中英對照讀新聞》Why Do Chimpanzees Throw Poop? 黑猩猩為什麼要丟大便？

非洲加彭的羅安哥國家公園裡，一隻野生黑猩猩正打算享用烏龜肉。（美聯社檔案照）

◎劉宜庭

Going to the zoo can be a great adventure, especially if you find poop hurtling in your direction. The likely perpetrators, chimpanzees, are known to sometimes throw their feces at visitors.

遊覽動物園可能是一場大冒險，特別是當你發現有大便朝你飛來時。黑猩猩可能就是罪魁禍首，因為眾所周知牠們有時會對遊客扔擲糞便。

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Throwing feces is not a regular occurrence for primates, at least not most of them. Primates in the wild don’t normally throw feces. It’s typically observed only in captive populations of chimpanzees.

靈長類動物不常出現丟糞的行為，至少大多數的靈長類動物不會。野生的靈長類動物通常不會扔擲糞便。這種行為一般只有在圈養的黑猩猩族群裡才能觀察到。

Chimpanzees have hierarchical social groups. They are known to drag tree branches or throw rocks when they are frustrated or annoyed or when they want to display dominance.

黑猩猩族群有社會階級制度。眾所周知，當牠們感到沮喪、被冒犯或想展示主導權時，會搖動樹枝或扔擲石頭。

In zoo environments, especially if groups of people are staring at them, the chimps may get riled up or frustrated, and they may decide to convey that emotion to their captive audience.

動物園裡的黑猩猩，特別是牠們被一群人類盯著看時，可能感到生氣或沮喪，進而決定向豢養牠們的觀眾傳達這類情緒。

Since they’re usually deprived of rocks, or branches, or any small objects like that, for this exact reason, they opt for the next best thing that they have within reach, which is usually poop.

動物園裡的黑猩猩一般較難取得石頭、樹枝或其他類似的小物件，正因如此，牠們會選擇第二容易取得的東西，通常就是大便。

新聞辭典

chimpanzee：名詞，黑猩猩。例句：Chimpanzees that are better at throwing objects have more developed brains.（擅長扔擲物件的黑猩猩，擁有更發達的腦。）

poop：名詞，大便、屎。例句：These primates consider you worthy of their poop-throwing attention.（這些靈長類動物認為，你值得牠們透過丟大便來吸引你。）

feces：名詞，糞便、糞。例句：Feces, also called excrement, solid bodily waste discharged from the large intestine through the anus.（糞便也被稱為排泄物，是由大腸通過肛門排出的固體排遺。）

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