你家的貓貓狗狗會向你尋求幫助嗎？你以為這是你訓練有方？有一項研究顯示，你可能想多了，因為未馴化的袋鼠也會向人類求助，一起來看看吧！
Researchers find that just like domesticated animals, kangaroos can communicate when they want something.
研究人員發現，袋鼠就像馴化過的動物一樣，可以在需要東西的時候和人類交流。
Anyone with a pet knows that a dog or cat will communicate with their person whether they want a toy, to eat, or some attention. But a new study finds this behavior isn't limited to domestic animals. Kangaroos also can communicate with humans, particularly when they want something.
養過寵物的人都知道，狗狗或貓咪想要玩具、食物或者關注時，就會和鏟屎官交流。而一項新的研究發現，有這種行為的不僅僅只有馴化過的動物，袋鼠也可以與人類交流，尤其是當它們想要某些東西的時候。
Researchers from the University of Roehampton and the University of Sydney worked with kangaroos in Australia that had never been domesticated. They found that kangaroos gazed at a human when trying to get food which had been put in a closed box. The animals communicated with humans using gazes instead of trying to open the box themselves.
羅漢普頓大學（the University of Roehampton）和雪梨大學（the University of Sydney）的研究人員對從未馴化過的澳大利亞袋鼠進行了研究。他們發現，當袋鼠想取出放在密閉盒子中的食物時，就會注視人類。也就是說，動物用凝視的方式與人類交流、尋求幫助，而不是嘗試著自己打開盒子。
The behavior, which is usually exhibited by domestic animals, was unexpected, researchers said.
研究人員說，這種行為通常發生在馴化過的動物身上，很出人意料。
"I was very surprised, particularly on the first day of the field work when we were still developing the training protocols and one kangaroo actually demonstrated the gazing behaviour towards me. I think I actually gasped in disbelief as so many people doubted this would be possible," lead author Alan McElligott of the University of Roehampton (now based at City University of Hong Kong), tells Treehugger.
羅漢普頓大學（現就職於香港城市大學）的第一作者艾倫·麥克利戈特（Alan McElligott）告訴Treehugger網站：「我感到非常驚訝，特別是實地工作的第一天，那時，我們還在制定訓練方案，一隻袋鼠就盯著我看。我想自己當時一定倒吸了口氣，和很多人一樣懷疑這不是真的。
"For wildlife carers though, this behaviour may not come as a surprise. However, it is important to test the cognitive abilities of kangaroos under an accepted scientific setup so that we can compare results objectively and potentially further this work in other similar species."
「對於野生動物的護工來說，這種行為可能不足為奇。但是，在公認的科學機制下測試袋鼠的認知能力非常重要，因為這樣我們才能客觀地比較結果，並有可能在其它類似物種身上進一步開展這項工作。」
Getting Help with an Unsolvable Task
尋求幫助，完成「不可能的任務」
For the study, the researchers secured a clear plastic box to a wooden board and placed a food reward inside that was very attractive to the kangaroos, like a piece of sweet potato or carrot or a few dried corn kernels. A kangaroo entered the enclosure while the experimenter stood near the box and another researcher recorded the interaction.
在這項研究中，研究人員會把一個透明的塑料盒子固定在木板上，在盒子裡面放置對袋鼠極具吸引力的食物獎勵，例如一塊紅薯、一段胡蘿蔔或者一些幹玉米粒。當一隻袋鼠進入圍欄時，一名實驗者就會站在盒子旁邊，而另一位研究員則負責記錄互動情況。
This type of experiment is known as an unsolvable task because the animals need help to get what they want. Ten of 11 kangaroos actively looked at the person who had put the food in the box and nine of the 11 gazed back and forth between the box and the person. The study was published in the journal Biology Letters.
這類實驗被稱為「不可能的任務」，因為動物需要幫助才能獲得所需的東西。一共有11隻袋鼠參與該實驗，其中10隻會主動地盯著把食物放進盒子裡的人，9隻一會兒看看盒子，一會兒看看人類。該研究發布於《生物學報》（Biology Letters）。
"Through this study, we were able to see that communication between animals can be learnt and that the behaviour of gazing at humans to access food is not related to domestication. Indeed, kangaroos showed a very similar pattern of behaviour we have seen in dogs, horses and even goats when put to the same test," McElligott says.
麥克利戈特說：「通過這項研究，我們可以發現，動物之間的交流是可習得的，而凝視人類獲取食物的行為與馴養無關。確實，在相同的測試中，袋鼠表現出與狗、馬甚至山羊相似的行為模式。」
"Our research shows that the potential for referential intentional communication towards humans by animals has been underestimated, which signals an exciting development in this area. Kangaroos are the first marsupials to be studied in this manner and the positive results should lead to more cognitive research beyond the usual domestic species."
「我們的研究表明，人們低估了動物與人類交流的潛力，這種交流是有指向性、有目的的，這標誌著該領域有了振奮人心的發展。袋鼠是第一種以這樣的方式受到研究的有袋目哺乳動物，而該研究的積極成果將引領更多針對非常見馴養生物的認知研究。」
For the study, researchers tested kangaroos located in three locations: Australian Reptile Park, Wildlife Sydney Zoo, and Kangaroo Protection Co-Operative.
在這項研究中，研究人員所測試的袋鼠來自三個地方：澳大利亞爬行動物公園（Australian Reptile Park）、雪梨野生動物動物園（Wildlife Sydney Zoo）和袋鼠保護合作社（Kangaroo Protection Co-Operative）。
The kangaroos were chosen based on how willing they were to approach the experimenters. None of them had been used in any previous cognitive research.
研究人員根據袋鼠自願接近實驗者的程度來確定參與實驗的個體，還要保障它們從未參與過以前的認知研究。
"It was previously thought that 'asking' for help in the form of human-directed gazing and gaze alternations was a trait reserved for domesticated species, which have evolved in close proximity to humans," McElligott says.
麥克利戈特說：「以前，人們認為，凝視人類和交替凝視是馴養生物尋求幫助的特有形式，這些物種向與人類親密的方向進化。」
"However, the results challenge this notion, suggesting that wild animals (in this case kangaroos) can learn to communicate with humans through having direct contact with them. We also hope that this research highlights the advanced cognitive abilities of kangaroos and fosters more positive attitudes towards them."
「但是，此項研究結果挑戰了這一觀念，野生動物（比如這項實驗中的袋鼠）也可以通過與人類直接接觸學習和人類進行交流。我們也希望，這項研究能突出袋鼠發達的認知能力，從而改善人類對袋鼠的態度。」
親愛的小夥伴們，你還見過哪些動物向人類求助？歡迎留言與我們分享哦~