Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.
Nasilne Hobotnice
Violent Octopuses
Written by Dora Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate
Hobotnice so zelo iznajdljive in simpatične, včasih pa tudi nasilne.
Octopuses are very resourceful and likeable, and sometimes violent.
Če jim gredo druge hobotnice na živce, vanje mečejo pesek, kamenčke ali celo školjke, je ugotovila avstralska raziskovalna skupina.
If other octopuses get on their nerves, they throw sand, pebbles or even shells at them, an Australian research team has found.
Znanstveniki so dolgo mislili, da bližnjo hobotnico s peskom zadenejo le po naključju, saj ga ob pospravljanju svojih bivališč običajno mečejo vsenaokrog.
Scientists have long thought that they hit a nearby octopus with sand only by chance, as they usually throw it all around while cleaning their homes.
Ob spremljanju vedenja hobotnic v avstralskem morju pa so dojeli, da se hobotnice, ki druge namenoma obmetavajo, ob tem drugače vedejo.
However, by monitoring the behaviour of octopuses in the Australian Sea, they realized that octopuses that deliberately obstruct others behave differently.
Zmožnost metanja predmetov v druge hobotnice kaže na zelo visoko inteligenco hobotnic.
The ability to throw objects at other octopuses indicates very high octopus intelligence.
Druge hobotnice takšno vedenje prepoznajo in hitro vidijo, da jih bo nekaj zadelo, zato se pogosto pripravijo na umik. Zanimivo je, da se napadene hobotnice običajno ne odzovejo z metom nazaj.
Other octopuses recognize this behaviour and quickly see that something will hit them, so they often prepare to retreat. Interestingly, attacked octopuses usually do not respond by throwing back.
Raziskovalna skupina je denimo opazovala, kako je samica kar desetkrat vrgla pesek v samca, ko se je ta poskusil pariti z njo. Zadela ga je le petkrat, saj se je samcu uspelo umakniti, ob tem pa ni ničesar vrgel proti njej.
For example, a research team observed a female throw sand at a male ten times when he tried to mate with her. She hit him only five times as the male managed to retreat without throwing anything at her.
»Takšno zaporedje dogodkov me je prepričalo, da so meti namerni,« pravi vodja raziskave dr. Peter Godfrey-Smith.
"Such a sequence of events convinced me that the throws were intentional," says the head of the research, Dr. Peter Godfrey-Smith.
Med opazovanjem vedenja hobotnic so opazili celo prizor, ko je metanje školjke v drugo hobotnico spominjalo na podajanje frizbija.
While observing the behaviour of the octopuses, they even noticed a scene where throwing a shell at another octopus was reminiscent of passing a frisbee.
Večinoma so pesek ali školjke metale samice, ki so ciljale samce.
Mostly, sand or shells were thrown by females targeting males.
Metanje predmetov v druge osebke je pri živalih sicer zelo redek pojav, ker je zanj potrebna zelo visoka raven inteligence. Zabeležili so ga le pri šimpanzih in nekaterih drugih primatih.
Throwing objects at other individuals is a very rare phenomenon in animals because it requires a very high level of intelligence. It has only been recorded in chimpanzees and some other primates.
Hobotnice so že večkrat pokazale, da so izredno inteligentne in celo nasilne. Če si drznejo loviti na njihovem območju, ribe boksajo in celo pretepajo.
Octopuses have repeatedly shown that they are extremely intelligent and even violent. If fish dare to hunt in their area, they will box and even fight them.
Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.
