Cats First Finagled1 Their Way into Human Hearts and Homes Thousands of Years Ago數(shù)千年前喵星人征服人類心靈與家園

A few years ago， I had the opportunity to go on safari2 in southern Africa. One of the greatest thrills was going out at night looking for predators on the prowl3： lions， leopards， hyenas. As we drove through the darkness， though， our spotlight occasionally lit up a smaller hunter—a slender， tawny feline， faintly spotted or striped. The glare would catch the small cat for a moment before it darted back into the shadows.

幾年前，我有機(jī)會(huì)去非洲南部游獵。最刺激的事情之一是夜晚外出尋找徘徊的捕食者——獅子、豹子，鬣狗。然而，在黑暗中驅(qū)車前行時(shí)，我們的聚光燈偶然照亮了一個(gè)更小的獵人——一只細(xì)長(zhǎng)的黃褐色小貓，身上有淡淡的斑點(diǎn)或條紋。強(qiáng)光一照到小貓身上，它便迅速竄回暗處。

Based on its size and appearance， I initially presumed it was someone’s pet inexplicably out in the bush. But further scrutiny revealed distinctive features： legs slightly longer than those of most domestic cats， and a striking black-tipped tail. Still， if you saw one from your kitchen window， your first thought would be “Look at that beautiful cat in the backyard，” not “How’d that African wildcat get to New Jersey？”

根據(jù)它的體型和樣貌，我最初推測(cè)它是某人的寵物，莫名其妙地出現(xiàn)在灌木叢里。但進(jìn)一步仔細(xì)觀察后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了其與眾不同的特征：比大多數(shù)家貓略長(zhǎng)的腿和尖端呈醒目黑色的尾巴。但是，如果你從廚房的窗戶看到一只這樣的貓，你的第一反應(yīng)會(huì)是“看看后院那只漂亮的貓”，而不是“那只非洲野貓是怎么跑到新澤西來(lái)的？”。

As an evolutionary biologist， I’ve spent my career studying how species adapt to their environment. My research has been reptile-focused， investigating the workings of natural selection on lizards. Yet， I’ve always loved and been fascinated by felines， ever since we adopted a shelter cat when I was 5 years old. And the more I’ve thought about those African wildcats， the more I’ve marveled at their evolutionary success. The species’ claim to fame4 is simple： The African wildcat is the ancestor of our beloved household pets. And despite changing very little， their descendants have become among the world’s two most popular companion animals. （Numbers are fuzzy， but the global population of cats and dogs approaches a billion for each.） Clearly， the few evolutionary changes the domestic cat has made have been the right ones to wangle their way into5 people’s hearts and homes.

作為一名進(jìn)化生物學(xué)家，我在職業(yè)生涯中始終研究物種如何適應(yīng)環(huán)境。我的研究重點(diǎn)是爬行動(dòng)物，鉆研蜥蜴的自然選擇機(jī)制。然而，自從五歲時(shí)收養(yǎng)了一只收容所的貓后，我就一直喜歡貓科動(dòng)物并為之癡迷。我越想越驚嘆于這些非洲野貓?jiān)谶M(jìn)化上取得的成功。這個(gè)物種出名的原因很簡(jiǎn)單：非洲野貓是我們心愛的家庭寵物的祖先。盡管變化不大，但它們的后代已經(jīng)成為世界上最受歡迎的兩種寵物之一。雖然數(shù)據(jù)并不精準(zhǔn)，但貓和狗的全球數(shù)量各接近10億。顯然，家貓?jiān)谶M(jìn)化上所做的一些改變是正確的，這讓它們得以進(jìn)入人們的心靈和家園。

Why the African wildcat？

為什么是非洲野貓？

Big cats—like lions， tigers and pumas—are the attention-grabbing celebrities of the feline world. But of the 41 species of wild felines， the vast majority are about the size of a housecat. Few people have heard of the black-footed cat or the Borneo bay cat， much less the kodkod， oncilla or marbled cat. Clearly， the little-cat side of the feline family needs a better PR agent.

獅子、老虎和美洲獅等大型貓科動(dòng)物是貓科世界中引人注目的明星。但在41種野生貓科動(dòng)物中，絕大多數(shù)品種都和家貓差不多大小。很少有人聽說過黑足貓或婆羅洲金貓，更不用說南美林虎貓、小斑虎貓或者石紋貓了。顯然，貓科家族中的小貓咪需要一位更好的公關(guān)代理人。

In theory， any of these species could have been the progenitor of the domestic cat， but recent DNA studies demonstrate unequivocally that today’s housecats arose from the African wildcat—specifically， the North African subspecies， Felis silvestris lybica.

理論上，上述品種中的任何一種都可能是家貓的祖先，但最近的DNA研究明確表明，如今的家貓起源于非洲野貓，確切地說是北非的亞種——利比亞地區(qū)的野貓。

Given the profusion6 of little pusses， why was the North African wildcat the one to give rise to our household companions？ In short， it was the right species in the right place at the right time. Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent7 about 10，000 years ago， when people first settled into villages and started growing food.

既然有這么多的小貓咪，為什么是北非野貓?jiān)杏隽宋覀兊木蛹一锇槟兀亢?jiǎn)而言之，它是在合適的時(shí)間出現(xiàn)在合適地方的合適品種。人類文明大約始于一萬(wàn)年前的新月沃土，那時(shí)人們開始定居在村莊里，并開始種植糧食。

This area—spanning parts of modern-day Egypt， Turkey， Syria， Iran and more—is home to numerous small cats， including the caracal， serval， jungle cat and sand cat. But of these， the African wildcat is the one that to this day enters villages and can be found around humans.

新月沃土橫跨今天的埃及、土耳其、敘利亞、伊朗等國(guó)家的部分地區(qū)，是眾多小型貓科動(dòng)物（包括獰貓、藪貓、叢林貓和沙丘貓）的家園。但在這些貓中，迄今為止只有非洲野貓進(jìn)入了村莊，出沒于人類周圍。

African wildcats are among the friendliest of feline species; raised gently， they can make affectionate companions. In contrast， despite the most tender attention， their close relative the European wildcat grows up to be hellaciously mean.

非洲野貓是最友好的貓科動(dòng)物之一。在溫和的飼養(yǎng)下，它們可以成為親切的伙伴。相比之下，即使受到最溫柔的照料，它們的近親歐洲野貓長(zhǎng)大后仍然兇悍異常。

Given these tendencies， it’s easy to envision what likely happened. People settled down and started raising crops， storing the excess for lean8 times. These granaries led to rodent population explosions. Some African wildcats—those with the least fear of humans—took advantage of this bounty and started hanging around. People saw the benefit of their presence and treated the cats kindly， perhaps giving them shelter or food. The boldest cats entered huts and perhaps allowed themselves to be petted—kittens are adorable！—and， voilà9， the domestic cat was born.

鑒于這些習(xí)性，我們不難想見可能發(fā)生的事情。人們定居下來(lái)，開始種植農(nóng)作物，儲(chǔ)存多余的糧食以備荒年。糧倉(cāng)導(dǎo)致嚙齒動(dòng)物的數(shù)量激增。最不怕人類的那些非洲野貓趁機(jī)在糧倉(cāng)周圍徘徊。人們看到了野貓存在的好處，于是善待它們，或許還給它們提供窩棚或食物。最大膽的貓進(jìn)入了小屋，或許還允許人們撫摸——小貓?zhí)蓯哿耍【瓦@樣，家貓誕生了。

Where exactly domestication occurred—if it was a single place and not simultaneously throughout the entire region—is unclear. But tomb paintings and sculptures show that by 3，500 years ago， domestic cats lived in Egypt. Genetic analysis—including DNA from Egyptian cat mummies—and archaeological data chart the feline diaspora10. They moved northward through Europe （and ultimately to North America）， south deeper into Africa and eastward to Asia. Ancient DNA even demonstrates that Vikings played a role in spreading felines far and wide11.

目前人們尚未清楚馴化究竟發(fā)生在哪里——究竟是在單一地點(diǎn)，還是遍布整個(gè)地區(qū)。但墓葬壁畫與雕塑表明，早在3500年前，埃及就已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了家貓。基因分析（包含從埃及貓木乃伊提取的DNA）和考古數(shù)據(jù)勾勒出貓科動(dòng)物的遷徙地圖。它們向北穿過歐洲后最終到達(dá)北美，向南深入非洲，向東抵達(dá)亞洲。古代DNA甚至表明，維京人在貓科動(dòng)物的廣泛分布中發(fā)揮了作用。

Evolution of a master manipulator

操縱大師的進(jìn)化

Household cats are quite vocal to their human companions， using different meows to communicate different messages. Unlike the tail-up display， however， this is not an example of their treating us as part of their clan. Quite the contrary， cats rarely meow to one another.

家貓愛對(duì)它們的人類同伴“暢所欲言”，用不同的喵聲傳達(dá)不同的信息。然而，與翹尾巴不同的是，這并非它們把人類視作同類的表現(xiàn)。恰恰相反，貓與貓之間很少叫喚。

The sound of these meows has evolved during domestication to more effectively communicate with us. Listeners rate the wildcat’s call as more urgent and demanding （“Mee?O?O?O?O?O?W！”） compared with the domestic cat’s more pleasing （“MEE?ow”）. Scientists suggest that these shorter， higher-pitched sounds are more pleasing to our auditory system， perhaps because young humans have high-pitched voices， and domestic cats have evolved accordingly to curry human favor12.

在馴化的過程中，這些喵聲不斷進(jìn)化，以便能與人類更有效地交流。聽者認(rèn)為，家貓的叫聲（“喵-嗷”）令人愉悅，野貓的叫聲（“喵-嗚-嗚-嗚-嗚-嗚！”）則更急切、更有壓迫感。科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為，對(duì)于我們的聽覺系統(tǒng)來(lái)說，短而高亢的家貓叫聲比較悅耳。這也許是因?yàn)槿祟愑揍痰穆曊{(diào)較高，所以家貓為了討人喜歡也相應(yīng)地進(jìn)化了。

Cats similarly manipulate people with their purrs. When they want something—picture a cat rubbing against your legs in the kitchen while you open a can of wet food—they purr extra loudly. And this purr is not the agreeable thrumming of a content cat， but an insistent chainsaw13 br-rr-oom demanding attention.

類似地，貓用它們的呼嚕聲來(lái)操縱人類。當(dāng)想要什么東西的時(shí)候，它們會(huì)發(fā)出格外響亮的呼嚕聲——想象一下，當(dāng)你在廚房打開一罐濕糧時(shí)，一只貓?jiān)谀愕耐壬喜鋪?lái)蹭去。這種呼嚕聲并不是貓得到滿足時(shí)發(fā)出的愉悅哼聲，而是求關(guān)注的鏈鋸般持續(xù)嗡嗡聲。

Scientists digitally compared the spectral qualities of the two types of purrs and discovered that the major difference is that the insistent purr includes a component very similar to the sound of a human baby crying. People， of course， are innately attuned to this sound， and cats have evolved to take advantage of this sensitivity to get our attention.

科學(xué)家們用數(shù)字技術(shù)比較了兩種呼嚕聲的聲譜特征，發(fā)現(xiàn)二者主要的區(qū)別在于，持續(xù)的呼嚕聲有一種與人類嬰兒哭聲非常相似的成分。當(dāng)然，人類天生就對(duì)這種聲音很敏感，而貓已經(jīng)進(jìn)化到利用這種敏感性來(lái)吸引我們的注意。

Of course， that won’t surprise anyone who’s lived with a cat. Although cats are very trainable—they’re very food motivated—cats usually train us more than we train them. As the old saw goes， “Dogs have owners， cats have staff.”

當(dāng)然，任何和貓一起生活過的人都不會(huì)對(duì)此感到驚訝。雖然由于貓非常容易被食物激勵(lì)，人類很容易訓(xùn)練貓，但貓對(duì)人類的訓(xùn)練通常比人類對(duì)貓的訓(xùn)練要多。正如諺語(yǔ)所言：“狗有主人，貓有仆人。”

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>

1 finagle欺詐，騙取，設(shè)法獲得。" 2 safari（尤指在非洲進(jìn)行的）觀察野生動(dòng)物之行，游獵。" 3 on the prowl悄然潛行（以捕獵或?qū)ふ遥?/p>

4 claim to fame一舉出名的事，成名的原因。" 5 wangle one’s way into成功設(shè)法進(jìn)入（某地或某種狀態(tài)）。

6 profusion大量，眾多。" 7 the Fertile Crescent新月沃土（指西亞底格里斯河和幼發(fā)拉底河之間孕育了人類文明的沃土），因其在地圖上的形狀像一彎新月而得名。

8 lean貧乏的，蕭條的。" 9 voilà〈法語(yǔ)〉那就是，這就是。" 10 diaspora（任何民族或群體的）大移居。

11 far and wide到處，四處，廣泛地。" 12 curry favour （with somebody）討好某人，奉承某人。

13 chainsaw（尤指伐木用的）鏈鋸。