Wolves Howl for Pals, Not Leaders

Wolves Howl for Pals, Not Leaders
狼为同伴嚎叫，而非首领
The lone wolf’s howl has long been chosen as a symbol of melancholy and loss. Now researchers have demonstrated that the choice was accurate. Howling is not related to the stress level of the crying canine or the dominance status of the departing wolf; the best predictor of a wolf’s howl is the closeness of the howler’s relationship with the wolf leaving its side. The study is in the journalCurrent Biology. [Francesco Mazzini et al., Wolf howling is mediated by relationship quality rather than underlying emotional stress]
独狼的嚎叫一直以来被认为是忧伤和失落的象征。然而，研究人员发现这种想法并不准确。嚎叫与狼的紧张程度或者离群的狼的地位没有关系。最好的解释是嚎叫的狼与不在一起的狼的关系程度。这项研究来自journalCurrent Biology. [Francesco Mazzini et al., Wolf howling is mediated by relationship quality rather than underlying emotional stress]。
The researchers separated individuals living in Austria’s Wolf Science Center. They recorded the resulting howls for 20 minutes after separation. Then the scientists took a sample of saliva from the howling wolves to measure circulating levels of cortisol, a hormonal stress indicator.
研究人员把奥地利狼科学中心的狼个体分隔开。20分钟之后，他们记录了狼的嚎叫声。然后，科学家们采集了狼的唾液，来测量皮质醇的流动程度，一种表征压力程度的激素指标。
Cortisol levels increased during all separations, whether a preferred partner or any other pack mate was taken away. But howling was much more pronounced when a close partner was removed.
在整个隔离过程中，皮质醇的含量增加，不管是关系好的伙伴，或者普通伙伴被带走。但是当亲密同伴被带走时，嚎叫声更显著。
The researchers thus concluded that the level of howling was determined by the relationship of the howler with the separated wolf, regardless of the removed wolf’s rank. Because even a wolf, apparently, can have a best friend.
研究人员于是总结，嚎叫程度取决于嚎叫的狼与隔离的狼的关系，而不管狼的地位。因为即使是狼，很明显，也会有一个好朋友。