Animal Groups Strength in Numbers

Animal Groups. Strength in Numbers. Written by Catherine Follett. Focus Question. What are the benefits of animals working and living in a group?

动物群体。 团结力量大。 凯瑟琳·福莱特 著。 思考问题。 动物群居合作有什么好处呢？

Introduction Did you know that a group of giraffes is a tower, or that a group of crows is a murder? There are also pods of whales, swarms of bees, and schools of fish. All these unique names point out something important. Many animals live in groups, yet other animals, such as tigers, moles, and sloths, live just

导言 你知道吗，一群长颈鹿叫作"塔"，一群乌鸦叫作"谋杀"？ 还有鲸群、蜂群和鱼群。 这些独特的名字点明了一个重要事实。 许多动物过群居生活，而老虎、鼹鼠、树懒这类其他动物，只

Small families A small family is made up of parents and their young. For some animals, such as skunks, cheetahs, orangutans, and grizzly bears, a family is a mother that raises her babies. For others, including penguins, parrots, foxes, and finches, both mothers and fathers bring up their young. Small families often have close bonds. Mother cheetahs groom their babies by licking them. Baby bears play with each other and their parents. Crane parents dance together, seabirds call, and fox families pounce and play. These bonds encourage members of the family to care for and protect each other.

小型家庭 小型家庭由父母和幼崽组成。 对于臭鼬、猎豹、红毛猩猩、灰熊这类动物来说，家庭只有母亲抚养幼崽。 对于企鹅、鹦鹉、狐狸、雀类这类动物来说，父母会共同养育幼崽。 小型家庭的成员往往关系紧密。 猎豹妈妈通过舔舐帮幼崽清洁身体。 熊宝宝会和兄弟姐妹们还有父母一起玩耍。 鹤爸爸妈妈会一同跳舞，海禽会鸣叫呼应，狐狸一家会扑闹玩耍。 这种紧密关系让家庭成员懂得互相照顾、彼此保护。

The main job of small families is caring for the young. Some families only stay together until the young can live on their own. A mother moose and her calf stay side by side for about a year. When the calf is grown, it leaves. After that, moose live solitary lives. Other families last for the long term. Pairs of albatrosses, which are large seabirds,

小型家庭的核心任务就是养育幼崽。 有些家庭只会共同生活到幼崽能够独立生存。 驼鹿妈妈和幼崽会相伴生活大约一年。 幼崽长大之后，就会离开。 在那之后，驼鹿就独自生活了。 还有一些家庭会长期共同生活。 成对的信天翁，也就是大型海鸟，

Animals that form small families often have helpless young. Most are birds or mammals. Bird parents must feed babies until they can fly. Baby mammals nurse from their mothers. A few other kinds of animals form small families as well. For example, mother crocodiles guard their babies from hungry fish or birds. Clownfish fathers fan fresh water over their eggs to care for them. Small families make sure the young grow big, healthy, and skilled enough to survive on their own.

组成小型家庭的动物，它们的幼崽往往没有自理能力。 这类动物大多是鸟类或者哺乳动物。 鸟父母必须一直喂养幼鸟，直到它们能够飞翔。 哺乳动物幼崽靠吃母乳长大。 还有少数其他种类的动物也会组成小型家庭。 比如鳄鱼妈妈会保护幼崽，不让饥饿的鱼类或鸟类伤害它们。 小丑鱼爸爸会给鱼卵扇动新鲜水流，以此照料它们。 小型家庭能确保幼崽长大，变得健康强壮，拥有足够的技能独立生存。

Bands. Animal families can be small or large. Some animals live in bands or extended families. Bands include mothers, fathers, young, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives. Some bands include unrelated animals. They are usually mates of the family members. Rarely, a band will adopt another animal that has no band. Lions, wolves, whales, dolphins, monkeys, chimps, and elephants all live in bands. Bands work together to raise young. Some adult animals watch the young while others find food. Siblings, cousins, and other youngsters all play together.

大群体。 动物的家庭可大可小。 有些动物生活在大群体，也就是扩展家族中。 大群体包含父母、幼崽、祖父母、姑姑、叔叔、堂表亲以及其他亲属。 有些大群体也包含没有血缘关系的动物。 它们通常是群体成员的配偶。 偶尔，大群体会收留没有归属的外来动物。 狮子、狼、鲸鱼、海豚、猴子、黑猩猩和大象都过群体生活。 群体成员会合作养育幼崽。 一些成年动物照看幼崽，另一些外出寻找食物。 兄弟姐妹、堂表亲和其他幼崽都会一起玩耍。