顶尖排面

这是我来欧洲以后,参加过的最高端的百天宴了。来宾陆陆续续落座,上午十一点不到,这片湖边空地上已经聚集了小一百号人;中国驻比利时大使费胜潮来了,驻欧盟使团公使朱京来了,布吕热莱特市长Isabelle Liégeois夫人来了,甚至陕西省林业局都不远万里派出陈宝林副局长来捧个场。

在小小的比利时华人圈,这是梦幻般的顶尖排面。

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

给两位金丝猴宝宝来走个面的大人们……

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

以及小朋友们。

这个排面属于两位刚满百天的金丝猴宝宝。这两个家伙个头小但来头不小,它们的一位爸爸两位妈妈是去年5月份来到比利时的,来的时候分别是5、7、8岁,也就是刚成年的水平,还青涩得很。

所以大使在演讲中,提到这位新晋的金丝猴爸爸流云,语气充满了怜爱:“去年我们刚刚见到的调皮的大男孩,不管他喜不喜欢,现在已经进入到有老婆有孩子的家庭生活。”

All of those in attendance were there for two baby golden snub-nosed monkeys that were just 100 days old – an age that turns a newborn into a baby, and symbolizes greater strength and independence in Chinese tradition.

The two stars of the day, however, seemed blissfully unaware of their celebrity status.

One baby clung tightly to its mother Lu Lu, occasionally stretching out a tiny hand to touch leaves hanging nearby. The other hid behind another female, Juan Juan, peeking curiously at the crowd before disappearing again.

It was last May that three golden snub-nosed monkeys arrived in Belgium from China's Qinling National Park. Being 5, 4, and 7 years old respectively, they were little more than awkward young adults by golden snub-nosed monkey standards.

And that made the ambassador's joke during the ceremony all the more amusing.

"We met this naughty young boy just last year," he said with a smile. "Now, whether he likes it or not, he has entered family life with wives and children."

观众席先是爆发出一阵笑声,紧跟着是一阵掌声。不知道是受到大使的点化还是大家掌声的鼓舞,新近当爹的流云从猴窝里跑出来,在吊桥上拿了个大顶。

The audience burst into laughter and applause.

Perhaps encouraged by the joke and the reaction, Liuyun rushed out of the indoor shelter, climbed onto the suspended rope bridge, and performed what looked suspiciously like a gymnastic routine.

One day, perhaps, he may discover that having two wives and two babies is not quite as glamorous as it sounds.

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

笔者抓拍的金丝猴一家。两边分别是两个猴宝宝和两个猴妈妈,中间奔波于两边之间的是猴爸爸。

再造一个秦岭

这两只金丝猴宝宝排场大,那是必然的,因为实在太稀有了。

金丝猴作为我国的一级保护动物,本来就十分稀有,其中种群最多的川金丝猴也不过2.6万只,跟欧洲一个小镇的人口差不多;其他四种金丝猴亚种个体数更是低到几千只甚至几百只,一个小区甚至一个居民楼就装下了。少了当然想着多生,金丝猴的繁育始终是国内研究的重点。

Behind the laughter, however, lies one of China's most ambitious wildlife conservation projects overseas.

Golden snub-nosed monkeys are among China's rarest primates, as even the largest sub-species among them, the Qinling one, has only about 26,000 individuals. All the other four subspecies count in the single-digit thousands, or even the hundreds.

Their breeding has challenged zoologists for decades because of their complex social structure and demanding environmental requirements, which demand proper temperature, humidity, and adequate places for them to climb and explore.

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

金丝猴的英语叫"Golden snub-nosed monkey",注意它塌陷的鼻梁,那是金丝猴的决定性特征。

比利时天堂动物园就是人工繁育研究的合作方。这里地处比利时偏南一点,气候相对温和,可以说很适合金丝猴这种到处攀爬的生灵。

为了欢迎金丝猴的入住,天堂动物园特意辟出一块园区进行了改造,挖出一条约8米宽的水道,水道周围是植被、岩石和遮蔽空间,还安置了大量树干、绳索和攀爬结构,不同高度区域则通过空中步道连接起来。这五只金丝猴的家面积就达到600平米,猴均居住面积120平米。

而且金丝猴园区选址巧妙,旁边就是中国园林,里边住着大熊猫。金丝猴天天看着黑白配色的邻居应该不会太想家。

The Pairi Daiza zoo has spent months recreating something in Belgium that is remarkably close to their home in the Qinling Mountains.

The enclosure, or more properly a garden, is the size of a 600-square-meter villa.

Streams flow through rocks and dense vegetation. Elevated walkways connect different levels of the habitat. Wooden platforms, climbing structures, and countless tree trunks encourage the monkeys to spend most of their time above the ground, exactly as they would in the wild.

Standing there, it became surprisingly easy for me to forget I was in Belgium and imagine I was somewhere deep inside western China.

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

金丝猴在比利时的居住环境,很有中式风味了

如此诚意满满,也难怪2024年12月中国野生动物保护协会与天堂动物园一口气签下十年协议,合作开展金丝猴的境外人工繁育实验。然后就有了三只金丝猴2025年5月抵达比利时的故事,以及今年两位新猴宝的诞生。

迄今为止,这也是秦岭金丝猴唯一公开的境外合作繁育项目。金丝猴的繁育本就不易,公母数量要搭配好,光照、气温和食物供应要协调好,季节规律也要提前适应好。三只金丝猴出国一年之内,竟然接连产下两胎,足以证明动物园对它们的照顾很细致入微了。

按照协议,两只出生在比利时的猴宝依然是中国籍,在这里生活到5岁就要返回中国。照目前这个速率下去,这期间又会出生多少留洋的金丝猴宝宝,就更令人期待了。

That is perhaps why, in December 2024, the China Wildlife Conservation Association signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Pairi Daiza, to establish the first publicly known overseas breeding program for Qinling golden snub-nosed monkeys. Three monkeys arrived in Belgium in May 2025.

Barely 11 months later, two healthy babies were born, which says much about the dedication of both Chinese and Belgian experts, who have cared for the baby monkeys as if they were their own.

老兄,分根薯条吃啊

包括金丝猴在内,天堂动物园里的动物们还是比较享福的。

比如这里很多动物都有跟人接触的机会。一般来说,即使在野生动物园里,人和动物也是基本上不可能零距离接触的,会有各种各样在暗处的铁丝网和壕沟把双方物理隔开,这样也把所有可能的冲突与争斗、冒犯与打扰都隔开。

天堂动物园则是选择性地隔开。来自非洲的狮子和原产于北极的白熊当然要隔开,攻击性太强;老家在南极的企鹅和只能生活在水里的海豚也要隔开,人类受不了它们的地方。但小鸭子小鸟就可以不隔开,游客们一边吃饭它们一边在人身边转,游客们吃得也开心,它们无拘无束玩得也开心,双赢!

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

爸爸和闺女野餐,鹅翘首盼着投喂

Walking through the zoo after the ceremony, I noticed ducks wandering freely among visitors eating lunch. Children sat only a few meters away while the birds calmly searched for crumbs beneath picnic tables. In another enclosure, a troop of monkeys occupied a vast landscape complete with cliffs, waterfalls, and islands separated by moats. The great apes lived beneath enormous glass roofs filled with climbing towers that many human children might envy.

It was obvious that the philosophy extended beyond displaying animals. The goal seemed to be to allow them to behave as naturally as possible, while encouraging people to slow down and observe them with respect.

即使是那些被关起来不能与人接触的动物,生活空间也是令人羡慕的。下边这张图是别的猴子的居住环境,里边有假山,假山周围有圈护城河,还做了个水帘洞。

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

以及大猩猩们住的这个地方,有着透光的天窗和复杂的爬梯设计,隔壁小孩看到都要馋哭了……

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

来给金丝猴宝宝走个面的贵宾们,参加完典礼也去周围看了看。给我留下印象最深的,还是费大使说的一句话:“人和自然的关系不需要听什么大道理。我们只需要走进大自然,或者我们时不时来一下动物园,我们可以更好地感受到人和自然的关系。”

打开网易新闻 查看更多图片

大使和天堂动物园创办人、院长Éric Domb最终揭牌,给两只新猴宝起的名字分别叫“珍珍”和“喜乐”。某种意义上,这恰恰是费大使那句话最好的注脚:珍爱生命,平安喜乐自然就来了。

Near the end, the ambassador offered a reflection that stayed with me.

"We don't always need grand theories to understand the relationship between humanity and nature," Fei said. "Sometimes all we need is to walk into nature, or simply visit a zoo, and we begin to appreciate that relationship."

Soon after, he and Pairi Daiza founder Eric Domb announced the names of the two babies. They are to be known as Zhenzhen and Xile, which mean "cherish" and "joy", names that seem to carry the sincere wishes of their parents, as well as all of those who care about them.

记者:张周项

跟着China Daily

精读英语新闻

“无痛”学英语,每天20分钟就够!