我们都需要时不时的做一些护理，动物世界也不例外。

 

We all need a little pampering¹ from time to time and the animal world is no exception. Creatures from the same species, and frequently from a completely different one, engage in a variety of cleaning and grooming² behaviours for a wide range of disparate reasons. So slip on a fluffy³ robe, lie back, relax and enjoy a mini spa day courtesy of these beautiful bathing beasts.

 

HAIR TREATMENT

 

Let’s start at the top shall we? It’s a familiar, practically iconic, image. A group of primates⁴, huddled⁵ together, grooming one another. Delicately picking at, and stroking, the fur of a companion and popping the occasional tasty morsel⁶ into their mouths. But what purpose does it serve? This allogrooming, or tending to the pelt⁷ of a member of the same species, is certainly social, used to indicate dominant⁸ social structure as well as to help fend⁹ off disease from germ-carrying parasites¹⁰ or ticks. But there are other, more surprising benefits. In macaques, this sort of attention has been shown to reduce heart rate and alleviate¹¹ stress, while a study of vervet monkeys has shown that grooming helps to insulate their fur by fluffing it up like a duvet.

 

FACIAL

 

Sometimes a grooming or cleaning regime helps to reach the parts that other grooming can’t reach. Honey bees are fastidious cleaners. Through millions of years of evolution, they instinctually know that their hive has to be kept completely clean of microbes and any other germ-ridden threat from the outside world. Which is tricky¹², as they tend to deal in the transportation of sticky substances such as pollen¹³ and propolis, or ‘bee glue’ which is used to construct their hives. To make sure they are free of such residue¹⁴, a specially¹⁵ designated worker bee will clean the mouth parts, antenna¹⁶ and any other bits of the insect that they can’t quite reach themselves.

 

TEETH CLEAN

 

But you don’t have to rely on members of your own clan¹⁷ to help keep spick and span. Some quite extraordinary, symbiotic¹⁸ relationships have developed between differing species which occasionally involve creatures that would usually be viewed as predator¹⁹ and prey²⁰. One of the more remarkable²¹ involves the Nile Crocodile and the Egyptian Plover²². Against every natural instinct pulsating²³ through its little bird brain, the plover flies into the croc’s mouth and frees food that’s stuck to their not insubstantial teeth. As well as the birds getting a quick snack, it helps to stave off infection that trapped morsels²⁴ can cause in the crocodile’s mouth.

 

MASSAGE²⁵

If you’ve ever known or been in close contact with a cat, you’ll appreciate that they have a tendency to be needy²⁶. And kneady. Yes, cats love to knead. They push on a surface - another cat, a cushion, their owners - with a distinctive²⁷ left paw, right paw motion, as if they are massaging²⁸ whatever they are touching²⁹. Or possibly making bread. But why do they do it? In fact, no one is really sure. One theory is it’s a throwback to kittenhood, when it was a technique used to start the flow of milk from their mother’s teat, so they repeat it when feeling safe and content. Another notion is that it harkens back to ancestral big cat behaviour, when they would trample³⁰ down a soft space before sleeping or giving birth. Or else it’s a territorial³¹ thing, marking a spot with the scent³² glands³³ on their paws. Nothing is ever straightforward³⁴ with cats.

 

PEDICURE

Thankfully, that strange craze for fish being used to nibble³⁵ dead skin from people’s feet as a form of pedicure has passed by. Unless you’re a hippo. Hippos are known for being incredibly bad-tempered³⁶ and quick to anger. So most animals steer³⁷ well clear of them once they appear. Except for the wily barb³⁸ fish who shadows a wallowing hippo as it relaxes on a riverbed, then nibbles³⁹ and chews at its patient’s skin, removing parasites and unwanted intruders from any cracks and scars on the surface. They even delve⁴⁰ into the hippo’s mouth for a quick dental check. Rather than being annoyed, the hippo seems to enjoy the experience and then actually goes into a sort of trance after being attended to, lying in the water, eyes closed and without a care in the world.

 

DERMABRATION

It may appear to be an unfeeling shield of bone, but the shell of the Hawaiian green sea turtle is covered in living skin and needs to be looked after. Many types of fish, such as the striking yellow tang fish, line up to clean algae⁴¹ from their shells, acting⁴² like a sort of ‘fish car wash’. The turtles even adopt a specific, ‘standing on tiptoe’ posture⁴³, so every inch of them can be dealt with. Some researchers believe that the turtles don’t necessarily appreciate why the algae needs to be removed, or even if it necessarily has to be cleaned at all, and so they partake in this behaviour merely for the pleasant tickling⁴⁴ sensation it produces.

 

点击收听单词发音