【精英翻譯】的部落格

Quokkas: The Marsupial That’s All Smiles

短尾矮袋鼠：帶著微笑的有袋動物

精英翻譯社轉自https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/359838/web/

It’s not often that a little-known animal becomes a social media star, but that’s exactly what happened to a smiling Australian creature called a quokka. After tourists began posing for social media photos with the confident little animal, the quokka’s friendliness began earning it popularity worldwide.

鮮為人知的動物成為社群媒體的明星並不常見，但這正好就發生在一種會微笑的澳洲生物、名叫短尾矮袋鼠的身上。遊客開始在社群媒體上發布與這種充滿自信的小動物的合照後，短尾矮袋鼠的友善開始替牠在世界各地博得人氣。

Quokkas are cat-sized marsupials that mainly live on small islands in Western Australia. Its name comes from a similar-sounding native Australian word. Quokkas have short brown or gray fur, small ears, and a unique mouth that makes them appear to be smiling! Its appearance has led some to describe quokkas as the world’s happiest animals.

短尾矮袋鼠是貓咪大小的有袋動物，主要生活在西澳的小島上。牠的名字來自一個聲音類似的澳洲原住民單詞。短尾矮袋鼠有著棕色或灰色的短毛、小耳朵和一張讓牠們看似在微笑的獨特嘴巴！牠的外表讓一些人將短尾矮袋鼠描述為世界上最快樂的動物。

Naturally active at night, quokkas will eat during the day if they can find food. They prefer eating grasses and plants, which is also how they get their water. When food is scarce, they rely on fat stores in their tails to survive.

短尾矮袋鼠天生在夜間很活躍，如果牠們能找到食物就會在白天進食。牠們較喜歡吃草和植物，這也是牠們攝取水的方式。食物短缺時，牠們靠著尾巴上儲存的脂肪來生存。

Quokkas are eager to start their own families, and females give birth just one month after mating. As with kangaroos, another type of marsupial, mother quokkas carry their babies in a pouch until they become independent, which for baby quokkas is around six months old.

短尾矮袋鼠渴望成立自己的家庭，而母短尾矮袋鼠在交配後只要一個月就會生產。就像袋鼠（另一種有袋動物）一樣，短尾矮袋鼠媽媽把寶寶放在一個育兒袋裡直到牠們獨立為止，以短尾矮袋鼠寶寶來說大約是六個月大。