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Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet and believe the link could at some stage be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates. First things first: A romantic dinner for two. "We are going to set up an Internet connection between Indonesia and Apeldoorn so that the apes can see each other and, by means of pressing a button, be able to give one another food," said Anouk Ballot, a spokeswoman for the ape park in the central Dutch city of Apeldoorn. She said the chance of two orangutans actually mating as a result of the online interaction was small due to the problem of transporting them between the Netherlands and Indonesia. "But I wouldn't rule it out completely," she said. Ballot said the primary aim of the computer link between Dutch and Indonesia was to raise public awareness of the apes and their plight. Ballot said that, in the past, captive orangutans separated by a wall have communicated with one another via a mirror placed in front of the two enclosures. Using Web cams and computer screens is an extension of that, she said. She stressed that only orangutans who show a natural interest and aptitude will take part. The park has 13 orangutans among its collection of apes. There is still work to be done to set up the Internet connection. "We need to find ape-proof cables and screens," Ballot said, adding that the zoo hopes to have the orangutans online by the end of this year or early 2007. So next time you run into someone in a chatroom and think "what a baboon," think twice: it just might be. |
目前，荷蘭一家動物園的管理員正籌劃通過互聯網為荷蘭和印度尼西亞的大猩猩“牽線搭橋”。他們認為，這個橋梁在一定程度上就是網上約會服務，身處兩地的大猩猩們可以在網上互相認識，管理員們也能從中看出它們是否“般配”。 其中，最重要的一個約會項目就是：共進一頓浪漫美餐。 這家位于荷蘭阿珀爾多倫市中心的大猩猩動物園的女發言人阿諾克·巴洛特說：“我們將在印度尼西亞和阿珀爾多倫之間建立一個網絡聯接，這樣兩地的大猩猩就能看到彼此，而且通過一個按鈕，它們還能夠互相喂食。” 她說，由于在荷蘭和印度尼西亞兩地間運送猩猩存在著困難，所以，它們網上約會后互相見面、進行交配的機會很少，“但也不是完全沒有可能”。 巴洛特說，在荷蘭和印度尼西亞間建立猩猩約會網絡的主要目的是喚起公眾對猩猩及其困境的關注。 巴洛特說，過去，籠子里的猩猩被墻壁隔開，它們通過安在兩個圍欄前的鏡子進行交流。如今的網絡和電腦屏幕是過去那種交流方式的延伸。 她指出，只有那些表現出自然本能和傾向的猩猩們才可以參加網上約會。該動物園飼養的猿類動物中，共有13只猩猩。 然而，建成這個網絡聯接還需要做很多事情。巴洛特說：“我們需要安裝防止被猩猩破壞的電纜線和電腦屏幕”，此“猩猩情緣”網絡平臺有望在今年底或2007年初建成。 以后若在聊天室遇到一個給你感覺很像狒狒的網友，可得仔細想想，說不定這個網友還真是個猩猩呢！ |
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