Tiger poo is an effective new weapon in warding off animal pests, scientists said Wednesday, after years of experimenting with big cats’ feces collected from Australian zoos.
A team from the University of Queensland made the discovery as they researched non-lethal ways to keep herbi-vores, such as goats and kangaroos, away from certain plants, Associate Professor Peter Murray said.
While such repellents are typically based on offensive smells like rotten eggs, blood or bone, using tiger poo came from the idea that “if you can smell a predator nearby you would probably want to go somewhere else,” he said.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
Murray and his team, who have worked on the project for eight years, conducted tests on goats in a small paddock, placing the feces taken from local zoos near a feeding trough and monitoring events with a video camera.
They found big cats’ feces a more effective deterrent than those of other predators.
“The goats really didn’t like it. They wouldn’t go near the trough,” Murray told AFP. He said old goat carcasses also proved effective in warding off goats, but the smell was so bad that it made the scientists feel sick.
Photo: EPA 照片：歐新社
The researchers also found that the feces worked best as a deterrent when the tiger had been fed the animal being targeted.
“There’s not only a chemical signal in the feces that says ‘Hooley dooley, this is a dangerous animal’, it’s ‘Hooley dooley, this is a dangerous animal that’s been eating my friends’,” Murray explained.
The scientist said a number of species showed similar reactions to the feces, and he believed that with more funding, a synthetic tiger poo smell could be developed and potentially turned into a commercial product.
(AFP)
多年來針對澳洲動物園大型貓科動物糞便做實驗的科學家週三表示，老虎屎是驅避（對某些植物）有害蟲獸的一項新武器。
副教授彼得‧穆瑞說，「昆士蘭大學一個團隊的這項新發現，是用非致命的方式驅離像是山羊、袋鼠等草食性動物。」
他說，一般慣用的是臭雞蛋、血液或骨頭等具有強烈氣味的元素製成驅避劑，而使用老虎屎是從「若你聞到附近掠食性動物的氣味，你可能會想要到其他地方去」的觀點而來。
穆瑞與進行此計畫八年的團隊，在一個小牧場內對山羊進行試驗，將從當地動物園取得的糞便放置在餵養槽附近，並以攝影機全程監視。
他們發現，大型貓科動物的糞便當作遏止物比其他的掠食性動物的糞便更有效。
穆瑞告訴法新社說，「山羊真的不喜歡它。他們不願靠近餵食槽。」他說，老山羊的屍體也能驅離山羊，不過這個臭味使得科學家們難耐想吐。
科學家也發現特別是吃過要驅避動物的老虎屎，其驅避效果最佳。
穆瑞解釋說，「糞便不僅傳遞化學信號（讓驅避動物）說，『我的媽呀，這是個危險的動物』且『哇，這是隻已經吃下我朋友的危險動物。』」
科學家說有一些物種也出現類似的反應，且他相信在更多經費注入後，可能研發出合成的老虎屎氣味，並且有潛力改良成為一種商品。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
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