给你看一条会装死的蛇

这条蛇受到威胁时会装死

The North American hognose snake, aka “puff adder, aka “zombie snake”, has a taste for the dramatic. When threatened, this natural-born artist likes to play dead in the most overacted way imaginable.

北美猪鼻蛇，名“扑腹蛇”，又名“僵尸蛇”，喜欢演戏。当受到威胁时，这位天生的艺术家喜欢以最夸张的方式装死。

The hognose snake got its first nickname, “puff adder”, for its main defense mechanism. To scare away threats, it sucks in air and spreads the skin around its head and neck like a cobra, hissing loudly and pretending to prepare for a vicious snake. But if that doesn’t work, it has another intriguing trick up its sleeve. And that’s where the second nickname, “zombie snake”, comes in. According to the Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina, if a predator isn’t impressed by the snake’s threatening display, it “will then feign death by opening its mouth, rolling over on its back, and writhing around. If turned over onto its belly, it will immediately roll again onto its back”.

猪鼻蛇因其主要的防御机制而获得了它的第一个绰号“扑腹蛇”。为了吓跑对方，它会吸进空气，并像眼镜蛇一样把皮肤铺在头部和颈部，发出响亮的嘶嘶声，假装要对付一条凶恶的蛇。但如果这行不通，它还有另一个有趣的花招，这也是第二个绰号“僵尸蛇”的由来。根据北卡罗来纳州两栖类和爬行类动物的说法，如果捕食者对这条蛇所发出的威胁表现的不以为然，它“就会张开嘴，翻身，扭动身体，假装死亡”，如果把它翻过来，它还会立即翻回去。

Writhing around isn’t quite the most accurate description of this actor’s performance. It’s more like squirming that goes on for quite a bit before it finally freezes in place, having seemingly succumbed to a gruesome end. If a person is familiar with this Oscar-worthy performance and pick up the hognose snake, it will start moving again, and in rare cases even bite in desperation. But its natural enemies don’t have opposable thumbs or a keen eye for acting, for that matter, so they can’t check if it’s actually dead. Believe it or not, in most cases, they actually walk away from its “corpse”.

对于它的表演，扭动身体并不是最准确的描述。这更像是扭动了很长一段时间，最终不得不死的一种可怕结局。如果有人了解这一把戏，把猪鼻蛇拿起来，它就会重新开始扭动，在极少数情况下甚至会绝望地咬人。但它的天敌们并不会像人一样，有一双敏锐的眼睛能分辨它是否是真死。不过在大多数情况下，天敌们真的会离开它的“尸体”，信不信由你。

Scientists know that the eastern hognose snake’s “play dead” trick is a defense mechanism, but they haven’t yet figured out why it’s actually effective. Many of its natural enemies don’t shy away from juicy, fresh carrion, but for some reason they choose to stay away from a “dead” hognose most of the time. Some experts suggest that it may have something to do with the dramatic way in which the artist fakes its death, which may be perceived as a sign of disease or poisoning by the predator.

科学家们知道东方猪鼻蛇的“装死”其实是一种防御机制，但他们还没有弄清楚为什么会有效。它的许多天敌对这种刚死的猎物并不回避，但出于某种原因，天敌们最终会选择远离这条“死蛇”。一些专家提出，这可能与它夸张的装死方式有关，那种变态的扭动会让人联想到患病或是中毒。

Reptile Magazine writes that the snake may have a way of storing toxins from the toads it loves to feast on, and somehow releases it from its body while squirming in agony, to deter predators from coming close to its “dead” body. These are just theories though, but at the end of the day what matters is that the act works.

《爬行动物》杂志写道，这种蛇喜欢吃蟾蜍，它可能会从蟾蜍身上储存毒素，并在痛苦地扭动身体时以某种方式将毒素释放出来，以阻止捕食者靠近它“死去”的身体。虽然这些只是理论，但说到底，重要的是这个行为真的有效。

Interestingly, only the North American variety of hognose snake plays dead. Its South American brother relies on its vivid colors to keep threats at bay.

有趣的是，只有北美品种的猪鼻蛇会装死。它的南美兄弟则会依靠鲜艳的颜色来抵御威胁。