Animals Frolic1 in the Absence of Humans 人類缺席的日子里嬉戲的動物們

Ariel Kim 顏丹

The COVID-19 pandemic2 has changed life. Millions of people worldwide are now under mandatory3 or voluntary lockdowns. All public attractions， including museums and aquariums4， are closed， and the usually crowded streets of popular tourist destinations are desolate5. During these challenging times for humans， many of the Earths other inhabitants6 are finally getting a chance to leave their normal habitats and roam freely.

The first animals to take advantage of human absence were Annie and Edward， two rockhopper penguins who reside7 at Chicagos Shedd Aquarium. A video released on March 15， 2020， showed the couple eagerly waddling around， exploring the aquariums various exhibits. The video， which at once went viral8， inspired other institutions to share clips of their four-legged residents9 frolicking as well.

On March 18， 2020， SUE the Tyrannosaurus-rex10 was seen stomping across the marble11 floors of Chicagos Field Museum to get a closer look at the penguins. When reached for comment， SUE said， “This is the moment I have been waiting for. The museum is mine to roam.”

However， rest assured12 the dinosaur was not the real SUE—the worlds best-preserved and most complete T. Rex skeleton13—but a costumed version created by the institutions social media team.

The Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio joined the fun trend on March 16， 2020， with a live-stream series—the first starring its cute baby hippo， Fiona. “Let us help make your childrens hiatus14 from school fun and educational，” zoo officials announced on Facebook. “Join us each weekday at 3 p.m.， where we will highlight one of our amazing animals and include an activity you can do from home.”

Meanwhile， the San Diego Zoo， Safari Park， and the Monterey Aquarium have kept their webcams rolling， allowing fans to enjoy colorful jellyfishes， lovable sleeping koalas without leaving home.

Animals in the wild are also flourishing15 as humans stay indoors. The absence of cruise ships is bringing large numbers of dolphins to the Italian port of Cagliari， while flocks of wild turkeys are happily roaming the streets of Oakland， California. In San Felipe， Panama， a group of raccoons16 have frequently been seen testing their surfing skills at the areas beautiful beaches.

Though the animals indeed appear to be having a good time， the heartwarming videos and images shared on social media， are also bringing much-needed cheer to millions of humans worldwide.

Stay strong and healthy！ We are all in this together！

新型冠狀病毒肺炎（COVID-19）的大流行已經改變了人們的生活。全世界數以百萬計的人現在處于強制或自愿的禁閉狀態。包括博物館和水族館在內的所有公共景點都關閉了，通常擁擠不堪的熱門旅游目的地的街道也變得荒涼無人。在人類面臨挑戰的這一時候，地球上的許多其他居民終于有機會離開它們平常的棲息地，自由漫步。

最早從人類缺席中抓住機會的動物是安妮和愛德華，它們是兩只生活在芝加哥謝德水族館的跳巖企鵝。2020年3月15日發布的一段視頻顯示，這對企鵝急切地四處游蕩，探索水族館的各個展區。這段視頻立即走紅，并啟發了其他機構分享他們四條腿的居民嬉戲的片段。

2020年3月18日，人們看到霸王龍蘇跺著腳在芝加哥菲爾德博物館的大理石地板上走來走去，仔細觀察企鵝。當聯系到蘇對此事發表評論時，蘇回答說：“這是我一直在等待的時刻。我可以在這個博物館自由漫游了?！?/p>

不過，請放心，這只恐龍并不是真正的蘇（世界上保存最完整的霸王龍骨架），而是該機構社交媒體團隊制作的服裝造型。

2020年3月16日，俄亥俄州的辛辛那提動物園加入了這個有趣的潮流，開展了一個直播系列——第一個由其可愛的小河馬菲奧娜主播?！白屛覀儙椭愕暮⒆觽儯屗麄冊趯W校停課的間歇時間變得有趣和有教育意義?！眲游飯@官員在“臉書”上宣布，“每個工作日的下午3點來加入我們吧，我們將重點介紹我們的一種神奇動物，還有你可以在家里進行的活動。”

與此同時，圣迭戈動物園、野生動物園和蒙特利水族館的網絡攝像頭一刻不停，讓粉絲們足不出戶就能欣賞到五顏六色的水母、睡著的可愛考拉等。

當人類待在室內時，野生動物也在繁衍生息。由于沒有游輪，大批海豚來到意大利卡利亞里港，而成群的野生火雞正在加利福尼亞州奧克蘭的街道上愉快地游蕩著。在巴拿馬的圣菲利佩，經常有一群浣熊在該地區美麗的海灘上測試它們的沖浪技能。

雖然這些動物看起來確實玩得很開心，但在社交媒體上分享的暖心視頻和圖片，也給全球數百萬人帶來了急需的歡樂氣氛。

保持強壯和健康！我們都在一起！

（英語原文選自：www.dogonews.com）

【Notes】

1. frolic [?????] v. 嬉戲 2. pandemic [?????] n. （全國或全球性）流行病

3. mandatory [?????] adj. 強制的;命令的

4. aquarium [?????] n. 水族館 5. desolate [?????] adj. 荒涼的;無人煙的

6. inhabitant [?????] n. 居民;居住者7. reside [?????] vi. 住，居住;屬于

8. viral [?????] adj. 病毒性的 ?go viral 像病毒般擴散;走紅

9. resident [?????] n. 居民 10. Tyrannosaurus-rex 雷克斯霸王龍（恐龍名稱）

11. marble [?????] adj. 大理石的 12. rest assured 放心;確信無疑

13. skeleton [?????] n. 骨架，骨骼 14. hiatus [?????] n. 裂隙，脫漏部分;間斷

15. flourish [?????] v. 繁榮;茁壯成長，處于旺盛時期

16. raccoon [?????] n. 浣熊