Fatness is not unique to us humans. There are plenty of supersized animals out there.

肥胖不仅人类的面临的问题，许多动物也意外的受其困扰。

But determining which animal is the fattest isn’t as straightforward¹ as it may appear.

但是准确说出哪一个动物是最胖，并不像表面上看着那么容易。

But if we look at things proportionally, you might be surprised by some of the world’s full-fat species.

但是仅仅看脂肪比例的话，你就会惊叹这个世界上竟然还有体脂含量百分之百的动物。

We’ll begin with blubber, the fat rich tissue belonging to marine² mammals that has myriad³ benefits for streamlining, buoyancy, defence, insulation⁴ and energy storage.

先来说一说海兽脂，海洋生物的脂肪组织统称为海兽脂。它在塑造流线体型、漂浮、防御、保暖、储存能量方面起到了巨大的作用。

Right whales

Among the whales with the thickest blubber are the so-called right whales. They are popularly thought to have earned this common moniker during the bloody⁵ era of whale hunting in the 19th Century.

拥有最厚海兽脂的鲸鱼称之为所谓的“露脊鲸”——这个公认的绰号源于血腥的十九世纪，那时候鲸鱼遭到人们的捕杀。

“They are slow and fat and when harpooned⁶ they float for easier retrieval. Most other whales sink.” says Dr Sam Ridgway, president of the National Marine Mammal Foundation.The whales float because they have a high percentage of lipids, or fat, in their blubber. There are three species of right whale, found in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern Oceans.

国家海洋哺乳动物基金会主席山姆博士说道：“‘露脊鲸’移动速度慢、身体肥硕庞大，被鱼叉杀死后会飘起来更容易被搜寻到。而其他鲸鱼则会沉下去。”露脊鲸之所以会漂在海面上是因为它们的体脂含量较高。露脊鲸一共有三种，分别生活在北大西洋，北太平洋，南部海域。

Walruses⁷

Walruses might look chubby⁸, but measurements of adult females in Greenland found they were 18% blubber and 44% muscle.

海象也许看起来胖乎乎的，但在格陵兰岛测量的一只成年母海象身体里，18%是海兽脂，44%是肌肉。

Hippos

Likewise, hippos are known for their dumpy appearance, but 18% of their impressive 1.5 tonne weight is actually skin. Beneath this 5cm thick hide hippos have a relatively⁹ thin layer of fat.

同样的，重达1.5吨的河马身体18%都是皮肤的重量。在这五厘米厚的皮下其实是一层相对较薄的脂肪层。

Camel

Their distinctive¹⁰ humps are not full of water but are actually nutritional¹¹ stores of fat that can weigh up to 35kg. Overall though, camels are lean animals, with most of their body fat concentrated into their humps.

骆驼的两个显眼山峰重达35千克，里面不仅有满满的水，还是营养的储藏站。骆驼把大部分脂肪集中在双峰上，不过整体而言，骆驼还是很消瘦的。

Moths¹²

Moths are known in the prairies of the western US where their mass emergence¹³ in spring can cause an agricultural nuisance. Around June they migrate to alpine¹⁴ climates where they feed on the nectar of wildflowers. The moths fatten¹⁵ up over the summer to an extraordinary extent,reaching a whopping 72% body fat by the autumn.

蛾子在美国西部的大草原上非常出名，在春天，他们会大举迁移，严重影响农业。在六月左右，他们会迁移到高山气候的地区，在那里以花蜜为食。经过一夏天的增肥，秋天的时候可以达到72%（巨额？！）的体脂率。