自然科學外文書的部落格

友誼是沒有界線的，不論是人或動物。

　　很顯然的，不只人類需要友誼。《你是我遠的朋友》中一則又一則的故事告訴我們，不同的動物之間唯一的共通之處，就是牠們都能以最出人意料的方式建立起友誼，並在真誠的友情所帶來的溫暖、親密與信任中成長茁壯。

　　想像一下這些畫面：捕食動物和牠的獵物依偎在一起、鳥主動和哺乳類交朋友、魚從水裡探出吻部湊向狗兒的鼻子、或是巨大的大猩猩摟著小貓（這隻大猩猩名叫可可，出名的是牠會用手語和人溝通）。

　　科學作家珍妮佛．Ｓ.．霍蘭一一寫下了這些故事，探討牠們之間的關係。有時的確有合理的科學解釋，可能是孤兒為了向年長的動物尋求安慰，或是成年動物渴望撫養年輕的動物。例如那頭和劍羚寶寶成了朋友、還會保護牠的母獅子，這樣的情誼雖然出人意料，但不至於無法解釋。有的時候，友誼是出於需求，就像瞎眼的拉布拉多和牠的「導盲貓」那樣；不過也有時候，這只是個美好的謎。否則要該怎麼解釋河馬歐文和象龜麻吉這兩種脾氣拗得出名的動物，會變成一對好兄弟呢？

　　書中的每個故事都揭露了友誼的真實力量，讓人看到在動物界之中，似乎存在著許多不同形式的「愛」。沒錯，科學家或許會對這個說法嗤之以鼻，然而讀過這本書之後，你可能會對這個世界產生某種不同以往的感受。

　　Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. And almost inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey—an Indian leopard slips into a village every night to sleep with a calf. A lionness mothers a baby oryx.

　　It is exactly like Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . ”

　　Ms. Holland narrates the details and arc of each story, and also offers insights into why—how the young leopard, probably motherless, sought maternal comfort with the calf, and how a baby oryx inspired the same mothering instinct in the lionness. Or, in the story of Kizzy, a nervous retired Greyhound, and Murphy, a red tabby, how cats and dogs actually understand each other’s body language. With Murphy’s friendship and support, Kizzy recovered from life as a racing dog and became a confident, loyal family pet.

　　These are the most amazing friendships between species, collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs.

　　★本書中譯版《你是我永遠的朋友：47個不可思議的動物友情故事》由出版。

作者簡介

珍妮佛．Ｓ.．霍蘭　Jennifer S. Holland

　　是自然與科學新聞工作者，目前為《國家地理》雜誌的資深撰述，專長是生命科學和自然史（報導過的領域包羅萬象，包括爬蟲類、哺乳類、鳥類、阿米巴原蟲）。她和丈夫與兩隻狗、數十條蛇與壁虎住在一起。可惜就她所知，兩隻狗都還沒和任何一隻壁虎交上朋友，而蛇呢，則完全不跟別人來往。

　　Jennifer Holland is a senior writer for National Geographic magazine, specializing in science and natural history. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, two dogs, and dozens of snakes and geckos; none of whom, to her dismay, have crossed the species barrier to befriend the others.