第2201期:New Study Examines How Elephants Say Hello

People greet each other in many ways. They might say “hello” in different languages. They might physically do something like shaking hands, giving hugs, or exchanging kisses. 

人们以多种方式互相问候。他们可能会用不同的语言说“你好”。他们可能会做一些身体上的事情，比如握手、拥抱或交换亲吻。 

Elephants seem to have many greetings too. A recent study gives new information about these greetings, including how greetings differ depending on the animals’ sex and whether they are looking at each other. 

大象似乎也有很多问候。最近的一项研究提供了有关这些问候语的新信息，包括问候语如何根据动物的性别以及它们是否互相看着对方而有所不同。 

The study was based on observations of African savannah elephants in the Jafuta Reserve in Zimbabwe. 

这项研究基于对津巴布韦贾富塔保护区的非洲草原象的观察。 

Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna in Austria was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in Communications Biology. 

奥地利维也纳大学的 Vesta Eleuteri 是最近发表在《通讯生物学》杂志上的这项研究的主要作者。 

"Elephants live in a so-called 'fission-fusion' society, where they often separate and reunite, meeting after hours, days or months apart," Eleuteri said. 

“大象生活在一个所谓的‘裂变融合’社会中，它们经常分开又团聚，相隔数小时、数天或数月后见面，”埃留特里说。 

Elephants are Earth's largest land animals. They are highly intelligent, with strong memories and problem-solving skills, and complex communication. 

大象是地球上最大的陆地动物。他们非常聪明，具有很强的记忆力和解决问题的能力，以及复杂的沟通能力。 

Female elephants of different family groups might have strong social bonds with each other, forming "bond groups." Earlier studies in the wild have reported that when these groups meet, the elephants perform special greeting ceremonies to announce and strengthen their social bonds, Eleuteri said. 

不同家族群体的雌象之间可能有很强的社会联系，形成“债券群体”。埃留特里说，早期的野外研究表明，当这些群体相遇时，大象会举行特殊的问候仪式，以宣布并加强他们的社会联系。

Male elephants have different social bonds from females. Male greetings may serve to ease possible hostility. Male elephants greet mainly by smelling each other, reaching with their trunks, Eleuteri added. 

雄性大象与雌性大象有着不同的社会纽带。男性的问候可能有助于缓解可能的敌意。埃留特里补充说，雄性大象主要通过闻对方的气味、伸出鼻子来打招呼。 

The recent study gives details on around 20 movements tied to greetings. It showed that elephants mix these movements in exact ways with sounds. The different sounds are described as rumbles, roars and trumpets. 

最近的研究详细介绍了大约 20 个与问候相关的动作。它表明大象以精确的方式将这些动作与声音结合起来。不同的声音被描述为隆隆声、咆哮声和喇叭声。 

The study also showed how smell plays an important part in greetings. Elephant greetings include behaviors unusual for humans, including releasing body waste. Elephants can also release secretions from a special gland. 

该研究还表明气味在问候中发挥着重要作用。大象的问候包括人类不寻常的行为，包括释放身体废物。大象还可以从特殊的腺体中释放分泌物。 

Elephants may greet each other by making gestures meant to be seen, like spreading their ears or showing their behinds. The creatures also use movements producing special sounds, or they may use movements that involve touching other elephants. Movements involving touching are known as tactile gestures. 

大象可能会通过做出让人看到的手势来打招呼，比如张开耳朵或露出屁股。这些生物还使用发出特殊声音的动作，或者可能使用涉及触摸其他大象的动作。涉及触摸的动作称为触觉手势。 

Eleuteri suggested that elephants appeared to know what other elephants can see. "They preferred using visual gestures when their partner was looking at them, while tactile ones when they were not," Eleuteri explained. 

埃柳特里认为，大象似乎知道其他大象能看到什么。“当伴侣看着他们时，他们更喜欢使用视觉手势，而当伴侣不看他们时，他们更喜欢使用触觉手势，”Eleuteri 解释道。 

Greeting behavior has been studied in a number of animals. 

人们对许多动物的问候行为进行了研究。 

"Many other species greet, including different primates, hyenas and dogs," Eleuteri said. 

“许多其他物种都会打招呼，包括不同的灵长类动物、鬣狗和狗，”埃留特里说。 

These animal greetings help guide social situations by reducing tension or confirming social bonds, Eleuteri added. 

埃留特里补充说，这些动物问候可以通过减少紧张或确认社会纽带来引导社交场合。 

The new research builds on earlier studies of elephant greeting behavior. The nine observed elephants - four females and five males - were "semi-captive." That means they freely moved around their natural environment during daytime and stayed in structures at night. 

这项新研究建立在早期对大象问候行为的研究基础上。观察到的九头大象——四头雌性和五头雄性——处于“半圈养”状态。这意味着它们白天在自然环境中自由活动，晚上则留在建筑物中。 

Greetings used by the female elephants closely matched the behavior of wild elephants. The greeting behavior of the male elephants appeared to be different from wild male elephants. 

雌象的问候语与野象的行为非常相似。 雄性大象的问候行为似乎与野生雄性大象不同。 

Wild male elephants are often alone, forming loose connections with other elephants. 

野生雄性大象通常独处，与其他大象形成松散的联系。 

The temporal gland is midway between the eye and the ear. That gland plays a part in elephant greeting by releasing a substance called temporin. Temporin contains chemical information about an elephant's condition. Elephants often use their trunks to touch the temporal glands of others. 

颞腺位于眼睛和耳朵之间的中间。该腺体在大象问候中发挥着重要作用，它会释放一种叫做temporin的物质。Temporin 含有有关大象状况的化学信息。大象经常用鼻子接触其他大象的颞腺。 

Eleuteri said elephant body wastes “contain chemical information important for elephants, like the identity of the individual, their reproductive state or even their emotional state." 

埃莱尤特里说，大象的排泄物“含有对大象很重要的化学信息，比如个体的身份、它们的繁殖状态，甚至它们的情绪状态。” 

"Maybe they don't need to tell each other how they're doing, as they can smell it," Eleuteri added. “

也许他们不需要告诉对方他们在做什么，因为他们可以闻到它的味道，”埃柳特里补充道。