Seal pup kiss photo melts hearts

Could it get any cuter than seal pup kisses? The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Interior this week shared a photo of a Weddell seal nuzzling up to what looked to be its mom in Erebus Bay, Antarctica.

有什么比小海豹的亲吻更可爱的吗？本周美国地质调查局和美国内政部分享了一张照片——在南极洲伊里布斯湾，一只小威德尔氏海豹在一只看起来像他妈妈的大海豹身上蹭鼻子。

The photo was taken in October by USGS scientist William Link. Link, a statistician, was helping researchers tag newborn seal pups. He confirmed Friday that the adult seal was the baby’s mom.

照片于去年十月由美国地质勘探局科学家威廉·林克拍摄。他是一位科学家，帮助研究人员为新生小海豹贴标签。上周五，他确认这只大海豹就是那个小家伙的妈妈。

It’s hard to know what she was thinking when her baby nuzzled up to her in this photo, but Link said the animals flare their noses when disturbed, "so this Mom was pretty relaxed," Link told CNN Friday. "I have a great shot a few seconds later where Mom yawned hugely. She looked utterly content, to me."

在这张照片中，很难知道当这只小家伙在她身上蹭鼻子时，妈妈在想什么，但是，林克表示动物们在感到不安时鼻子会发红，“所以妈妈非常悠闲自在。”本周五林克这样告诉CNN。“几秒钟后，我大为震惊，海豹妈妈打了个大哈欠。她看起来对我非常满意。”

The agency’s public affairs department had asked scientists for interesting images to post on social media.

该机构公共事务部门已经向科学家寻求几张有趣的照片发布到公众媒体上。

As the Instagram caption notes, the Weddell seals of Erebus Bay have been studied extensively for over 40 years.

正如Instagram标题所言，科学家对伊里布斯湾的威德尔氏海豹进行了长达四十多年的研究。

"Because of its isolation, this population is undisturbed by human activities. The Weddell seal population is healthy and stable, and thus gives a good example for studies of animal population dynamics."

“由于与世隔绝，这一种群并没有受到人类活动的影响。威德尔氏海豹数量良好稳定，因此，为动物种群动态研究提供了很好的例子。”

Link said it was a privilege to see the animals up close.

林克说道，很荣幸可以这样近距离的看到他们。

"I was awed," he said. "It’s incredible that animals can live and thrive in such harsh conditions. It’s hard to describe the remoteness and isolation of the spot -- bitter cold, high winds, no life to be seen except for the seals, an occasional skua or an emperor penguin."

“对此，我充满敬畏，”他说，“动物在这样严酷的环境下竟然可以生存和繁衍声息，这真令人难以置信。很难用言语描述这里的遥远与隔绝，严寒，狂风，除海豹，一种特殊贼鸥和帝企鹅外看不到任何生命。”

After a seal pup is born, Link said its mom spends all her time close to her baby in a very small area, with hardly any interaction with other seals.

林克还说，当一只小海豹出生后，海豹妈妈会在很小的区域内一直和小宝宝在一起，几乎不与其它海豹互动交流。

"Mom doesn’t even leave for a swim until the baby is nearly ready to be weaned, and even then doesn’t get to eat. So while baby puts on a couple of hundred pounds, Mamma loses about twice that much," he said.

“海豹妈妈甚至不会离开宝宝去游泳甚至不会去觅食，直到宝宝准备开始断奶。所以，当宝宝长到大概几百磅后，妈妈体重却减轻了宝宝的两倍之多。”林克说道。

完成阅读

来源:爱语吧爱语吧作者:Lucia