第1367期:The Social Life of a Vampire Bat

Most people would not think of friendship and cooperation when considering the animals called vampire bats.大多数人在考虑吸血蝙蝠时不会想到友谊与合作。

But experts say maybe we should.但专家说也许我们应该这样做。

New research shows that vampire bats have deeper social relationships with one another than scientists had thought. The study shows that vampire bats form friendships and meet at feeding time to hunt together.新的研究表明，吸血蝙蝠彼此之间的社会关系比科学家们想象的要深。研究表明，吸血蝙蝠会建立友谊，并在喂食时间相遇一起捕猎。

Researchers attached small devices to 50 vampire bats in Panama to follow their path as they feed at night. The bats drink blood from wounds they cause on cows in open fields. The study involved female bats, as researchers believe they have stronger social relationships than males.研究人员将小型装置连接到巴拿马的 50 只吸血蝙蝠身上，以便它们在夜间觅食时跟随它们的路径。蝙蝠从它们在空地上给奶牛造成的伤口喝血。该研究涉及雌性蝙蝠，因为研究人员认为它们比雄性具有更强的社会关系。

Twenty-three bats born in the wild had been captured and studied for about two years for related research into bat social behavior. Social connections had already been observed among some of them. They live together in trees, clean each other and share meals.23 只出生在野外的蝙蝠被捕获并研究了大约两年，用于蝙蝠社会行为的相关研究。在其中一些人之间已经观察到社会联系。他们一起住在树上，互相打扫卫生，一起吃饭。

The scientists used tiny sensor devices on the flying mammals to learn whether their hunting behavior was also social. The sensor data showed that the bats would often join a "friend" while searching for food.科学家们在飞行的哺乳动物身上使用微型传感器设备来了解它们的狩猎行为是否也具有社会性。传感器数据显示，蝙蝠在寻找食物时经常会加入“朋友”。

Gerald Carter is a scientist with the Ohio State University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He led the research published in the journal PLoS Biology.Gerald Carter 是俄亥俄州立大学和史密森热带研究所的科学家。他领导了发表在 PLoS Biology 杂志上的研究。

"This study opens up an exciting new window into the social lives of these animals," he said. "Each bat maintains its own network of close cooperative social bonds."“这项研究为了解这些动物的社会生活打开了一扇令人兴奋的新窗口，”他说。“每只蝙蝠都维持着自己紧密合作的社会纽带网络。”

The researchers suspect that the bats join their friends during the hunt to help each other. They think the bats might exchange information about prey position or access to an open wound for feeding.研究人员怀疑，蝙蝠在狩猎期间会加入他们的朋友，互相帮助。他们认为蝙蝠可能会交换有关猎物位置或接近暴露的伤口进行进食的信息。

Vampire bats live in the warmer areas of Central and South America. They have wingspans of about 18 centimeters and are the only warm-blooded animals with a blood-only diet. They live in groups called colonies that can number from the tens to thousands of individuals.吸血蝙蝠生活在中美洲和南美洲较温暖的地区。它们的翼展约为 18 厘米，是唯一一种以纯血为食的温血动物。他们生活在称为殖民地的群体中，数量从数万到数千不等。

Simon Ripperger is a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and a writer of the study. He said people’s first reaction to vampire bats is usually fear.西蒙·里珀格 (Simon Ripperger) 是史密森尼热带研究所的研究员，也是该研究的作者。他说人们对吸血蝙蝠的第一反应通常是恐惧。

He added, “But once you tell them about their complex social lives, they are quite surprised that we can find such behavior that is somewhat similar to what humans do - and which one would maybe expect in primates - in bats." 他补充说：“但是一旦你告诉他们他们复杂的社会生活，他们就会非常惊讶我们会发现这种行为与人类在蝙蝠中的行为有些相似——而且可能会在灵长类动物身上看到这种行为——蝙蝠。”

Ripperger noted that the bats are fast runners and have heat sensors in their noses to help them target a good place to bite prey.Ripperger 指出，蝙蝠跑得很快，鼻子里有热传感器，可以帮助它们瞄准咬猎物的好地方。

The bats attack from the ground, using their sharp teeth to open a wound on an animal. Then, they use their tongues to get blood from the wound.蝙蝠从地面攻击，用它们锋利的牙齿撕开动物身上的伤口。然后，他们用舌头从伤口上取血。

Gerald Carter said there is reason to fear vampire bats because they can spread the deadly disease rabies to both animals and people.杰拉德卡特说，有理由害怕吸血蝙蝠，因为它们可以将致命的狂犬病传播给动物和人。

"But I do think they are beautiful and interesting animals in their own right," Carter added. "In this way they are a bit like grizzly bears, sharks, rats and venomous snakes: animals that might not help people in any way and might even endanger them, but should still be appreciated for their own sake."“但我确实认为它们本身就是美丽而有趣的动物，”卡特补充道。“从这个意义上说，它们有点像灰熊、鲨鱼、老鼠和毒蛇：这些动物可能不会以任何方式帮助人们，甚至可能危及他们，但为了他们自己，仍然应该受到赞赏。”