Can animals be deceptive

動物會具有欺騙性嘛

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A male firefly glows above a field ?on a summer’s night,

emitting a series of enticing flashes.

He hopes a nearby female will respond with her own lightshow

and mate with him.

Sadly for this male,

it won’t turn out quite the way he plans.

A female from a different species ?mimics his pulsing patterns:

by tricking the male with ?her promise of partnership,

she lures him in–

and turns him into an easy meal.

He’s been deceived.

夏夜，一只雄性螢火蟲 在田野上閃閃發(fā)光，

釋放著一串求偶的燈光信號。

他盼望附近的異性 會用她的燈光秀來回應(yīng)，

并且和他交配。

可悲的是，

計(jì)劃趕不上變化。

另一雌性物種正模仿著 他的燈光頻率：

用虛假的愛情承諾

將他引誘到自己身邊，

并輕易將他化為盤中之餐。

他被耍了。

Behavioral biologists have identified ?three defining hallmarks of deception

by non-human animals:

it must mislead the receiver,

the deceiver must benefit,

and it can’t simply be an accident.

In this case we know that the predatory ?firefly’s signal isn’t an accident

because she flexibly ?adjusts her flash pattern

to match males of different species.

行為生物學(xué)家們已經(jīng)確定了

動物欺騙術(shù)的三個(gè)特征：

誤導(dǎo)受騙者，

施計(jì)者得利，

欺騙行為并非偶然產(chǎn)生。

在上述情境中，我們可以確定 雌性捕食者的信號不是偶然產(chǎn)生的，

因?yàn)樗`活地調(diào)整著燈光信號

以和其它雄性物種的信號對應(yīng)。

Based on this definition,

where is animal deception seen in nature?

Camouflage is a good starting point–

and one of the most familiar examples ?of animal trickery.

The leaf-tailed gecko and the ?octopus fool viewers

by blending into the surfaces ?on which they rest.

Other animals use mimicry ?to protect themselves.

Harmless scarlet kingsnakes have evolved ?red, yellow, and black patterns

resembling those of the venomous ?eastern coral snake

to benefit from the protective warnings ?these markings convey.

基于以上定義，

自然界中有哪些動物欺騙現(xiàn)象呢？

不妨從天然保護(hù)色說起，

這是最為熟知的動物騙術(shù)之一。

枯葉平尾壁虎和章魚通過

與其棲息的環(huán)境融合騙過其他生物。

其它動物通過模仿進(jìn)行自我保護(hù)。

無毒的猩紅王蛇進(jìn)化出了 紅、黃、黑色的圖案，

和劇毒的珊瑚蛇極為相似，

這便占了這些保護(hù)性 恐嚇圖案的便宜。

Even some plants use mimicry:

there are orchids that look and smell like female wasps to attract hapless males,

who end up pollinating the plant.

Some of these animals benefit ?by having fixed characteristics

that are evolutionary suited ?to their environments.

But in other cases,

the deceiver seems to anticipate ?the reactions of other animals

and to adjust its behavior accordingly.

更有甚者，一些植物也會進(jìn)行模仿：

有些蘭花在外觀和氣味上 與雌性黃蜂相似，

以此吸引不幸的雄性黃蜂為它們授粉。

有些動物從其固有的特征上獲益，

這些都是長期進(jìn)化、適應(yīng)環(huán)境的結(jié)果。

但在其它情況下，

行騙者似乎能預(yù)料到 其他動物的特定行為，

并據(jù)此相應(yīng)地調(diào)整自身行為

Sensing a threat,

the octopus will rapidly change its colors to match its surroundings.

Dwarf chameleons color-match their ?environments more closely

when they see a bird predator ?rather than a snake–

birds, after all, ?have better color vision.

當(dāng)察覺到危險(xiǎn)時(shí)，

章魚會迅速變?yōu)?與周圍環(huán)境相似的顏色。

在發(fā)現(xiàn)鳥類捕食者時(shí)， 侏儒變色龍的顏色會變得與環(huán)境極其相似，

遇見蛇時(shí)顏色卻未如此相近——

畢竟鳥類對顏色更加敏感。

One of the more fascinating ?examples of animal deception

comes from the fork-tailed drongo.

This bird sits atop tall trees ?in the Kalahari Desert,

surveying the landscape for predators ?and calling when it senses a threat.

That sends meerkats, pied babblers, ?and others dashing for cover.

But the drongo will also sound ?a false alarm

when those other species ?have captured prey.

As the meerkats and babblers flee,

the drongo swoops down ?to steal their catches.

This tactic works about half the time–

and it provides drongos ?with much of their food.

動物詐騙者中最耀眼的明星

當(dāng)屬叉尾烏鵑。

這種鳥棲于卡拉哈里沙漠的 高大樹木之頂，

視察領(lǐng)地，關(guān)注捕食者的身影，

并在察覺危險(xiǎn)時(shí)發(fā)出警報(bào)。

警報(bào)聲使非洲獴、斑鶇鹛 和其它動物四處逃竄。

但當(dāng)其它物種的動物捕獲了獵物時(shí)，

烏鵑也會發(fā)出假警報(bào)。

當(dāng)非洲獴和斑鶇鹛逃離時(shí)，

烏鵑飛旋而下， 偷走它們的戰(zhàn)利品。

這種戰(zhàn)術(shù)有一半的成功幾率，

是卷尾鳥重要的食物來源。

There are fewer solid cases

of animals using signals to trick members ?of their own species,

but that happens too.

Consider the mantis shrimp.

Like other crustaceans,

it molts as it grows,

which leaves its soft body ?vulnerable to attack.

But it’s still driven to protect ?its home against rivals.

So it has become a masterful bluffer.

Despite being fragile,

a newly molted shrimp is actually ?more likely to threaten intruders,

spreading the large limbs it usually uses ?to strike or stab its opponents.

And that works –

bluffers are more likely to keep ?their homes than non-bluffers.

In its softened condition,

a mantis shrimp couldn’t ?withstand a fight–

which is why we can be confident

that its behavior is a bluff.

動物很少利用信號欺騙同類物種，

但這也會發(fā)生，

比如說，螳螂蝦。

和其它甲殼動物一樣，

它在生長過程中也會蛻殼，

蛻殼后身體柔弱， 易受攻擊。

但它還是無法推卸 保家抗敵的重任。

環(huán)境將它塑造成了 老謀深算的江湖騙子。

雖然身體不堪一擊，

剛蛻殼的螳螂蝦更愛伸展開

通常用于擊打?qū)κ值拇执笾?jié)， 以此嚇退對手。

這還真有有效。

這些騙術(shù)大師們比正常的螳螂蝦 更可能守住自己的洞穴。

在身體柔弱的條件下，

螳螂蝦沒有能力干上一架，

這也是我們能夠確定

此類行為是騙術(shù)的原因。

Biologists have even noticed ?that its bluffs are tactical:

newly molted mantis shrimp are more likely to bluff against smaller rivals,

who are especially likely ?to be driven away.

It would seem that instead of just ?threatening reflexively,

the mantis shrimp is swiftly gauging the ?situation and predicting others’ behavior,

to get the best result.

So we know that animals can deceive,

but do they do so with intent?

That’s a difficult question,

and many scientists think ?we'll never be able to answer it.

生物學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)， 如此虛張聲勢也是有針對性的：

剛蛻殼的螳螂蝦更傾向于 嚇唬體型較小的對手，

這類對手容易被嚇退。

與其說是本能地虛張聲勢，

不如說螳螂蝦是在快速地掂量 所處現(xiàn)狀，和預(yù)測對方的行為，

以取得最優(yōu)結(jié)果。

所以我們明白地知道， 動物們會欺騙，

但它們是在有意識地欺騙嗎？

很難回答。

很多科學(xué)家認(rèn)為我們 永遠(yuǎn)無法揭開這個(gè)謎底。

We can't observe animals’ ?internal thoughts.

But we don’t need to know what an animal ?is thinking in order to detect deception.

By watching behavior and its outcomes,

we learn that animals manipulate ?predators, prey, and rivals,

and that their capacity for deception

can be surprisingly complex.

我們無法窺見動物的思維，

但無需通過知曉動物的思維 來辨別欺騙行為存在與否。

通過觀察它們的行為及其結(jié)果，

我們發(fā)現(xiàn)動物能夠操縱 捕食者、獵物和對手，

而且，騙術(shù)的復(fù)雜程度

超乎我們的想象。