Name: 【動物】小動物大能力！倉鼠到底如何在臉頰裡塞這麼多食物？ (How Hamsters Can Stuff So Much Food In Their Cheeks)
Uploaded: 2018-12-31T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 3 min 8 s

Hamsters, like Soda Pop, can stuff up to 20% of their body weight into their cheeks.

倉鼠如同汽水般，可以將等同於體重百分之二十的東西塞入自己的臉頰內。

For comparison, that's like the average person carrying around 30 extra pounds of food, or about 120 quarter pounders.

好比一般人把三十磅重的食物帶在身上，或大約是一百二十個四盎司牛肉堡。

It would be a cool party trick, but not very comfortable or, let's face it, even possible.

這會是酷到爆的派對把戲，但你不會感覺太舒服就是了，或老實說啦，這簡直不可能！

But they don't stuff their faces for parties, or even because they're hungry.

不過牠們不是為了開趴而把臉塞滿滿，或是因為肚子餓。

In the wild, yes, there are actually wild hamsters, they eat all kinds of food, leaves, shoots, veggies, and fruit.

在野外--沒錯，確實有野生倉鼠，牠們甚麼種類的食物都吃：葉子、幼芽、蔬菜和水果。

(But) they don't consume right away, they store in those cheeks, which have pouches that extend half way down their body and expand like a balloon.

但是牠們不會把這些食物馬上吃完，反而把食物存在有頰囊的臉頰裡，這些頰囊可以延展至身體的一半長，並膨脹成氣球形狀。

Thank goodness we don't have anything like that, because it would probably look a little strange.

好險我們沒有這樣的構造，否則看起來可能會有點怪。

But hamsters need to stuff their faces no matter how goofy it might look.

但不管看起來是不是很蠢，倉鼠都必須把臉塞好塞滿。

In fact, they have to eat around every two hours to function normally, but foraging for food this frequently would make them easy prey.

事實上，牠們為了維持身體機能，每兩個小時就要進食一次，然而這麼頻繁地覓食會讓牠們成為顯眼的獵物。

Instead, they collect food at night, and what they don't store, they snack on along the way.

所以取而代之，牠們在夜間收集食物，若是不存起來的食物就直接吃下去。

So during the day they can hide from predators and munch on their hoard in safety.

因此白天的時候牠們可以躲避獵食者，並安全地享用存糧。

And thanks to the pouches in their cheeks, that stockpile can get enormous.

也幸虧有臉頰裡的頰囊，才能讓牠們的存貨堆積如山。

Hamster burrows have been found with nearly 200 pounds of stored food.

已發現倉鼠的洞穴可以貯存近兩百磅的食物！

These cheeks also come with special retractor muscles that help the hamster stuff itself to maximum capacity.

這些臉頰有特殊的收縮肌可以幫助倉鼠把自己塞到最滿。

If you ever watch this in action, you may notice that it reorients the food after plopping it in its mouth.

如果你曾看過倉鼠塞東西的過程，你可能會注意到食物掉進嘴巴後轉向。

What it's actually doing is angling the food so it easily slips to the back of the pouch as more comes in.

事實上，這樣做是為了調整食物的放置角度，以便於讓一直進入的食物滑入頰囊的後側。

Once the food is well on its way, that's when the retractor muscles come into play.

一旦食物順利進入，收縮肌就開始發揮作用了。

When the pouch stretches, the muscles contract, which pushes the food toward the back, preventing it from clogging up.

當頰囊伸長時，肌肉便收縮，把食物向後推，這樣可以防止食物阻塞頰囊。

But that's not as impressive as some of the other things hamsters can do with their cheeks.

可是與其他倉鼠臉頰使出的技能相比之下，這簡直是雕蟲小技。

For starters, some species will hide their babies inside these pouches to keep them safe.

首先，有些品種會把寶寶藏在頰囊裡以確保安全。

There are reports that others can inflate their pouches with air and use it as a flotation device for swimming.

有報告顯示其他種倉鼠可以將頰囊充氣膨脹，再把頰囊當成游泳時的漂浮用具。

Only certain wild species do this, and we don't want you to drown your poor hamster.

只有特定的野生品種有這種技能，我們不想你淹死自家可憐的倉鼠。

We'd rather have you sit and enjoy the incredible cuteness of Soda Pop.

我們寧願你坐下來好好享受小倉鼠無敵可愛的魅力。

對了，有件關於倉鼠的有趣真相。

Hamsters can run over five miles in a 24-hour period.

倉鼠二十四小時可以跑超過五英里！