The wolf’s effective hunt of large prey and striking, soulful appearance have attracted both haters and lovers of this wild predator.

狼對(duì)大型獵物的高效捕殺，外加其醒目且充滿靈氣的外表，同時(shí)勾出了人們對(duì)這種野生掠食者的憎恨和喜愛(ài)。

Wolves were so despised that the U.S. government established a bounty program that helped to eliminate all but a few hundred wolves in the United States by the 1930s. But thanks to the Endangered Species Act, the wolves are successfully being reintroduced to their place in nature, and it is the raven who loves its new ecosystem partner.

狼被鄙視的程度如此之深，以至于美國(guó)政府曾制定出一項(xiàng)懸賞計(jì)劃，該計(jì)劃實(shí)施到20世紀(jì)30年代的時(shí)候，已經(jīng)幫助美國(guó)把狼殺剩至幾百頭。但多虧了《瀕危物種法案》，狼被重新引進(jìn)到它們?cè)谧匀唤缰械募覉@，而愛(ài)上這個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中新伙伴的正是烏鴉。

Much like their human counterparts, ravens and wolves have formed a mutually beneficial relationship in which they seem to both respect and engage each other in playful activities.

很像人類(lèi)之間出現(xiàn)的情況，烏鴉和狼已經(jīng)構(gòu)成了一種互惠互利的關(guān)系，在這種關(guān)系中，它們似乎很尊重彼此，還會(huì)一同嬉戲。

Although many animals benefit from a wolf pack’s kill of an elk or deer, the ravens are first on the scene. Yellowstone National Park biologists have closely studied the gray wolves which were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and found that it is the raven who has benefited the most from the wolves. The average number of ravens present at a wolf kill is 30 – and up to 135 have been recorded to eat from the leftovers. Adirondack Wildlife, Inc. has reported a new study suggests that the real reason wolves hunt in packs is “to minimize the portion of a carcass lost to ravens!” These birds constantly carry away chunks of meat and can steal up to one-third of an animal carcass.

雖然很多動(dòng)物都能從狼群捕殺馬鹿或鹿（多指白尾鹿）的活動(dòng)中獲利，但烏鴉是第一個(gè)冒頭的。黃石國(guó)家公園的生物學(xué)家對(duì)1995年時(shí)重新引入黃石公園的灰狼進(jìn)行了仔細(xì)的研究，然后發(fā)現(xiàn)，因狼群而受益最多的是烏鴉。在一個(gè)狼群捕殺的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，平均會(huì)有30只烏鴉在場(chǎng)，而且，根據(jù)記錄，會(huì)有多達(dá)135只烏鴉去吃狼群吃剩的殘骸。阿迪朗達(dá)克野生動(dòng)物股份有限公司的報(bào)告說(shuō)：一項(xiàng)新研究表明，狼成群捕獵的真正原因是"為了最大限度地降低尸骸被烏鴉吃掉的比例！"這些鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)不斷地叼走肉塊，能偷走的量達(dá)到了一具動(dòng)物尸骸的三分之一。

While it may appear that the ravens just take advantage of the wolves, Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds, writes that the ravens repay their wolf benefactors: “At a kill site, the birds are more suspicious and alx than wolves. The birds serve the wolves as extra eyes and ears.”

雖然看起來(lái)是烏鴉在占狼的便宜，但《烏鴉的心靈：對(duì)與狼伴生的鳥(niǎo)展開(kāi)的調(diào)查和冒險(xiǎn)》一書(shū)的作者貝恩德·海因里希寫(xiě)道，烏鴉會(huì)回報(bào)于它們有恩的狼。"在捕殺現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，鳥(niǎo)比狼更多疑也更警惕。這些鳥(niǎo)起到了額外的眼睛和耳朵的功能，以此來(lái)服務(wù)狼"。

Ravens may also lead wolves to animal cadavers or to nearby prey. It is believed that the wolves may respond to the ravens’ calls or other behavior that indicates food. Sometimes when the ravens fly, the wolves will follow. Ravens have even been observed leading wolves to animal carcasses too tough for the ravens to penetrate with their strong, sharp beaks.

烏鴉也可能會(huì)引導(dǎo)狼群找到動(dòng)物尸骸或是附近的獵物。據(jù)信，狼可能會(huì)對(duì)烏鴉的呼叫或其他指示食物的行為作出反應(yīng)。有時(shí)在烏鴉飛起來(lái)時(shí)，狼也會(huì)跟著它們跑。甚至還有人觀察到過(guò)，烏鴉把狼群領(lǐng)到了靠它們自己那鋒利的硬喙啄不透的堅(jiān)硬尸骸跟前。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處


When not competing for their next meal, wolves and ravens also play with each other. Observers have seen ravens dive at the wolves and then quickly fly away. Ravens may peck at the wolves’ tails to get the wolves to chase them, or the ravens may be teased themselves by wolf cubs chasing after them.

當(dāng)狼和烏鴉不需要為了下一餐而競(jìng)爭(zhēng)時(shí)，它們也會(huì)一起嬉戲。觀察者曾見(jiàn)過(guò)烏鴉向著狼群俯沖，然后迅速飛離。烏鴉可能還會(huì)去啄狼尾巴，好勾引狼去追它們，有些烏鴉也可能會(huì)放任追趕它們的小狼崽戲耍自己，以此取樂(lè)。

While their relationship with ravens has certainly produced an odd couple in nature, wolves have also created a staggering effect on the natural ecosystem as a whole. The Yellowstone National Park wolf restoration program has been intensively studied and the wolves have provided a greater understanding of the importance of their role as a predator in maintaining the integrity of the entire ecosystem. They remind us that “in nature everything is connected to everything else” (from “The Wolves of Yellowstone,” Brooks/Cole division of Thomson Learning, Inc.).

狼和烏鴉的關(guān)系固然造就了自然界中的一對(duì)古怪伴侶，但狼也對(duì)整個(gè)自然生態(tài)系統(tǒng)造成了驚人的影響。黃石國(guó)家公園的狼群恢復(fù)計(jì)劃已經(jīng)得到了集中深入的研究，狼群讓我們對(duì)它們這種掠食者在維護(hù)整個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)完整的方面發(fā)揮的作用有了更多更深入的了解。它們提醒了我們，"在大自然中，每一種生靈都是和其他一切生靈相互關(guān)聯(lián)的"（摘自《黃石公園的狼》）。