Elephants are so different from human beings anatomically that we would think there would be very few parallels. Yet the more we learn about elephants, the more parallels we see. 

由于大象与人类的生理结构迥异，我们会认为两者之间几乎没有相似之处。然而，我们对大象了解越多，发现的相似之处就越多。

Females stay in their family groups for their whole lives, and the males will stay in their family groups until they become teenagers. Then the males will move out and hang out with other males in what’s known as a bachelor herd. The calves get raised by their relatives as well as their mum. Thus, sisters, brothers, aunties, grandma all contribute to the raising of the calf, much like we used to.

雌象一生都生活在自己的家庭族群当中，雄象则只会在家族中待到青春期。之后它们会走出族群，与其它雄象一起生活，这就是所谓的“单身象群”。幼象是由它们的亲戚和母亲合力抚养的。所以象姐姐、象哥哥、象阿姨、象外婆都会出力照顾小象，这跟我们过去很像。

Elephant families have a matriarchal head, meaning that an older, experienced lady elephant leads the herd. A family usually consists of a mother, her sisters, their babies (calves). Occasionally, non-related elephants join to form families. Female family units range from three to twenty-five elephants.

大象家族都有一个“女家长”，也就是说象群是由一头年长且经验丰富的雌象领导。一个家族通常由一头母象、它的姐妹及其孩子（幼象）构成。偶尔也会有非亲缘关系的大象加入进来组建家庭。一个雌象家族少则有三头大象，多则能达到二十五头。

Elephants seem to have strong, intimate social bonds. There have been reports of elephants forming lifelong friendships with each other, and they even mourn the death of their loved ones. Mother elephants have been seen grieving over stillborn calves, and some elephants have even been spotted returning to, and lingering near, spots where their friends and family members died.

大象之间似乎存在强力且亲密的社会联系。有报道称，大象间会结成终生友谊，它们甚至会为所爱之象的死亡而哀悼。人们曾见过母象为死产的小象哀伤，甚至见过有些大象回到同伴和亲人死去的地方并在附近徘徊。

Although they tend to be close, an elephant family can split. This decision is influenced by ecological factors, such as the availability of food and water in the area, and social factors, such as how well the elephants get on, the size of the group or the death of a matriarch. As such, different herds living over vast terrain can be interrelated. These “bond groups” keep in touch with each other through rumbling calls and usually stay within a mile of each other. 

尽管大象之间关系亲密，但大象家庭族群也会分裂。这一决定一方面受生态因素的影响，如生活区域中食物和水的供应情况，另一方面受社会因素影响，如大象的生活状况、群体规模或母象头领的死亡。因此，在一片广阔地域中生活的不同象群可能是相互关联的。这些“亲友群”通过隆隆的叫声保持联系，通常彼此相距不超过一英里。

Elephants are really amazing at staying in touch. They will communicate with each other using vocalizations, making sounds that are within human hearing range. But we know that they also use something called infrasound which is a very low-frequency sound. An advantage about infrasound is that it travels over very long distances. It can travel many miles. We believe that when elephants separate from each other in groups, they will keep in touch with each other using infrasound, eventually meeting back up together again, and they also will use that to coordinate their movements with each other. 

大象之间保持联系的本领着实惊人。它们会发出人类听觉范围内的声音进行彼此交流。但我们知道它们也会使用一种叫次声的东西，这是一种频率很低的声音，优点是可以传播到很远的距离。我们认为，当族群中的大象彼此分开时，会用次声保持联络，最终再次团聚。它们还会用次声来协调彼此的行进方向。

Elephants have a unique social structure that seems to echo our own. They face many of the struggles of co-existence that we struggle with. They are plagued with many of the emotional issues normally only associated with us humans. They also need to learn how to “get along” with others. They know how important family is, how valuable friends are. These magnificent creatures have demonstrated endless behaviors many people believed to be unique to humans. With less than 650,000 elephants remaining on the planet, they are in real danger of extinction, and it’s our job to protect them.

大象具有一种独特的社会结构，似乎与我们的社会结构相呼应。它们面临着许多我们也面临的共存的斗争。它们被许多通常只有我们人类才会有的情感问题困扰。它们也需要学习与其它大象的“相处之道”。它们知道家庭的重要、朋友的可贵。这种神奇的动物表现出的众多行为，许多人会以为是人类所独有的。地球上仅存不到65万头大象，它们面临着灭绝的危险，我们有义务保护它们。

VOCABULARY

anatomically: adv. 结构上，解剖学上

parallel: n. 相似特点

herd: n. 兽群

calf: n. 幼崽

matriarchal: adj. 母系的

stillborn: adj. 死产的；夭折的

terrain: n. 地域，地带

vocalization: n. 发声

infrasound: n. 次声

gregarious: adj. 群居的

plague：v. 烦扰；使痛苦，使烦恼