马和狗共享通用的游戏语言

马和狗共享通用的游戏语言

All animals play. Running, rolling and wrestling with each other is a way for them to have fun, of course. But it also seems to be how they communicate and strengthen bonds with each other.

所有的动物都会玩耍。当然，奔跑、翻滚和摔跤是它们娱乐的一种方式。但这似乎也是它们交流和加强彼此之间的联系的方式。

When a dog comes up to another dog, front legs bowed and his tail high and wagging, his buddy knows he wants to play. But new research shows that this play behavior is surprisingly similar when horses and dogs play.

当一只狗走近另一只狗，前腿弯着，尾巴高高摆动，它的伙伴知道它想玩。但新的研究表明，马和狗玩耍时的这种玩耍行为惊人地相似。

MARY JO DILONARDO

"Up to now, most studies have focused on dog-human play due to the important implications such studies have in understanding the peculiar relationship we establish with our pets," researchers from Italy wrote in the journal Behavioural Processes. "Here, we focused on social play between dogs and horses."

来自意大利的研究人员在《行为过程》杂志上写道:“到目前为止，大多数研究都集中在人和狗的玩耍上，因为这类研究对理解我们与宠物建立的特殊关系具有重要意义。在这里，我们关注的是狗和马之间的社交游戏。”

To study interspecies communication, Elisabetta Palagi and her colleagues from the University of Pisa found 20 YouTube videos of dogs and horses playing where their interactions lasted at least 30 seconds. They analyzed the videos, looking for specific patterns of play.

为了研究物种间的交流，来自比萨大学的Elisabetta Palagi和她的同事们在YouTube上找到了20段狗和马玩耍的视频，这些视频中狗和马的互动持续了至少30秒。他们分析了视频，寻找特定的游戏模式。

They found that while playing, both dogs and horses often had relaxed, open mouths — which is a common playful facial expression in mammals. Some also copied each others' movements, like pretending to bite, playing with an object, or rolling on their backs on the ground.

他们发现，在玩耍时，狗和马通常会放松地张大嘴巴——这是哺乳动物中常见的嬉戏面部表情。有些还会模仿彼此的动作，比如假装咬人，玩东西，或者在地上翻身。

The team also found that the dogs and horses mimicked each others' facial expressions. This behavior — called rapid facial mimicry — has been seen before in dogs, primates, meerkats and sun bears, points out National Geographic. But it has never been documented between animals of different species.

研究小组还发现，狗和马会互相模仿对方的面部表情。《国家地理》指出，这种被称为快速面部模仿的行为以前在狗、灵长类动物、猫鼬和太阳熊身上也见过。但在不同种类的动物之间却从未有过这样的记录。

"Taken together, our results suggest that, despite the difference in size, the phylogenetic distance, and differences in the behavioral repertoire, dogs and horses are able to fine-tune their actions thus reducing the probability of misunderstanding and escalating into aggression."

“总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，尽管狗和马的体型不同、进化距离不同、行为方式也不同，但它们能够微调自己的行为，从而减少误解并升级为攻击性的可能性。”

Why communication matters

为什么沟通很重要

A 2,000-pound horse can frolic with a relatively tiny dog because the two are able to communicate their intentions.

一只2000磅重的马可以和一只相对较小的狗玩耍，因为它们可以交流。

"It's an important study because it shows how two animals who look and behave so differently can nevertheless manage to negotiate how to play in a way that's comfortable for both," Barbara Smuts, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Michigan, told National Geographic.

“这是一项重要的研究，因为它展示了两只外表和行为如此不同的动物是如何设法协商如何以双方都感到舒服的方式玩耍的，”密歇根大学的行为生态学家芭芭拉·斯麦斯告诉《国家地理》杂志。

"It's even more noteworthy given the large size difference between horses and dogs. The dog is vulnerable to injury by the horse, and the horse has a deeply ingrained tendency to fear animals who resemble wolves."

“考虑到马和狗的巨大体型差异，这就更值得注意了。”狗很容易受到马的伤害，而马对像狼这样的动物有一种根深蒂固的恐惧倾向。”

Next up, the researchers write, is exploring the role of developmental pathways and familiarity in shaping Interspecies communication that "can be at the basis of a universal language of play."

接下来，研究人员写道，将探索发展路径和熟悉度在形成物种间交流中的作用，而这种交流“可能是一种普遍的游戏语言的基础”。