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Little Guinea Pig Loves Some Company

Intro:

Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.  Happy learning everyone!

Dialogue:

Andrea:  Alright, Brie, our first fun fact of the day is that in Switzerland you’re not 

allowed to own just one guinea pig as a pet.  This means you can own 2 guinea pigs, but not one.

Brie:  That doesn’t make sense 那是不是说，瑞士人可以同时养两只荷兰猪，但只养一只就不行呢？– Why is that, Andrea?

Andrea:  I guess it’s because in Switzerland, guinea pigs are considered a social species. 

Brie: Social Species是指喜欢社交群居的物种吗？ 

Andrea:  Exactly.  A social species is an animal species that likes to interact with 

each other. In Switzerland, it is considered a form of animal abuse if you do not allow guinea pigs to engage with others of their same species. It turns out Sweden has 

similar legislation in place.

Brie:  I see. 因为荷兰猪是社交动物，所以只养一只的话呢，其实是对它们的虐待。So what happens if you own two guinea pigs and then one dies.  Do you have to get rid of the other one?

Andrea:  Guinea pigs hardly ever die at the same time, even if they are exactly the 

same age, so people who lose one of their two animals need to find some way to get another animal quickly or find some other solution.

Brie:  所以你是说如果其中一只荷兰猪先走了，宠物的主人需要赶紧领养另一只荷兰猪作伴或者把剩下的那一只送走吗？I wouldn’t want to own a Guinea pig if I lived there 

then.  It sounds like a hassle.

Andrea:   Yes, I guess that’s how it’s done, though. Well, actually, for this reason 

Switzerland has matchmaking agencies for guinea pigs that can help solve this 

problem.  These are in high demand.  Guinea pigs are also picky about who they are willing to live with and can get very lonely.

Brie:  这真是太有意思了。瑞士竟然会有荷兰猪配对公司，来帮忙解决这个棘手的问题。So you mean I could get a Guinea pig mate for my lonely guinea pig? Could I rent one too?

Andrea:  I guess so!

Brie: 原来在瑞典养荷兰猪是不允许只养一只的。如果两只荷兰猪中有一只先走了，主人需要赶紧到配对公司领养一只新的或者租赁一个荷兰猪作伴。

Close:

So everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day!  Join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们的话，请别忘了点击订阅→哟，有问题也给我们留言。拜拜，咱们下期再见！

Episode Photo by Bonnie Kittle @ bonniekdesign on Unsplash