These are challenging times for humanity

把人类关进“笼子”后，动物们出动了

These are challenging times for humanity

小译说

当前，全球疫情形势严峻，许多国家也陆续封国封城。在这个人人自危的时期，小动物们又在忙什么呢？和小译一起看看吧~

Animals may not know why humans are making themselves so scarce.

动物们也许不明白，为什么人类都不见了。

Lockdowns that have kept millions of people in their homes — and social distancing measures meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus — have brought clear skies, quiet streets and tranquil shores.

封城将数百万人“囚禁”在家中，为了减缓新冠病毒的传播速度，我们还采用了社交安全距离的隔离方式。而正是这些举动，让蓝天再次澄澈，街道和海岸重归静谧。

These are challenging times for humanity. But for many of Earth's other inhabitants, there's a silver lining.

于人类而言，这是极具挑战的时刻。然而，在动物眼里，这更像是一次绝处逢生。

Thanks to the absence of cruise ships, dolphins have returned in greater numbers to the Italian port of Cagliari. And the presence of swans in the canals of Burano — though initially placed incorrectly in Venice proper — sparked a flurry of social media attention, even though swans are often seen in this small island in the greater metro area of Venice.

没有了游轮，成群结队的海豚再次回到了意大利的卡利亚里港（Cagliari）。布拉诺岛（Burano）是威尼斯都会区的一个小岛，尽管天鹅一直都是这里的“常客”，但布拉诺运河上出现的天鹅仍然引发了社交媒体的关注，起初还一度被误认为是威尼斯省内的天鹅。




Animals are not dramatically rebounding in the absence of humans, but they are timidly pushing their boundaries, with sika deer showing up outside their normal habitat in the park in Nara, Japan, or wild turkeys showing up in a park in Oakland, California.

尽管动物们并未因人类活动的减少而大量出现，但它们也在小心翼翼地试探着扩大自己的生存范围。你瞧，梅花鹿就溜出了平时活动的区域，出现在日本奈良的公园里。加州奥克兰的公园中也有了野生火鸡的身影。

"If anything, these times may serve as a reminder that animals have always lived in our area," Seth Magle, who directs the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, told The Guardian. "We may not think of our cities as a part of nature, but they are."

赛斯·马格尔（Seth Magle）是芝加哥林肯公园动物园城市野生动物研究所（the Urban Wildlife Institute）的主任。他告诉卫报（The Guardian）：“如果说这些天的情况对我们有什么启示的话，那就是提醒我们，动物与人类一直都处于共生状态。也许我们没有把自己生活的城市看作大自然的一部分，但在它们眼里，人类生活的地方也属于自然。”

Regardless, this kind of reverse habitat-encroachment is comforting.

不管怎样，动物转而“入侵”人类栖居地这一“反转”着实令人欣慰。

Nature hates a vacuum
大自然不允许“真空”状态的出现

We've seen this kind of animal renaissance before — in the wake of very different catastrophes.

大灾之下，动物数量急剧增多，这并不是什么新鲜事儿。

At the site of the former Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant — where a 2011 meltdown forced the evacuation of thousands of people — animals like wild boar, macaques, and Japanese hares are flourishing.

2011年，福岛第一核电站（Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant）发生核泄漏，迫使成千上万的居民疏散。如今，越来越多的野猪、猕猴、日本兔等动物出现在此地。

And, more than 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster, Geiger counters still scold furiously at lingering radiation levels in the area — but wildlife have made an unlikely comeback.

另外，尽管切尔诺贝利事件已经过去30多年，盖革计数器在该地区监测到的残余核辐射强度也仍然很高，但此地却时常有动物出没，出人意料。



It's not all good news for animals
对动物来说也并非万事大吉

While swans and dolphins in Italy are certainly relishing in the retreat, other animals that have come to rely on humans may actually miss us.

尽管意大利的天鹅和海豚们享受着没有人类的日子，那些依赖于人类而生活的小动物却可能有些想念我们了。

Like the macaques of Lopburi, Thailand. Spending their days loafing around the city's famed Phra Prang Sam Yot monkey temple, these primates have become all-too accustomed to human handouts. But with the coronavirus keeping tourists at bay — and handouts increasingly rare — they've gone all "Gangs of New York" on each other.

泰国华富里(Lopburi)的猕猴就是鲜活的例子。由于长期在三峰塔（Phra Prang Sam Yot）过着闲散的生活，这些小家伙们早就变成了“饭来张口”的“小皇帝”。然而，碍于新冠病毒，游客们不愿靠近它们。投喂越来越少，猕猴们被迫变成了“纽约黑帮”，起了内讧，互相抢食吃。

"The fall in tourist numbers because of COVID-19 may have indeed brought about a shortage of food supply for them," Asmita Sengupta, an ecologist at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment in India, tells The New York Times.

阿斯米塔·森古普塔（Asmita Sengupta）是印度阿育王生态与环境研究信托基金（the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment）的一名生态学家。她告诉《纽约时报》（The New York Times）说：“新冠病毒造成的游客数量下降一定会使猕猴的食物供应短缺。”

"Once they get used to being fed by humans, they become habituated to humans and even display hyper-aggression if they are not given food."

“猕猴们一旦习惯了人工投喂，就有了依赖性；如果得不到食物，它们甚至会表现得更加暴躁。”



On the other hand, the swans of Burano don't mind. Nor the dolphins. And, as more countries ground their citizens, experts suggest animals will take full advantage.

然而，布拉诺的天鹅和回归海港的海豚们却丝毫不介意没有人类的日子。随着越来越多的国家下令居家隔离，专家们认为，动物们一定会抓住机会，痛快撒欢儿。

"I've seen what's happened in Venice and we've been thinking about what that means in the UK as well for wildlife," Martin Fowlie, media manager for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, tells Express.

马丁·福利（Martin Fowlie）是英国皇家鸟类保护协会（the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds）的媒体经理。他告诉Express网站：“我目睹了威尼斯发生的一切；我们一直在思考，对英国和野生动物来说，动物出现在人类栖居地意味着什么。”

"We are some weeks behind Italy, but I imagine there will be some things that will happen that will have an effect on wildlife and the changes we will see.

“在意大利下令封闭全国几周之后，英国也封了城。但是我猜测，有一些事情将会发生，并给野生动物带来影响，可能会有的改变就让我们拭目以待吧。”

"Since World War 2, UK wildlife has been in general decline, there are some species doing better, but on the whole, the majority of species have been doing less well."

“自二战以来，英国的野生动物数量总体呈下降趋势；尽管有一部分动物的数量增加，但从整体上看，大多数动物的情况都不乐观。”

But the hushing of cities and towns and countrysides, he adds, may not only benefit animals. Humans too may soon emerge from their homes with a new understanding of their relationship with the natural world. We might even look to preserve that kind of peace.

然而，马丁补充说，封城的做法不仅仅对野生动物有益。当人类再次走出家门的时候，或许对于人与自然的关系，也会有一个全新的认识。说不定我们还会维持人与自然的和谐状态呢。

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information since it was first published in March 2020.

编辑注:本文首次发表于2020年3月并有所更新。

许多人都说，这场疫情是大自然对人类的报复，我们应当与自然和谐共处。愿这不只是说说而已。希望在疫情真正解除的那一天，我们都仍然并永远能够对自然怀有敬畏之心。