《中英對照讀新聞》Clever Whale Uses Fish to Catch Seagulls聰明的鯨魚利用魚來抓海鷗

◎ 魏國金

An enterprising young killer whale at Marineland has figured out how to use fish as bait to catch seagulls - and shared his strategy with his fellow whales.

「海洋世界」裡一隻富有冒險精神的年輕殺人鯨，已經了解到如何以魚為餌誘捕海鷗，並且將其策略與同儕分享。

Michael Noonan, a professor of animal behavior at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., made the discovery by accident while studying orca acoustics. “One day I noticed one of the young whales appeared to have come up with a procedure for luring gulls down to the pool,” the professor said. “I found it interesting so I noted it in my log.”

紐約大學水牛城分校肯尼休斯學院的動物行為教授麥克．諾南在研究殺人鯨的聲音時，無意中有此發現。「有一天我注意到一頭年輕的殺人鯨似乎有一套誘使海鷗飛到水池來的做法，」教授說。「我覺得這很有趣，所以將它記在我的工作日誌。」

First, the young whale spit regurgitated fish onto the surface of the water, then sank below the water and waited. If a hungry gull landed on the water, the whale would surge up to the surface, sometimes catching a free meal of his own. Noonan watched as the same whale set the same trap again and again. Within a few months, the whale's younger half brother adopted the practice. Eventually the behavior spread and now five Marineland whales supplement their diet with fresh fowl, the scientist said.

首先，這頭年輕的鯨將胃內的魚吐至水面，然後沉入水中等待。若有一隻飢腸轆轆的鷗鳥飛臨水面，鯨魚就會浮出水面，有時便撈到免費的一餐。諾南注意到同一頭鯨一再設相同的圈套。幾個月內，這頭鯨的同母異父弟弟也採行此法。最後這項技巧廣傳開來，現在「海洋世界」的五頭鯨都會以新鮮的禽肉來補充牠們的飲食，這位科學家說。

新聞辭典

by accident：偶然、意外地，與on purpose的意思相反。例句：We met one another by accident.（我們偶遇。）

orca：虎鯨的學名，俗稱殺人鯨。

regurgitate：主要指將胃內的東西吐出，如反芻、反胃。The baby regurgitated milk from his stomach. （小寶寶吐奶。）

half brother：指同父異母或同母異父的兄弟。