世界動物

“長壽”歷來為世界各國的人們所追求——不光是人類，動物們也都力爭成為長壽之星呢。看看本文所介紹的這些目前為止各種動物中的最長壽者，也許會讓你瞠目結舌。

Tortoise

This photo of a tortoise was taken on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The tortoise， named Jonathan， still lives there today. He may be the world’s oldest living tortoise.

A spokesman for the island’s tourist board said Jonathan is owned by the St. Helena government and lives in the specially built plantation on the governor’s land.

He said:“Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St. Helena Island in 1882. ”

He was already mature when he arrived and was at least 50-year-old.

“Therefore his minimum age is 179 years old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St. Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.”

Clam1

Icelandic scientists have found a 400-year-old clam， nearly twice as old as any other animal in history.

The clam—a quahog2 or， technically， Arctica islandica3—spent those centuries in the frigid Atlantic waters off Iceland’s north coast. As the press release4 notes， “When this animal was a juvenile， King James I replaced Queen Elizabeth I as English monarch5， Shakespeare6 was writing his greatest plays Hamlet， Othello， King Lear and Macbeth and Giordano Bruno7 was burnt at the stake for espousing8 the view that the Sun rather than the Earth was the centre of the universe.”

Rabbit

14-year-old George， from Tewksbury， Massachusetts in the US， was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by Guinness World Records.

The average life expectancy9 of a rabbit is six to eight years， making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos10.

Cat

Spike， a ginger and white tom11， died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001—making him the world’s oldest cat.

He was bought for two shillings and sixpence12 in London’s Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died at the age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog. Spike’s owners， from Bridport in Devon， used to put aloe vera13 gel into his cat food.

Spider

The world’s oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the theraphosidae14 family， which lived to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid15 was captured in Mexico in 1935.

Dog

At 29， black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September， 2008.

She was bought from an RSPCA16 sanctuary17 26 years ago and lived out her long life18 in Derbyshire.

Guinea Pig19

The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years， but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.

Monkey

Bueno， a black spider monkey20， died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world’s eldest monkey.

She lived a“stress-free”life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi， 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years.

Goldfish

Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age21 of 43 after being won at a funfair22 in Doncaster in 1956.

As he aged， his scales23 faded from orange to silver. His owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then.

烏龜

這張烏龜?shù)恼掌臄z于南大西洋的圣赫勒拿島。照片上的烏龜名叫喬納森，至今仍生活在那里。他可能是目前存活于世的最長壽的烏龜(編者注：據(jù)稱喬納森生于1832年)。

該島旅游委員會的一名發(fā)言人稱，喬納森歸圣赫勒拿政府所有，目前生活在總督府屬地上一個特別為他修建的種植園里。

這位發(fā)言人說：“喬納森是1882年來到圣赫勒拿島上的三只烏龜中唯一健在的一只。

“他來到島上時就已經(jīng)成年了，當時至少有50歲。

“因此，他現(xiàn)在最少也有179歲，可謂是圣赫勒拿島上年齡最大的居民，也被認為是世上現(xiàn)存最長壽的烏龜。”

蛤

冰島科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)了一只400歲的蛤，這一年齡幾乎是史上其他動物最大年齡的兩倍。

這只蛤是一只簾蛤，學名為冰島北極蛤，它在冰島北岸冰冷的大西洋海域度過了四個世紀。正如新聞稿所說：“這只蛤年幼時，詹姆斯一世接替伊麗莎白一世成為英國君主；莎士比亞正在創(chuàng)作他最偉大的劇作《哈姆雷特》《奧賽羅》《李爾王》和《麥克白》；焦爾達諾·布魯諾因支持太陽而非地球是宇宙的中心這一觀點而被燒死在火刑柱上。”

兔子

美國馬薩諸塞州蒂克斯伯里鎮(zhèn)14歲的兔子喬治被《吉尼斯世界紀錄大全》認定為世界上最長壽的兔子。

兔子的平均預期壽命是6～8年，因而喬治的歲數(shù)相當于人類的160歲。他的主人們在大學里相識，曾喂過“多力多滋”玉米片給他吃。

貓

斯皮克是一只黃白相間的公貓。2001年7月，他在過完31歲生日兩個月后辭世，這讓它成了世界上壽命最長的貓。

1970年，斯皮克被主人以兩先令六便士的價格從倫敦的布里克巷集市買回來。他19歲時曾遭到一只狗的襲擊，險些喪命。斯皮克的主人住在德文郡的布里德波特市，他們以前常常往他的貓食里放蘆薈凝膠。

蜘蛛

據(jù)說世界上最長壽的蜘蛛是一只捕鳥蛛科的雌蛛，他活到了28歲。1935年，人們在墨西哥捕捉到了這只食鳥蜘蛛。

狗

黑色的拉布拉多犬貝拉死于2008年9月，時年29歲。她被認為是英國最長壽的狗。

26年前，她在皇家防止虐待動物協(xié)會的一個收容所被人買走，此后在德比郡過完漫長的一生。

豚鼠

豚鼠的平均壽命為5～8年，但官方記錄有活了14年零十個半月的。

猴

2005年，一只名叫布埃諾的黑蜘蛛猴與世長辭，時年53歲，被認作是世界上最長壽的猴子。

她生前在日本愛知縣(位于東京以西150英里處)的猴子世界主題公園里過著“無憂無慮”的生活。黑蜘蛛猴的平均壽命為30～33歲。

金魚

金魚蒂什以43歲的高齡打破了所有同類的長壽紀錄。1956年，蒂什的主人在英國唐克斯特市的一個露天游樂場贏得了這只金魚。

隨著蒂什日漸衰老，他的魚鱗已由橘色褪成了銀色。主人希爾達·漢德說，讓蒂什長壽的秘訣是不要給他喂太飽，并且常讓他曬太陽。

注釋

1. clam n. 蛤，蛤蜊

2. quahog n. <美>【動】(北美產(chǎn)的)簾蛤

3. Arctica islandica: 冰島北極蛤

4. press release: 新聞稿

5. 這句指1603年3月24日，英國女王伊麗莎白一世去世，國王詹姆斯一世即位。女王伊麗莎白一世(1533～1603)是國王亨利八世的女兒，她統(tǒng)治的時期被稱為英國歷史上的“黃金時代(The Golden Age)”。

6. Shakespeare: 莎士比亞(1564～1616)，英國詩人、劇作家。文中提到的四部作品是他著名的四大悲劇。

7. Giordano Bruno: 焦爾達諾·布魯諾(1548～1600)，意大利哲學家、天文學家。

8. espouse vt. 支持(某一想法、主義或信仰)

9. life expectancy: 預期壽命

10. Doritos: 多力多滋，一款零食，是一種三角形的玉米片。

11. tom n. 雄性動物

12. sixpence n. (英)六便士(硬幣)，1971年前在英國流通。

13. aloe vera n. 蘆薈汁

14. theraphosidae n. 捕鳥蛛科；狒蛛科

15. arachnid n. 蛛形綱動物

16. RSPCA: (= Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)皇家防止虐待動物協(xié)會

17. sanctuary n. 避難所

18. live out one’s life: 某人在某處度過一段時間或余生

19. guinea pig: 豚鼠；天竺鼠

20. black spider monkey: 黑蜘蛛猴(產(chǎn)于中南美洲)

21. ripe (old) age: 高齡

22. funfair n. 公共露天游樂場，游樂集市

23. scale n. 鱗