動物園的獵豹寶寶太害羞

While cheetahs might look like majestic and dangerous beasts, actually, they are very nervous beings. They get so anxious, they don’t know how to socialize with each other and get too stressed to have sex. That’s why they needed help as they’re becoming extinct – and the solution came in the most unexpected form…

雖然獵豹可能看上去像威嚴又危險的野獸，但實際上它們是非常膽怯的生物。它們非常焦慮不知道如何相互交往，而且會因爲太緊張而無法交配。因爲它們瀕臨滅絕，所以它們需要幫助，而解決的方法卻是以一種最難以預料的方式……

Seeing that cheetahs need some assistance, for years now zoo keepers have been assigning these animals their very own… emotional support dogs. “It’s a love story of one species helping another species survive,” said Jack Grisham, vice president at the St. Louis Zoo and species survival plan coordinator for cheetahs in North America.

鑑於獵豹需要些幫助，多年以來動物園管理員一直在爲這些動物指派他們特有的……情感支持犬。“這是一個物種幫助另一個物種生存下去的友愛故事，”聖路易斯動物園副總兼北美獵豹生存計劃統籌者傑克·格里沙姆說道。

“A dominant dog is very helpful because cheetahs are quite shy instinctively, and you can’t breed that out of them,” explains Janet Rose-Hinostroza, animal training supervisor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “When you pair them [cheetahs with dogs], the cheetah looks to the dog for cues and learns to model their behavior. It’s about getting them to read that calm, happy-go-lucky vibe from the dog” – and that helps them be more confident and willing to get it on.

“一隻有影響力的狗狗是非常有幫助的，因爲獵豹天生就很害羞，而且在人工繁殖的過程中，你也無法把它們的這種特性消除，”聖地亞哥野生動物園動物培訓主管珍妮特·羅斯-伊諾斯特羅薩解釋道。“當你把獵豹和狗狗配在一起的時候，獵豹會通過觀察它們而得到提示，並學着模仿它們的行爲。這是要讓獵豹從狗狗那裏感受到那種平靜且無憂無慮的氣氛”，並且這會使他們更自信，並願意交配。

Cheetahs are very socially awkward and shy animals – and that’s why they need dogs.

獵豹是非常不善於社交而且很害羞的動物，所以它們需要狗狗（的幫助）。

They get so anxious and stressed, they don’t breed and are becoming extinct.

它們太焦慮不安，無法繁殖後代，而且瀕臨滅絕。

When they have a dog around, cheetahs relax and learn confident behaviors they can mimic.

當有狗狗圍着它們的時候，獵豹就放鬆下來，並學習它們可以模仿的自信行爲。

“It’s a love story of one species helping another species survive.”

“這是一個物種幫助另一個物種生存下去的友愛故事。”

That’s right, cheetahs, relax and enjoy yourselves like doggies would – then procreate!

這就對了，獵豹，放鬆，像狗狗一樣盡情享受，然後繁殖後代去吧！