the so-called solicitation purr.
猫主人肯定十分了解
Cat owners will definitely be aware of this,
但对不养猫的人来说也许没那么熟悉
but it may not be so well known amongst non-cat owners,
当猫发出这种叫声时
and this is the purr that cats do
说明他们想要从主人身上获得什么
when they want something from their owners,
而且大多数时候是乞求食物
and very often that is in anticipation of food
或是在你准备食物时
or if you’re preparing food.
那些咕噜声的长度
It’s constantly chopping and changing
奥利弗·布曼博士
林肯大学
在不断变化
the length of those purr bouts.
这些叫声在某部分特别快 是吗
And the purr is much faster in certain parts, isn’t it?
在实验室
Back at the lab,
莎拉的同事在测试呜呜声的频率
Sarah’s colleague examines the frequencies of the purrs.
在顶端的是乞求式咕噜
At the top, we’ve got the solicitation purr
在底部的是非乞求式咕噜
and down below, we’ve got the non-solicitation purr.
他们都是低频咕噜声
Both of these are low-frequency purrs,
但让人非常注意的
but what particularly stands out quite clearly
是乞求式咕噜
is that complete stand-out peak
一个完整的峰值
you can see with a solicitation purr.
与它附近的其他频率完全独♥立♥开来
It’s very isolated from the other frequencies around it,
这说明它非常能吸引注意力
which suggests it would really stand out quite clearly.
这在非乞求式咕噜声中没有出现过
You don’t see that at all in the non-solicitation purr.
我们对这种频率的反应很大
And there’s a surprising reason why we react so strongly
其原因十分令人惊讶
to this frequency in the purrs.
因为它与婴儿啼哭的频率
Because embedded within it is the same frequency
完全相同
as a baby’s cry.
作为人类的我们
As humans, we are more sensitive
对那一频率范围的声音更敏感
to vocalisations in that frequency range,
我们也更能作出回应
and we’re more likely to respond to them.
这很可能是因为
And that’s likely because
该频率激发了我们去照顾的欲望
it taps into our care-giving or nurturing need,
我认为 这也帮助猫猫在做宠物方面
and it’s this, I think, that makes them so successful
取得成功
at being our pets,
因为他们需要从我们这儿获取关爱
because they have to illicit care-giving from us,
他们非常擅长做这件事
and they’ve become very, very good at that.
猫猫总部
实验即将接近尾声
The experiment is drawing to an end.
科学家们着手研究猫的行为
The scientists are starting to see the ways
在哪些方面被人类所影响
in which cats’ behaviour is shaped by us,
或被附近的其他猫所影响
and by all the other cats living so close by…
他们是如何严格划分领地的
…How they’ve created tightly packed territories…
托德走到这里 离托马斯刚刚呆的地方很近
Todd came up here, really close to where Thomas has been.
他们如何在不同时间活动来避免打斗
..How they may be time-sharing to avoid fighting…
他们如何不再捕猎 转而吃其他猫的食物
..And how they may be hunting less and eating each other’s food.
但小镇里还藏有一个惊喜
But there’s one surprise left in the village.
这里是爱德华一家
This is the Edwards’ house.
六只无血缘关系的猫住在这里
And they have not one but six unrelated cats living together.
来见见达菲
Meet Duffy,
帕奇
Patch,
黛西
Daisy,
蔻蔻
Coco,
南瓜
Pumpkin
拉尔夫
and Ralph.
他们看起来很高兴
They seem a pretty happy lot,
考虑到猫一般是独居并有领地意识的
and given that the cats are both solitary and territorial,
但他们似乎相处得很好
they do seem to get on pretty well together.
但没人知道他们离家后会发生什么
But no-one is sure what happens beyond the cat flap.
黄色的是黛西 南瓜是什么颜色的
Yellow’s Daisy. What colour is Pumpkin?
南瓜是粉色的 蔻蔻是红色的
Pumpkin’s pink. Coco is red.
当帕奇在邻里闲逛的时候
So while Patch roams the local neighbourhood,
183号♥ 帕奇
182号♥ 达菲
达菲, 黛西, 蔻蔻, 南瓜和拉尔夫
Duffy, Daisy, Coco, Pumpkin and Ralph
186号♥ 黛西
181号♥ 蔻蔻
185号♥ 南瓜
184号♥ 拉尔夫
同时出门并且都离得很近
are all out at the same time and sticking very close together.
这绝对是个惊喜
Which is a genuine surprise.
你的猫猫们很有趣
Your cats are actually really interesting.
在这个小镇里 大家报告了许多猫猫间的战争
Down in the village, we’ve got lots of reports of hostility,
他们会打斗 像你这样养了很多只猫的家庭
including fights, and in a multi-cat household, which you have,
你有六只猫 是研究对象中数量最大的
you’re our largest number in our study, with six cats,
我们原以为他们之间的关系会很紧张
we would expect there to be quite a bit of tension,
会在家外使用不同的领地
quite a bit of using different space outside.
但在他们身上并没有这种情况
What’s really, really unusual is we don’t see that
非常难得
with your cats at all.
除了帕奇 蓝色的那只
And apart from Patch, who is the blue,
他活动的范围更大
and he does have a further range,
比其他几只走得更远
he does go much further than the others,
他们都集中在你家周围活动
they’re very, very much centred around your home,
在花♥园♥附近
around your garden,
真正有趣的事情是
and the really interesting thing is,
他们是同时在那儿出现
they’re all there at the same time.
-太神奇了 -没有一只走得特别快
– Fantastic. – None of them are moving particularly quickly,
他们几乎是同时在一起走动
they’re all just bumbling around together, really.
这在我们看来很神奇
That, for us, is fascinating,
因为对于几只没血缘关系的猫猫来说
because a whole group of unrelated cats…
我们从没想过会出现这种情况
we just wouldn’t necessarily expect that at all.
在所有的研究中
Out of all the lot we’ve had,
这些猫猫是共处最融洽的
this has been the ones that have gelled the most.
尤其是男孩们 他们通常…
Especially the boys, they’re always…
你会看到他们经常一起玩
You’ll see them playing together,
睡在一起
they will lie together.
南瓜和拉尔夫会躺在对方身上
Pumpkin and Ralph lie on top of each other,
而不仅是挨着对方睡
not just next to each other.