When you think of "mothers", you think of beautiful, awesome and human women, who can whip up a strawberry cake one moment, and shoot marauding robbers the next. You definitely don't think of creatures with claws, fangs, and other things that will make you run away from – rather than into – their arms. Yet that's exactly what the animals below are: Creatures that rank high both on the "scare" and "care" factors. To see how they managed to be just that, let's take a closer look at them:
当你想到"母亲"一词,你会想起美丽的、知性的人类女性,她们可以这一秒做着草莓蛋糕,而下一秒向抢劫的强盗开枪。毫无疑问,你不会想到那些带着爪子、毒牙,和其它会吓跑你而不是让你跑进它们的怀抱的生物。然而,那些正是下面将提到的动物:这些生物高居恐怖指数和爱心指数生物的榜单。想要了解他们是如何成功做到这点的,就让我们更近距离的观察一下它们吧:
10.狼蛛
The Scare Factor: If the words "wolf" and "spider" together didn't scare you, then maybe this will: Wolf spiders are found everywhere. (Sorry, arachnophobes!) They don't spin webs like other spiders do, but they're always on the lookout for insect prey, on which they pounce a la their pack-loving namesake. When they're not hunting, they hide under rocks, or other objects lying around in people's homes. (Better check under your beds a.s.a.p.)
恐怖指数:如果"狼"和"蜘蛛"这两个词放在一起不会使你感到惊吓,那么只有一种情况:每一个地方都有狼蛛的身影。(抱歉,狼蛛恐惧症患者!)它们并不像其他蜘蛛一样织网捕食,但是,他们时刻警惕着到访的昆虫,会像自己的同类那样袭击昆虫。不捕捉猎物的时候,它们会躲在石头底下,或者是其他人类家里放置着的物品下面。(最好尽快检查一下你的床底)
The Care Factor: Aside from their hunting style, wolf spiders have one more thing in common with their canine namesakes: strong maternal instincts. Of all spiders, the wolf spider is the only one known for carrying dozens of her young (wrapped in an egg sac) on her back at any one time. Her care doesn't stop there, however: The moment the babies hatch, she lets them ride on her abdomen for a week, or until they're old enough to fend for themselves.
爱心指数:除了捕猎方式以外,狼蛛与他们的犬科同名者还有一个相似之处:强大的母性本能。在所有的蜘蛛里面,狼蛛是已知唯一一种会将包裹在卵囊之中的后代时时刻刻都背在背上的生物。但是,她们的爱并不止于此:一旦卵宝宝孵化,狼蛛母亲会让他们在她的腹部待上一周或是更长的时间,直到他们学会保护自己。
9.非洲岩蟒
The Scare Factor: As the largest snake in Africa, the African rock python is capable of taking down prey like warthogs, monitor lizards and even crocodiles. Like other pythons, it kills using powerful coils that crush and asphyxiate its victims. With its reputation for ferocity, and the fact that it's responsible for at least two reported human fatalities, this is not a snake you want to trifle with.
恐怖指数:作为非洲最大的蛇类,非洲岩蟒足以吞下一只疣猪、巨蜥,甚至鳄鱼一般大的猎物。像其他蟒蛇一样,岩蟒利用强有力的身体缠绕住猎物并将他们挤碎或使其窒息。鉴于它以凶猛出名,以及其至少要为两名人类的死亡负责的事实,这可不是你可以拿来玩弄的蛇类。
The Care Factor: Even a reptile as fierce as this has a caring side. Once she lays her 20 to 90 eggs, the African rock phython wraps her 17-foot-long coils around them to keep them from harm. So far, the African rock python is the only snake known to do this.
爱心指数:即便是如此凶猛的爬行动物也有充满爱心的一面。一旦产下20-90枚卵,非洲岩蟒就会将17英尺长的身体缠绕起来保护幼卵免受伤害。至今为止,非洲岩蟒是人类已知的唯一会这样的做的蛇类。
8.狼獾
The Scare Factor: There's a reason Marvel Comics named a superhero after this animal. The epitome of "small but terrible," wolverines are notorious for their habit of going after animals several times their own size. They've even been known to attack bears, though the results are sometimes fatal on the part of this largest member of the weasel family.
恐怖指数:漫威漫画公司根据狼獾塑造出"金刚狼"这个超级英雄是有原因的。狼獾体型不大,但生性凶猛。狼獾因性喜捕猎比自己体型大数倍的动物而声名狼藉。。狼獾因攻击熊而出名,尽管有时这种行为对于这个黄鼠狼家族里最大的成员(即狼獾)来说是致命的。
The Care Factor: Wolverines are notoriously difficult to study in their natural habitat, so we don't know much about them. What we do know is that female wolverines prove "badass" and "maternal instincts" aren't mutually exclusive. After giving birth to 2-3 "kits" in late winter or early spring, wolverine mothers dig caves up to 15 feet deep to protect their young. Although they can survive on their own by the time they're six months old, some kits stay with their mothers until they're sexually mature. Guess they need plenty of time to learn how to fight David-and-Goliath-type battles, eh?
爱心指数:众所周知,由于狼獾栖息地的原因导致我们对它们的研究很难进行,以至于我们对它们的了解有限。我们只知道,雌性狼獾的"坏"和"母性本能"并不冲突,同时存在。为了产崽,雌性狼獾会挖掘15英尺的洞穴,然后等到了冬季快要结束或者春天来临(一年中食物最充足的时间)的时候产下幼崽。每胎2-3只。尽管幼崽到了六个月的时候可以自己生活,但有些幼崽还是会跟随母亲生活,直到性成熟。
7.帝王蝎
The Scare Factor: Imagine a typical scorpion – complete with claws, stingers, and creepy-crawly feet. Now, imagine an 8-inch version of that, and you get the appropriately-named emperor scorpion. Its venom may not be as potent as those of other scorpions, but you still don't want to be within striking distance of its imperatoxin-producing stinger.
恐怖指数:想象一只普通的蝎子——满身的爪钩,尾端的毒刺,还有令人毛骨悚然的钳肢。现在另一只蝎子大约有八英寸,它就是帝王蝎。帝王蝎的毒液并没有普通蝎子强,但是你仍然会和这种身上带有毒针并且制造毒素的蝎子保持距离。
The Care Factor: Surprisingly, emperor scorpions are a timid bunch – unless you come across a female with her young on her back, or inside her belly. These babies are fiercely protected by their mother until their first molting period ends, at which point the mother leaves them to fend for themselves. If they insist on staying with Mom beyond that, they'd have to face the consequences (i.e. getting "grounded" in their mother's stomach).
爱心指数:让人意外的是,帝王蝎胆小,一般不会主动攻击,除非在它生产后把幼蝎托在背上期间或者是怀孕期的时候才会发起攻击。雌蝎保护背上的幼蝎直到它们第一次蜕皮。这时,雌蝎就会离开,让幼蝎自己寻找食物谋生。如果它们还呆在雌蝎身边,将面临着一直待在母亲怀里的结果,成为一个长不大的巨婴。
6.巨骨舌鱼
The Scare Factor: Size isn't the only thing that makes pirarucus the stuff of nightmares. Any fish that can survive piranha-infested lakes through the sheer strength of its scales deserves the title of "scarily awesome." Also, pirarucus have been known to leap and eat small birds unlucky enough to be perching near the water.
恐怖指数:尺寸并非是巨骨舌鱼成为人们梦魇的唯一原因。在巨骨舌鱼为患的湖中,任何凭借同类大规模的力量而生存下来的鱼类都值得"恐惧到令人敬畏"这一称号。同样,巨骨舌鱼也因能从水中一跃而起,吃掉那些靠近水面的不幸的小鸟而闻名于世。
The Care Factor: Normally, animals that can lay up to 50,000 eggs aren't the best parents in the world. But pirarucu parents are different: The father guards the nest, while the mother encircles the father and the eggs to protect them both from predators. With a setup like this, though, who'd want to attack a pirarucu brood?
爱心指数:通常情况下,产卵五万的动物算不上是世界上最好的。但巨骨舌鱼的父母却不是这样:雄鱼看护着巢,而雌鱼则环绕着雄鱼和幼鱼,以防它们被天敌攻击。通过这一系列设置,谁还会想着要攻击他们?