Sonic booms created by Israeli warplanes speeding across the sky are having the unintended consequence of launching hibernating crocodiles into mating mode, the daily Maariv reported last week.
According to the newspaper, each time warplanes break the sound barrier over a crocodile breeding farm in the Golan Heights, the randy reptiles begin emitting their ritual mating cry.
“The powerful squealing noises, reminiscent of the sound of a car braking, can be heard from hundreds of meters around,” David Golan, head of crocodile breeding at the Hamat Gader park, told Maariv.
PHOTO: AFP 照片:法新社
The calls appeared to be a response to the sonic booms, which seemed to convince the crocodiles that other males had begun making mating signals, the newspaper said.
There are around 100 crocodiles at the park, which is underneath airspace used by the Israeli air force for training runs.
A population boom is not expected, however, because the male crocs are all bark and no bite.
Despite issuing their signature mating calls when the planes break the sound barrier, there has been no uptick in actual breeding — and the “official” mating season does not begin until the summer.
(AFP)
以色列《晚禱報》(Maariv)上週報導,以色列軍機,超音速飛行產生的音爆,出乎意料使冬眠中鱷魚發情。
根據報導,每當軍機突破音障飛越戈蘭高地的鱷魚養殖場,蠢蠢欲動的爬行動物就開始發出他們儀式性的求偶叫聲。
哈馬特加代爾公園負責人大衛‧格蘭告訴《晚禱報》說,「強大尖銳叫聲,像汽車剎車的聲音,數百公尺遠都能聽見。」
《晚禱報》認為,鱷魚的叫聲回應,可能是因為把超音速飛行聲音誤認為其他雄性鱷魚的求偶信號。大約有一百隻鱷魚在哈馬特加代爾公園,該公園就在以色列空軍訓練領空下方。
這不致造成鱷魚大量繁殖,因為雄性鱷魚不會真的做什麼,它們只是叫叫罷了。
儘管鱷魚在飛機超音速飛行時發出求偶信號,實際繁殖量並未增加,況且「正式」的求偶季節要到夏天才開始。
(法新社/翻譯:林亞蒂)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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