地球热带岛屿（2020）（1）

一有交♥配♥的机会 竞争就会非常激烈
there's fierce competition for a chance to mate.
赶跑了情敌
With his rival out of the way,
它很快就抓住了机会
he hasn't got long to take this opportunity.
四个月之后
After just four months,
这只雄性成功繁衍了后代
this male has succeeded in securing the next generation.
这只雌性会在死前
The female will lay her
将受精卵产在地下
fertilised eggs underground before she dies.
旱季回归
And as the dry season returns,
成年拉堡德变色龙
not a single adult Labord's chameleon...
无一存活
..Will be left alive.
马达加斯加岛西部多半属于干旱地区
Arid regions cover more than half of western Madagascar.
包括一个最极端的地区
Including one of its most extreme habitats.
大馨吉
The Grand Tsingy.
超过500平方英里的锋利石灰岩石林
More than 500 square miles of sharp limestone pinnacles.
被雨水侵蚀了数百万年
Eroded by rainfall over millions of years.
它纵深荫蔽的沟壑仍然保持着湿润
Its deep, shaded ravines retain moisture.
让这小片森林得以生长
Allowing small pockets of forest to grow.
为一种独特的狐猴
And providing an oasis...
提供舒适的栖息地
..For an extraordinary lemur.
德肯狐猴
Decken's sifaka.
这个小伙子三个月大了
This youngster is three months old...
已经在练习跳跃 这项重要技能了
..And already practising the vital skill of leaping.
没有哪片树林
No one cluster of trees is large enough
能满足饥肠辘辘的狐猴全族
to sustain a whole family of hungry sifakas.
这对母子需要
This mother and son need
寻找另一片植被
to seek out another pocket of vegetation.
可能在几百米开外
Possibly hundreds of metres away.
它们必须接受致命的挑战
They must run a deadly gauntlet.
这些石灰岩碎片高耸林立 有100多米高
These limestone shards stand more than 100 metres tall...
锋利至极 能瞬间划破人类皮肤
..And are sharp enough to shred human skin.
但狐猴有粗糙而宽厚的脚垫
But sifakas have thick, rubbery footpads,
弹簧一样的腿 能够一跃九米
and spring-like legs that can leap nine metres in a single bound.
这些狐猴进化成了刀锋奔跑者
These lemurs have evolved into blade runners.
安全地穿过石林 母子得到了奖励
Safely across, mother and son claim their reward.
赖以为生 新鲜又多汁的树叶
The fresh, juicy leaves they need to survive.
经过数百万年的进化
Over millions of years of evolution,
德肯狐猴克服了大馨吉
the Decken's sifaka has overcome the extreme conditions
极端的生存条件
of the Grand Tsingy.
但随着马达加斯加狐猴
But as Madagascar's lemurs
持续向岛东部迁移
continued to spread east across the island,
最终遇到了巨大的障碍
they eventually encountered an immense barrier.
绵延100多英里的内陆 高原群
Over 100 miles inland, the Highlands.
正是这高耸的山峰划分了马达加斯加岛的气候
It's these towering peaks that divide Madagascar's climate.
2000米以上的地区
Rising over 2,000 metres,
汇聚了自东而来的全部季节性降雨
they capture the full force of the seasonal rain blowing in from the east.
数百万年来的降雨
Millions of years of rainfall
塑造出了众多肥沃的山谷
ave carved out fertile valleys,
非常适合水稻生长
perfect for growing rice.
马达加斯加人♥民♥的主食
A staple food of Madagascar's people.
就在几千年以前
Just a few thousand years ago,
来自亚洲的移居者带来了耕种技术
settlers from Asia brought the skills to turn
甚至能把最陡峭的山峦变成水稻梯田
even the steepest mountains into terraced rice paddies.
如今 自给自足的农民
Today, subsistence farmers
每年产出稻米超过一百万吨♥
produce more than one million tonnes of rice here every year.
马里韦洛拥有四块梯田
Marivelo owns four paddy fields.
刚好够全家十口人的口粮
Providing just enough rice for her family of ten.
现在是一月 雨季的降水高峰期
It's January, the height of the rainy season.
对稻农来说是最重要的时候
And the most important time for any rice farmer.
每一千克稻米都需要超过
Each kilogram of rice needs more than
2000公升的水灌溉
2,000 litres of water to grow.
当雨水淹没稻田
With rainwater flooding the rice paddies,
马里韦洛就要准备耕种了
Marivelo must prepare them for planting.
但她没有用犁
But instead of using a plough,
而是用了她最珍视的东西
she uses her most prized possession.
这些是源自亚洲的瘤牛
Originally from Asia, these are zebu cattle.
争先恐后的牛群踩踏着泥土
The stampeding hooves churn up the soil.
这也许有些危险
It may be dangerous work,
但对于马达加斯加的人来说
but it's an ancient practice
却是一种独特的古老♥习♥俗
unique to Madagascar.
还能让整个部落的人团结一致
And brings the whole community together.
当泥土松好后 就是播种的时候了
With the soil prepared, it's time to get planting.
为了能最大化地利用降雨高峰期
To make the most of the peak rains,
马里韦洛还有她的女儿要加快工作了
Marivelo and her daughters need to work fast.
她们是插秧能手
They're precision planters.
每束秧苗都相隔20厘米
Every blade is 20 cm apart,
来确保产量最大化
ensuring maximum yield.
三个月以后 就是水稻丰收的时候了
In three months' time, the rice crop should be ready for harvest,
为马里韦洛及其家人
providing Marivelo and her
带来了一年的食物储备
family with plenty of food for the year ahead.
除非庄稼遭到
Unless the crop is struck by one
最具破坏力的生物侵害
of the most destructive creatures on the planet.
蝗虫
Locusts.
它们通常是独居昆虫
They're normally solitary insects.
但一旦发现茂盛的庄稼时
But when there's an abundance of crops,
它们的数量就足以造成蝗灾
their numbers can reach plague proportions.
这些不会飞的跳虫大军绵延半英里
These flightless hoppers can form armies over half a mile long.
可这仅仅是破坏的序曲
But they have only just begun on their path of destruction.
只需五周
At five weeks old,
它们就能发育至成年
they morph into fully-fledged adults...
然后数十亿的蝗虫大军 振翅飞翔
..And can take to the air in their billions.
在马达加斯加 此等规模的蝗群可能十年才能一遇
A swarm this size may only appear once in a decade in Madagascar.
在一天50多英里的飞行途中
Travelling over 50 miles a day,
可以吞食四万吨♥的植物
they can devour 40,000 tonnes of vegetation...
包括农民珍贵的水稻
..Including the farmers' precious rice crops.
在到达高原时
On reaching the highlands,
由于山上降下暴雨
a plague is finally stopped
蝗灾才最终平息
by the heavy mountain rains.
雨水打湿了翅膀 蝗虫无法再继续飞行
Wet wings prevent the locusts from flying,
直到最后 蝗群弹尽粮绝
until, eventually, the swarm runs out of food,
等待死亡
and dies.
在高原的东面 便是另一番天地了
To the east of the highlands lies a completely different world.
随着暖湿气流从印度洋吹拂而来
With warm, humid air blowing in off the Indian Ocean,
高原东面的降雨量是西面的十倍
it receives ten times the rainfall of the west,
形成了茂密的雨林
creating lush rainforests.
马达加斯加远古流浪者
When Madagascar's ancient castaways
最终抵达东面的森林后
eventually reached these eastern forests,
便在此繁衍生息
they flourished.
随着时间的推移
Over time,
生物以各种各样奇特的方式进化着
creatures evolved in extraordinary ways...
居住在森林的各个角落
..Colonising every corner of the jungle.
如今 岛上三分之二的动植物
Today, two thirds of the island's plants and animals
都在此生活
are found here.
森林地面上生活着另一种远古流浪者
The forest floor is home to another ancient castaway,
它们来源于非洲
originally from Africa.
这看起来像刺猬
It may look like a hedgehog,
但其实是"马岛猬"
but this is a tenrec,
是马达加斯加的特有物种
found only on Madagascar.
马岛猬生育的宝宝比任何哺乳动物都多
They give birth to more babies than any other mammal.
一窝幼崽多达32只
As many as 32 in a single litter.
像狐猴一样 它们已经进化出多样的种类了
Like lemurs, they've evolved into a wide variety of species...
每一种类都能巧妙地适应森林之家
..Each adapting in remarkable ways to their forest home.
在它们仅仅四周大时
At just four weeks old,
这些"低地斑纹马岛猬"就几近成年了
these streaked tenrecs are almost fully grown...
它们急切地用自己灵敏的鼻子来寻找食物
..Eagerly sniffing out a meal with their flexible snouts.
为了满足快速的新陈代谢
To fuel their high metabolism,
它们一天可以吃掉30多条虫子
they can eat over 30 worms a day.
然后便四散开来
And they quickly disperse.
这是一条致命的"马达加斯加地蚺"
A deadly Madagascan ground boa.
马岛猬妈妈这时察觉到了危险
The mother tenrec senses danger
立马通过
and quickly sounds the alarm...