世上只有媽媽好 海豹幼崽的人生第一課

海豹也是很可愛的動物呢！不過你見過剛出生的，幼幼小小的，身上還是淺黃色細軟毛毛的小海豹嗎？

The world can be a scary place for a seal pup less than 72 hours old. But even in the bitter, windswept bleakness of a Scottish beach, a helping hand is never far away. Sealed with a kiss, a young grey seal is seen nurturing her newborn baby through the first few days of its life.

對于出生不到三天的海豹幼崽來說，這個世界是個恐怖的地方。然而盡管身陷艱苦，在蘇格蘭海灘上幫助之手也從未遠離。一只年輕的海豹正寵愛地呵護著它剛出生不久的幼崽。

Indeed the pup is so young that its fur still has a yellow tinge from the fluid of its mother’s womb. The scene was captured by wildlife photographer Anna Henly discovered when she came across a 50-strong colony that had come ashore to bear their young.

剛出生不久，小海豹的皮毛還是淺淺的黃色。這一幕被野生動物攝影家安娜捕捉到了，當時她正好碰到海豹產下幼崽。

Those first moments are crucial for mother and offspring – from the moment it is born, she licks the pup, calls to it, pets it and protects it. Around 40 per cent of the world’s grey seals breed around Britain, with numbers increasing by about 7 per cent a year. A grey seal will spend most of its life – which can be up to 40 years long – at sea. Yet they are often seen close to shore. Unlike whales or dolphins, they give birth on land.

剛出生的時候對于母親和養育來說都是非常重要的，從它出生的那一刻起，母親會舔舐幼崽，呼喚它、愛撫它并且保護它。世界上大約40%的灰海豹在英國繁殖，每年數量大概增加7%。一只灰海豹會花大量的時間（壽命約40年）在海里，但是它們也會時常近岸。與鯨魚和海豚不同的時，它們在陸上產子。

Although some breeding grounds may appear in hospitable, that waterproof coat and a thick layer of blubber protects the seals from cold and wet. And the more inaccessible the sites are, the less likely they are to be disturbed by humans. For the meantime, this pup can count on the protection and support of its mother before it goes splashing around independently in the water. But the bond will soon be broken. In a few weeks, when it loses its cuddly white coat, the pup will be abandoned by its mother and sent off to fend for itself.

盡管一些繁育地環境不是很好，防水層和脂肪都會保護它們不受寒冷和潮濕的侵襲。并且，海灘越不容易靠近，它們越不容易受人類打擾。同時，在幼崽能獨立入水之前還有母親的保護和支持。但是幾周后，幼崽們就要自食其力了。當它們褪去幼崽的保護層，就要被母親“遺棄”獨自面臨大海了。

（來源：滬江英語 編輯：恬恬）