New technology is putting the focus on rarely witnessed aggression between two of the fiercest predators in North America. For the last few decades, populations of cougars and bears have been on the rebound. But until recently, researchers didn’t know how these formidable predators interacted.

　　新技术把焦点放在了北美两大最凶猛的食肉动物间的罕见的侵略行为上。在过去的几十年，美洲狮和熊的数量一直在回升。但是直到现在，研究人员还不知道这两种强大的食肉动物之间是如何相互影响的。

　　To improve their understanding of these potential heavyweight matches, scientists set up motion-sensitive cameras in British Columbia, where both species are increasing in number. The researchers rigged the countryside so that black bears wandering the shorelines of Vancouver Island would trigger the playing of recorded sounds of cougar growls over loudspeakers. Video cameras captured the bears’ reactions—which were not timid.

　　不列颠哥伦比亚处两个物种的数量一直在增加，为了加深对这两个重量级物种的了解，科学家在那里设立了高灵敏度运动捕捉相机。研究人员在乡间地区安装了设备，这样，黑熊在温哥华岛的海海岸线处游荡时，就会触动扩音器进而播放美洲狮的叫声。视频照相机拍摄下了黑熊的反应-它们并不害怕。

　　They almost invariably approached the sound source and in many cases did so in sort of an aggressive manner. Justin Suraci, an environmental studies researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, involved with the research.

　　“它们总是会触碰到声源，并且在很多情况下，是以一种咄咄逼人的架势”。Justin Suraci是加州大学圣克鲁兹分校的一位环境研究人员。他也参与了此项研究。

　　This aggressive behavior manifested in different ways. Mother bears were the feistiest, with six moms actually charging the cougar sounds and one even biting a speaker. On the other hand, solitary bears moved towards the speakers making a huffing noise often associated with aggression.

　　这种侵略性的行为以不同的方式显现出来。熊妈妈的脾气是最暴躁的，实际上，有6个熊妈妈冲向美洲狮发生的叫声，其中一个甚至撕咬扬声器。而，另一方面，落单的熊会移向扬声器发出气势汹汹的怒吼。

　　Suraci says that the cougar sounds could represent an easy opportunity for the bears to make a food heist. Cougars in the area often cache the seals and sea lions they kill and come back to them for days. But bears will seek these meals out, driving the big cats away from their leftovers. The research is in the journal Ethology.

　　Suraci表示，美洲狮发出的叫声对于熊来说代表着可以不费吹灰之力抢夺食物。这个地区的美洲狮会把杀死的海豹和海狮藏起来，数天之后才回来取食。但是，熊就会找到这些食物，然后将这些大猫赶走。该研究结果发表在《动物行为学》杂志上。

　　The findings help researchers get a better idea of how populations of large predators will interact as they recover on the landscape.

　　该研究结果帮助研究人员深化了解了，大型食肉动物群在同一地方是如何相处的。

　　There’s a lot of research suggesting that when you’ve got a whole suite of these larger apex predators, cougars, wolves and bears for instance in North America, they’re not all essentially on equal footing. And the interactions that determine who’s on top are full of sound and fury.

　　“很多研究表明，当同时有很多大型顶端食肉动物时，例如北美的美洲狮、狼和熊等，实际上，他们的地位并不平等。”至于谁处于顶端取决于在互动时，谁的叫声更大更凶狠~