鹿角越大越容易被狼吃掉——反常识生物新发现

For female elk, there’s nothing sexier than two 250-kilogram male suitors tussling for her favor, their 1.2-meter-tall antlers locked in a battle of strength and determination.

对于雌雄麋鹿来说，没有什么比两头重达250公斤的想要赢得芳心的追求者把它们鹿角互顶来比拼力量和决心的场景更性感的 了。

But growing such powerful racks is risky, according to a new study, because males must shed their previous headgear early in the season to do so—putting them at risk of being killed by wolves.

但是，根据一项新的研究，长出如此强大的鹿角是有风险的，因为雄性必须在求偶季的早些时候脱掉之前的鹿角—这样就有被狼杀死的危险。

Elk regrow their racks every year, and the longer they have to do this, the bigger—and better—those antlers are when the fall mating season comes around.

麋鹿每年都会重新长出鹿角，长角所需要的时间越长，当秋天求偶季节来临的时候，长出来的鹿角就会越大—也越好。

Some drop them by early March, whereas others—particular young ones—keep them through April.

有些麋鹿三月初就会脱掉鹿角，而其他的—特别是年轻的—则会把鹿角保留到四月。

No one really knew why all elks don’t drop their antlers sooner.

无人知晓这些麋鹿为什么不全部一起更早地脱落鹿角。

Now, wildlife biologists chronicling the lives of wolves and their prey in northern Yellowstone National Park may have the answer.

如今，在黄石国家公园北部记录狼和它们的猎物的生活的野生生物学家们也许找到了答案。

A dozen years of data suggest wolves tend to target males who have lost their antlers.

十多年的数据表明狼倾向于攻击脱落了鹿角的雄鹿。

So, the earlier a male casts off his headgear, the greater his risk of getting eaten, the team reports today in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

所以，一头雄鹿脱落鹿角的时间越早，它被吃掉的风险就越大，这支研究团队在今天的《自然生态与进化》杂志上发表了论文。

These males tend to be the healthier males in the herd, so the finding runs counter to the conventional wisdom that predators focus on the weaker, sicker members.

这些雄性往往在鹿群中是更健壮的，所以这项发现跟传统的认为捕猎者会盯上更弱，或者有病的成员的观点背道而驰。

The study illustrates a difficult choice male elk have to make every year, one that likely keeps the size of the population’s antlers in check.

这项研究表明雄性麋鹿每年都要做出一个艰难的选择，这可能会抑制鹿角的大小。

Such compromises, the authors say, may be common in the animal kingdom.

作者说，这种妥协可能在动物王国中很常见。