科学美国人60秒 SSS 在牛身上画眼睛可阻止捕食者（在线收听）

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Susanne Bard.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是苏珊娜·巴德。

In Botswana, farmers graze their cattle at the edge of the Okavango Delta.

在博茨瓦纳，农民在奥卡万戈三角洲边缘放牧。

The region is teeming with wildlife, including hungry predators with a taste for beef.

该地区遍布野生动物，包括喜欢牛肉的饥饿捕食者。

"Lions and leopards, in particular, are ambush predators. They often rely on the element of surprise to creep up and take down their prey."

“尤其是狮子和豹子，它们是伏击捕食者。它们往往依赖突然袭击和悄悄迫近来抓住猎物。”

University of New South Wales conservation biologist Neil Jordan.

新南威尔士大学的保护生物学家尼尔·乔丹说到。

"Livestock losses can be crippling to some of these farmers,

“家畜减少可能会对其中一些农民造成严重影响，

and their subsequent retaliatory killing of predators in response to that is a major cause of population decline in large carnivores."

因此他们随后会对捕食者进行报复性杀戮，而这是导致大型食肉动物减少的主要原因。”

But what if there were a simple thing farmers could do to cut their losses?

但如果农民能通过做一件简单的事来减少损失，那会怎样？

"The idea came about of painting eyes on the backsides of cows to trick lions and leopards into thinking they've been seen by their would-be prey.

“这个想法来源于在牛的臀部画眼睛，欺骗狮子和豹子，让它们以为它们已被猎物看到。

And once seen, they often abandon the hunt."

一旦被发现，它们往往会放弃捕猎。”

This visionary solution was inspired by nature.

这个视觉解决方案的来源来自大自然。

A variety of species have evolved eyespot markings that thwart deadly adversaries—some frog derrieres feature eyespots, as do the backends of some fish.

各种各样的物种都进化出了能挫败致命对手的眼斑标记，比如有些青蛙的臀部长出眼斑，就像某些鱼类尾巴上有眼斑一样。

Jordan's colleague, Cameron Radford:

乔丹的同事，卡梅隆·雷德福德说：

"Probably the most famous example is on butterflies and moths. They have eyespots in their wings, and these deter predators such as birds from attacking them."

“也许最著名的例子是蝴蝶和蛾子身上的斑纹。它们的翅膀上有眼斑，可以阻止鸟类等捕食者的攻击。”

Even humans are susceptible to eyespots:

即使是人类也容易受到眼斑的影响：

one study found that people are less likely to steal bikes when an image of watchful eyes is displayed near bike racks.

一项研究发现，当自行车依靠架附近有警示的眼睛图像时，人们不太可能偷自行车。

But despite their usefulness, predator-foiling eyespots don't occur naturally in mammals.

尽管眼斑很有用，但阻止捕食者的眼斑并不会在哺乳动物身上自然出现。

To make up for this egregious evolutionary oversight, the scientists/cow-butt artists got to work.

为了弥补这一重大进化失误，科学家/牛屁股艺术家开始了工作。

"I can guarantee the cows didn't enjoy the experience.

“我可以保证牛并不享受这种体验。

I mean it, didn't hurt them at all, but herding those cows up in the morning for their artificial-eye treatment probably wasn't the most exciting thing for them."

这完全不会伤害它们，但一大早把这些牛赶到一起进行人工眼治疗，可能不是最令它们兴奋的事。”

Over the four-year experiment, the researchers found that not one of the hundreds of cows with eyespots on their keisters was killed by an ambush predator.

历经四年实验，研究人员发现，在数百头屁股上有眼斑的牛中，没有一头被埋伏的捕食者杀死。

But the study also showed that, while less effective, simply painting crude cross marks on the cows deterred predators better than leaving them au naturel.

但研究还表明，虽然效果不太好，但仅在牛身上画上粗糙的十字记号也比让它们保持自然状态更能制止捕食者。

So perhaps any kind of novel marking can startle an unsuspecting carnivore.

因此，也许任何一种新标记都能吓到毫不设防的食肉动物。

"Farmers can potentially paint their cattle with artificial eyespots or cross marks. But we recommend the eyespots because that was the best result."

“农民可能会在牛上画上人工眼斑或十字记号。但我们推荐眼斑，因为这个效果最好。”

The Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia also contributed to this research,

博茨瓦纳捕食者保护信托基金和澳大利亚塔龙加保护协会也为这项研究作出了贡献，

which appeared in the journal Communications Biology.

这项研究发表在《通讯生物学》期刊上。

Ultimately, a little artistic license could go a long way to safeguard both livestock herds and predators at risk of extinction.

最终，一个小小的艺术许可证可能对于保护家畜和濒临灭绝的食肉动物都大有帮助。

"Here's looking at you, kid."

“一直在看着你，孩子。”

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Susanne Bard.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是苏珊娜·巴德。