中英美文背誦：黑猩猩

The most striking single fact about chimpanzees is the flexibility of their social life, the lack of any rigid form of organization. It represents about as far a departure from the baboon type of organization as one can find among the higher primates, and serves to emphasize the great variety of primate adaptations. Chimpanzees are more human than baboons, or rather they jibe better with the way we like to picture ourselves, as free-wheeling individuals who tend to be unpredictable, do not take readily to any form of regimentation, and are frequently charming. (Charm is relatively rare among baboons.) Two researchers have described what they found during more than eight months spent among chimpanzees in their natural habitat the forest:"We were quite surprised to observe that there is no single distinct social unit in chimpanzee society. Not only is there no ’family’ or ’harem’ organization; neither is there a ’troop’ organization - that is to say, no particular chimpanzees keep permanently together. On the contrary, individuals move about at will, alone or in small groups best described as bands, which sometimes form into large aggregations. They leave their associates if they want to, and join up with new ones without conflict. " The general practice is best described as "easy come, easy go", although there are certain group-forming tendencies. As a rule himpanzees move about in one of four types of band: adult males only; mothers and offspring and occasionally a few other females; adults and adolescents of both sexes, but no mothers with young and representatives of all categories mixed together. The composition of bands may change a number of times during the course of a day as individuals wander off and groups split or combine with other groups. On the other hand, certain individuals prefer one another’s company. One of the researchers observed that four males often roamed together over a four-month period, and mothers often associated with their older offsprings.

黑猩猩最突出的一個特徵是它們社會生活的靈活性，即缺乏固定的組織形式。 它的這一特徵與狒狒的那種組織形態間的差別，在靈長動物中最爲突出。 由此可見靈長類動物中適應性變化的多樣性。 黑猩猩比狒狒更接近人類，或者說它與我們心願的自我形象更爲接近：自由自在，不落窠臼，不喜歡任何形式的約束並且往往魅力十足(在狒狒中魅力比較罕見)。 透過在黑猩猩的自然棲息地森林中對它們進行了 8 個月的觀察，兩名研究人員得出這樣結論："我們注意到在黑猩猩的社會中似乎沒有任何一種獨立的社會基本單位，這一點令我們很吃驚。 它們不僅沒有’家庭’或’妻妾’組織，也沒有’團隊’組織，也就是說黑猩猩沒有固定地生活在一起。 相反，每隻黑猩猩隨意流動，或是獨自一人，或是作爲最好稱之爲團伙的'一員。 團伙有時會與其它團伙合併成大的聚合體。 它們可以隨意離開同伴，並與其它黑猩猩組成新的團伙而不會產生任何糾紛。"把黑猩猩這一總的特性稱之爲"來得容易去得快" 是最恰當不過了。 但它們也有一定的羣體傾向性。 通常，黑猩猩羣的構成有以下4 種：僅有成年雄性； 母猩猩及其子女而且偶爾有幾隻其它的雌性猩猩； 雄性和雌性的成年和未成年黑猩猩但不包括有子女的雌性黑猩猩； 以及各種類型混雜在一起。一天之中一個團伙的組成可能變化好幾次，因爲有的成員可能離開，而且羣體可能會與其它羣體合併。 另一方面，有些黑猩猩有自己喜歡的夥伴。 一名研究人員發現四隻雄性黑猩猩在4 個月中常常共同遊蕩，還有母親們常與她們較年長的子女們在一起。