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Wolves Howl For Pals, Not Leaders
狼嚎是為了找尋同伴，而不是找尋首領
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 journal Current Biology.
獨行的狼嚎叫被認為是憂郁迷失的象征。現在科學家證明了這種說法是正確的。嚎叫跟狼的壓力程度沒有關系，跟狼的地位也沒有關系。對狼的嚎叫最好的預測是該狼與離它而去的那只狼的關系親密。這份研究發表在《當代生物學》上。
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.
研究人員將位于奧地利狼科研中心的狼分開。他們記錄了分開后20分鐘內狼的嚎叫狀況。接著科學家從嚎叫的狼口中取了唾液樣本，測量皮質醇循環水平。皮質醇是一種激素壓力指示劑。
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.
所有的分離都導致了皮質醇水平增加，不管是關系更好的同伴或者是其他同伴被帶走。但是當關系更好的同伴被帶走時嚎叫聲更凄慘。
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.
研究人員從而得出結論嚎叫程度取決于嚎叫者與離開者的關系，跟離開者的等級沒關系。原因很明顯，因為即使是狼也有好朋友。
—Arielle Duhaime-Ross
