動物王國的超級奶爸

2012-04-29 00:00:00Fromlistsoplenty.com譯/趙青奇

新東方英語·中學版 2012年6期

做媽媽的確辛苦，不過當爸爸也并不容易，特別是動物王國的那些超級奶爸，犧牲可謂不小。為了兒女，它們有的親自孕育后代，有的攬下了孵蛋的職責，有的當起了全職奶爸，可謂是爸爸界的楷模，可敬又可愛！

Poor dads—all of them. So often taken for granted， almost like the fixture that is just expected to always be there. They are always asked for kind words and to lend a hand1)， but seldom get it back. And so， in homage to2) all the dads in nature， this list presents some of the fathers in the animal kingdom who go the extra mile3). Thanks guys!

可憐的爸爸們——所有爸爸都這么可憐。他們總是理所當然地被使喚，幾乎就像一個固定物什似的什么時候都得待在那兒聽使喚。他們總是被要求和言善語、伸手相助，但卻很少有所回報。正因如此，本文列出了動物王國一些付出更多的爸爸，謹此向天下所有的爸爸表示敬意——謝謝你們！

Seahorse 海馬

Perhaps the most famous of all animal fathers are seahorses， which are known for being one of the only male animals in the world to get pregnant. The male sea horse tops the list because not only he is monogamous4)， but he is actually the one who gets pregnant and carries the kids (up to 1000 babies at a time). The female deposits her eggs into his brood， and then he fertilizes5) the eggs and carries them to term. However， before anyone nominates the male sea horse for Father of the Year， you might want to hold your horses6) (pun intended)—this dad has been known to eat a few of his offspring as well.

動物界最為知名的爸爸可能要屬海馬。海馬是世界上絕無僅有的由雄性懷孕的動物之一。雄性海馬之所以榮登榜首，是因為它們不僅恪守一夫一妻制，而且事實上還負責受孕懷胎(一次可懷上千幼仔)。雌性海馬首先將卵產入雄性海馬的育兒囊，然后由雄性海馬進行受精，并孕育胚胎直到孕期結束。不過，在提名雄性海馬為“年度爸爸”之前，你可能要“勒馬三思”(此處一語雙關)——人們已經了解到，雄性海馬也會吞食自己的一些幼仔。

Hardhead Catfish 硬頭鯰魚

The hardheaded catfish doesn't have such a thick skull7) when it comes to fatherhood. While he doesn't get pregnant like a seahorse， he does put up to 48 of his fertilized eggs in his mouth and carries them with him for 60 days. This means they can't eat until the eggs hatch. This can take two months or longer， meaning that the dads have to live off their own body fat for that long. (Now， no wisecracks8) from the moms reading this!)

說到父親這一角色，硬頭鯰魚可沒那么“不開竅”。雖然它不用像海馬那樣懷孕，但卻要把近48個受精卵含在口中，60天不離不棄。這意味著在卵孵化完成前它們不能進食，此過程可能要持續兩個月甚至更長，在這段時間里，鯰魚爸爸只能靠消耗自身的脂肪來維持生存。(現在，讀到這里的各位媽媽該沒風涼話可說了吧！)

Emperor Penguin 帝企鵝

The movie made them famous， and made the penguin the hero of the dad world. The emperor penguin breeds in Antarctica， the coldest place on Earth (72 degrees below Fahrenheit). After the female lays her egg， it's the male's job to keep it warm; meanwhile， after the trauma9) of penguin-birth the female takes a two-month feeding sabbatical10). The male balances the egg on his feet in subzero weather， often forced to huddle together with other males for warmth until their chicks hatch. They not only watch the fertilized eggs， but also go for months at a time in the freezing arctic without a meal. The fathers keep the eggs on their feet and covered with their bellies because contact with the sub-freezing ground can result in the immediate death of the embryo11) inside. The female penguins generally return shortly after the eggs hatch， but until they arrive， the daddy manages to feed the youngsters with a substance produced in his esophagus12). Only after the females return and the couple exchanges shifts does the male get to head to sea for a well-deserved meal.

那部電影(編注：《帝企鵝日記》)讓帝企鵝名聲大噪，也讓它們成了爸爸界的楷模。帝企鵝的繁殖地南極洲是地球上最冷的地方(零下72華氏度)。雌企鵝產下蛋后，就輪到雄企鵝給蛋做保暖工作了。與此同時，這些經歷了生產之痛的企鵝媽媽會休上兩個月的長假去進食。雄企鵝要在零度以下的天氣中穩住腳上的蛋，常常不得不和其他雄企鵝擠在一起相互取暖，直到小企鵝孵化出來。雄性帝企鵝不僅要負責呵護這些業已受精的蛋，還要在冰天雪地里一連數月不吃不喝。企鵝爸爸把蛋放在腳背上并用肚皮蓋住，因為蛋一旦接觸到冰冷的地面，蛋內的胚胎就會立即死亡。雌企鵝通常在小企鵝孵出不久后返回。但在企鵝媽媽沒回來之前，企鵝爸爸要靠自身食道分泌出的一種物質來喂養小企鵝。只有在雌企鵝到家、夫妻換崗之后，雄企鵝才能直奔大海享受應得的飽餐。

Namaqua Sandgrouse 納馬夸沙雞

Namaqua Sandgrouses live in Africa's southern deserts. During the incubation13) period， the dad sits on the nest at night and then the mother incubates the eggs during the day. The birds live in arid14) desert areas and the young chicks cannot make it to water， so the dad has to bring it to them， flying up to 50 miles a day to the nearest watering hole. He dips his belly in water every morning and his feathers absorb the water like a sponge. Each feather can hold up to eight times its weight in water. He then returns to the nest where the chicks can drink the water straight from his feathers.

納馬夸沙雞棲居在非洲南部沙漠地區。幼雞孵化期間，沙雞爸爸晚上臥在巢里孵蛋，而沙雞媽媽則在白天孵蛋。由于納馬夸沙雞生活在干旱的沙漠地區，出生的幼雞無力找水喝，所以沙雞爸爸必須每天跋涉50英里(譯注：約80公里)飛到最近的水坑帶水給它們喝。沙雞爸爸每天清晨都會將腹部浸入水中，它的羽毛能像海綿一樣吸水，每片羽毛最多可容納八倍于羽毛自身重量的水分。吸足水后，沙雞爸爸飛回鳥巢，這樣幼雞就可以直接從沙雞爸爸的羽毛里“喝”水了。

Great Horned Owl 大角號鳥

Most female birds are smaller than their male counterparts. For birds of prey， and especially for owls， this isn't true. Female great horned owls are much larger than the males， and they're the ones who guard the nests after they're built. This leaves the male to spend all his time feeding three to five hungry mouths， one of which outweighs15) him. He can sometimes spend the entire night catching small animals to feed his family without eating something himself.

大多數雌鳥的體型要比雄鳥小。然而對于猛禽，尤其是貓頭鷹來說，事實并非如此。雌性大角號鳥要比雄性大角號鳥體型龐大得多，待鳥巢建成后，它們就擔起了守衛鳥巢的職責。這樣一來，雄性大角號鳥就得全職喂養那三五張饑餓的小嘴，其中一只小號鳥比號鳥爸爸自己還要重。有時，雄性大角號鳥要整夜去捕捉小動物喂養一家人，而自己卻顧不上吃點東西。

Marmoset 狨猴

There are twenty-three species of marmoset， and though all marmosets are small animals， the fathers play a huge role in rearing their babies. Marmoset mothers generally have twins， and the babies together can weigh up to 25% of the mother's body weight. Because having babies is so taxing16) on female marmosets， it's up to the fathers to take care of their families. They spend much of their time feeding their mates and teaching their babies about the world， and they can even help deliver17) the babies when they are born.

狨猴共有23個品種。雖然狨猴個個身材矮小，但猴爸爸在養育孩子方面可謂擔子不輕。雌性狨猴一般懷的都是雙胞胎，兩只幼仔加起來的重量可達猴媽媽體重的四分之一。因為猴媽媽生育孩子極為艱辛，所以猴爸爸就要挑起照顧全家的擔子。它們要花費大量時間喂養猴媽媽，并教猴寶寶認識世界，甚至還會在猴寶寶出生時充當“助產士”。

1.lend a hand: 幫忙

2.in homage to: 向……致敬

3.go the extra mile: 付出更多代價

4.monogamous [m#601;#712;n#594;ɡ#601;m#601;s] adj. 【動】單配的，一雌一雄的

5.fertilize [#712;f#604;#720;t#601;la#618;z] vt. 【生】使受精，使受胎

6.hold your horses: 慢下來，停一停

7.thick skull: 頭腦遲鈍

8.wisecrack [#712;wa#618;zkraelig;k] n. 俏皮話

9.trauma [#712;tr#596;#720;m#601;] n. 【醫】外傷；損傷

10.sabbatical [s#601;#712;baelig;t#618;kl] n. 較長的假期

11.embryo [#712;embri#601;#650;] n. 【動】胚，胚胎

12.esophagus [i#712;s#594;f#601;ɡ#601;s] n. 【解】食管