牧羊犬和狼

导语：

专业从事放牧工作的犬，我们称之为“放牧”。“牧羊犬”是人们赋予专职放牧类犬的一个总称，不是一个单独品种，“家族庞大，犬丁兴旺”，其中包括“苏格兰牧羊犬”、“喜乐蒂牧羊犬”、“边境牧羊犬”等。在过去千百年间，牧羊犬是负责牧羊、畜牧的犬种。大部分牧羊犬的牧羊行为不是训练出来的，而是出于一种放牧狼的本能。作用就是在农场负责警卫，避免牛、羊、马等逃走或遗失，也保护家畜免于熊或狼的侵袭，同时也大幅度的杜绝了偷盗行为。 插图：

原文：

If you ever see a sheepdog at work, you might be amazed at how well suited its actions are to the very human concern of keeping a flock of sheep together. What's more amazing, much of a sheepdog's behavior doesn't have to be trained, but is already present as a complex set of sheep herding instincts.

A scientist who studies ethnology, or animal behavior, might ask how prehistoric shepherds first coaxed such useful behavior from their domesticated wolves, the ancestors of today's sheepdogs.

As a matter of fact, a sheepdog's herding instinct isn't so different from the natural hunting instincts that all wolves share. For example, when a pack of wolves hunts a herd of caribou, they begin by circling their prey, crouching low if the caribou become too alarmed.

Occasionally, if a caribou bolts, a wolf will jump up and nip at its neck, steering it back toward the herd. These hunting instincts help gather the prey together, making it easier to bring them down when the pack leader jumps in for the kill.

Early shepherds took advantage of these wolf instincts when training their domesticated dogs. The dogs viewed the shepherd as their pack leader, and they controlled the flock of sheep the same way their wolf cousins would control a herd of caribou in the wild always steering the flock toward the shepherd.

Indeed, it's difficult to persuade modern sheepdogs to steer their flock in any other direction. The wild instinct of directing prey toward the pack leader is still too strong. Centuries of selective breeding have refined these instincts to a considerable degree, but the foundation of a sheepdog's behavior comes from the wild. 注释：

behavior n. 行为 instinct n. 本能

ethnology n. 动物行动学 domesticated v. 驯化 caribou n. 驯鹿 shepherd n. 牧羊人 persuade v. 说服 refined adj. 精炼的 参考译文：

如果你曾经见过一只工作中的牧羊犬，你可能会被它们矫健的身手震撼。它们像人类一样把一群羊赶到一起，进行看管。更令人震惊的是，大部分牧羊犬的这种行为不是训练出来的，而是出于一种放牧的本能。

一位专门研究动物行为学的科学家可能要问，史前的牧羊人是如何训练他们圈养的狼——现在牧羊犬的祖先——首次去做这种管用的行为呢？

事实上，牧羊犬放牧的本性与狼捕猎的本性没有两样。比如，当一群狼在捕猎一群驯鹿的时候，开始时他们会围住猎物，如果驯鹿变得极其警觉，他们便屈膝保持低位。

有时如果驯鹿逃跑，一只狼会跳上去咬住它的脖子，把它扭回鹿群中。这些捕猎的本能帮助狼群把猎物集中起来。当狼群领袖跳起来扑杀猎物时，捕猎就变简单了。

早期的牧羊人在训练牧羊犬时，就吸取了狼的这些本能。狗把牧羊人当做领袖，用狼在野外控制驯鹿群同样的方法控制羊群，并把羊群赶向牧羊人。

其实，让现代的牧羊犬向任何一个方向去赶羊群都很困难。然而狼群把猎物赶到领袖那里的本能还是很强烈。几个世纪的物种选择已经很大程度上提升了这些本能，而牧羊犬行为的基础却源自荒野捕食。 练习：

1. What's more amazing, much of a sheepdog's________ （行为）doesn't have to be trained, but is already present as a complex set of sheep herding _______(本能).

2. when a pack of wolves hunts a herd of_________(驯鹿), they begin by circling their prey, crouching low if the caribou become too alarmed.

3. it's difficult to_______(说服) modern sheepdogs to steer their flock in any other direction. 参考答案：

1. behavior, instincts 2. caribou 3. persuade