BBC地球系列：非洲（2013）

好望角 位于非洲最南端
The Cape of Good Hope, on Africa's southerly tip.
两大洋交汇于此
Here, two great seas meet.
一个是温暖的印度洋
One, the warm Indian Ocean,
而另一个则是寒冷的大西洋
the other, the chilly Atlantic.
当它们一相遇 就形成了密集的水汽云团
And as they mingle, so they create a billowing cloak
覆盖了整个桌山的山顶
that drapes the summit of Table Mountain.
尽管眼前的云海十分壮观
Spectacular though this is,
但山上缭绕的云雾只是
the mountain's cloudy covering is only a hint
那两大完全不同的海洋的相汇
of the profound influence that these two very different oceans
对此处生命影响的一个缩影
have on the fortunes of life here.
不仅是好望角这里
And not just here at the Cape,
非洲南部的每个角落都得到了惠赐
but across the length and breadth of southern Africa.
好望角
距离好望角2000英里以北的地区
Two thousand miles north from the Cape,
沙滩之下 正孕育出新生命
beneath this sandy beach, new life is stirring.
数百只绿海龟
Hundreds of baby green turtles
如同一股激流 离开他们的安全窝
emerge like a torrent from the safety of their nest.
每一只小海龟都只有7厘米长
Each one, just seven centimetres long,
但他们得拿出百米冲刺的速度离开沙滩
must make a hundred-metre sprint down the beach.
从他们孵化出来那一刻
From the moment they hatch,
就受着本能的驱使爬向大海
they're driven by an instinctive urge to run to the sea.
很少有生物刚出生时
Few creatures start life
就面临如此多的危险 挣扎求生
with the odds for success so heavily stacked against them.
黄嘴黑鸢
Yellow-billed kites.
非洲白颈鸦
Pied crows.
但是众多刚孵化的小海龟一起出现
But so many of these hatchlings appear together,
捕食者也不能将他们全部抓光
that predators can't catch them all.
最后一只小海龟出来了 她似乎在劫难逃
Last out, this baby might seem doomed.
但是出生得最晚 或许能给她一次机会
But struggling out late could just give her a chance.
那些乌鸦看起来贪得无厌
The crows seem insatiable.
即使那些已经到达海洋的小海龟也不安全
Even those that reach the sea aren't safe.
眼前的小雌龟必须奋起直追
This female has to make a dash for it.
她仍然身处危险之中 不仅是来自天空的危险
She's still in danger, and not just from above.
沙蟹或许体型比海龟宝宝小一点
A ghost crab may be smaller than the hatchling,
但他有足够的力量将小海龟拖回自己的巢穴
but it has the strength to drag her into its lair.
这次不行
Not this time.
终于 到达海洋了
At last, the sea.
如果她不想溺毙 得换口气
She has to catch a breath if she's not to drown,
但是猛烈的海浪使得换口气都很难
but the pounding waves make it desperately difficult.
海浪之后 是平静的海水
Beyond the surf, calmer water,
但即使在这里 小海龟还是身处危险之中
but even here, the hatchling is not out of danger.
她潜入水了
She dives.
潜得真及时
Just in time.
只有千分之一的小海龟能顺利长到成年
Only one hatchling in a thousand will survive to adulthood,
但是只要她幸存下来了 就能活到80岁
but if she does, she may live for 80 years.
现在 广阔的海洋正等着她去探险
For now, the ocean is there to be explored.
当小海龟消失在蔚蓝的大海深处
As the hatchling disappears into the deep blue,
她游进了世界上最大的一股洋流之中
she swims into the waters of one the planet's most powerful currents.
厄加勒斯暖流
The Agulhas.
厄加勒斯暖流向南流向好望角
The Agulhas sweeps south towards the Cape,
每天输送1000亿加仑的温暖海水
transporting a hundred billion gallons of warm water every day.
那些热带海水如此温暖
These tropical seas are so warm,
蒸发出大量水汽
they evaporate on an enormous scale.
水汽上升到一定高度
Water vapour rises until, at altitude,
就会冷却 进而凝聚成云
it cools and condenses into clouds.
当那些云漂移到内陆
As the clouds drift inland,
它们将雨水带到了
they bring rain to one of
地球上人迹最罕至的角落
the least- explored corners of our planet.
莫桑比克山脉
The mountains of Mozambique.
此处是南非最湿润的地方
This the wettest place in southern Africa.
几十年的内战
Decades of civil war
使得几乎没有游客涉足这片陌生的土地
have kept travellers away from this little-known land.
通过卫星测绘
It was satellite mapping
才看到此处生长的森林全貌
that revealed the full extent of the forest that grows here,
现在 外人都通过谷歌♥来查看这片森林
so now it's known to outsiders as the Google rainforest.
此地也被叫做蝴蝶森林
It could also be called the butterfly forest.
雨过天晴
After the rains,
大量的蝴蝶汇聚在一起
butterflies have emerged together in huge numbers.
一旦翅膀干透后 他们就会振翅高飞
As soon as their wings dry out, they will take to the air.
他们的目标 找到伴侣
Their goal? To find a mate.
但是怎么找呢
But how?
附近或许有成千上万只蝴蝶
There may be thousands close by,
但是森林过于枝繁叶茂
but the foliage is so thick,
对他们来说 很难找到另一半
it's difficult for them to find each other.
他们自有妙计
They have a remarkable solution.
他们顺着河流逆流而上 飞到高地上
They follow rivers upstream and travel to higher ground.
漫漫长路 要花费数小时才能飞到终点
The journey can take hours of determined flying.
终于 他们到达了唯一的一片开阔之地
Eventually they emerge into the only open space there is.
树木不生的麻步山山顶
The treeless peak of Mount Mabu.
在这里 他们摆脱了森林的束缚
Up here, free from the confines of the forest,
自♥由♥地翩翩起舞
they hold a butterfly ball.
现在蝴蝶们拥有了足够的空间
Now the butterflies have all the space they need
可以开展空中恋爱之旅了
for their aerobatic courtship.
雄性蝴蝶的策略很简单
The male's strategy is simple.
只需要在高度和速度上超过对手即可
Fly higher and faster than the competition,
或许还能赢得一位拥有处子之身的蝴蝶小姐
and just maybe you'll win a virgin female.
像这样难得一见的盛会
This spectacular gathering, unseen by outsiders until now,
通常在晨间举♥行♥ 每次只持续半个小时
happens for just half an hour each morning
一年中的交♥配♥期也只有寥寥数周而已
and for just a few weeks in the year.
交♥配♥成功之后
Once mated,
雌蝶便返回雨林产卵
the females descend back to the rainforest to lay their eggs,
雨林的形成完全是受到上升水汽的影响
a forest that only exists because of moisture rising
那水汽便是来千里之外
from the warm Agulhas Current
印度洋的厄加勒斯暖流
hundreds of miles away in the Indian Ocean.
雨水沿着莫桑比克最高峰一路南下
The rainwater now flows southwards from Mozambique's highest peaks
直至东开普省的低地
to the lowlands of the Eastern Cape.
此处地势低平 河流流速缓慢
And where the land flattens, rivers slow,
形成了长达50英里的沼泽区
creating a vast swamp 50 miles across.
此处是戈龙戈萨国家公园
This is Gorongosa.
各种生物都纷至沓来 准备捕鱼
Here, all kinds of creatures come to catch fish.
长须鲶鱼正在进行团体作业
Whiskered catfish work as a team.
他们浮出水面深吸一口气
They take a gulp of air at the surface
再潜入水底将气吐出 织成一张气泡网
and then belch it out underwater to create a net of bubbles.
小鱼们纷纷中计
And that traps little fish.
鱼之盛宴 群雄共享
There are fish for everyone.
各路英雄都有自己的捕鱼绝招
And each species has its own technique for catching them.
拥有大而长的喙固然便利之极
It's all very well having a big beak,
但也要能运用自如才好
but you've still got to know how to use it.
这只年幼的鹈鹕仍需努力学习...
This young pelican has a lot to learn...
不要急于求成
and not long to do so.
也许应该学学鲶鱼 进行团体合作
Maybe, like the catfish, teamwork is the answer.
那对鸟群来说显然是个妙计
It's certainly working for the flock,
而这只鹈鹕似乎有些开窍了
and this pelican seems to be getting the hang of it.
但他显然无法吞下这只鲶鱼
But surely it can't swallow that catfish.
试图吞食显然是个错误
Trying to was a mistake.
雨水在戈龙戈萨沼泽稍作停留
The rainwater, briefly held in Gorongosa's swamp,
流向下游时 泥沙含量逐渐增加
has now been enriched with silt and sand.
沿东南海岸望去 泥沙满载的河流
All down this coast, sediment-laden rivers-
赞比西河 林波波河 萨韦河
the Zambezi, the Limpopo, the Save
逐一汇入大海
drain back to the sea,
并在这里与厄加勒斯暖流相汇
and there they meet the Agulhas Current.
那些沙子的命运又如何呢
And what happens to all that sand?
历经数千年 厄加勒斯洋流已经
Over the millennia, the Agulhas has worked it
使之形成了复杂多变的水底景观
into a complex underwater landscape.
眼前广阔的沙丘地带就是巴扎鲁托群岛
This vast sand sculpture is the Bazaruto Archipelago,
也是迄今存世最古老的同类地貌
the oldest of its kind in the world.
此地看似天堂 但生存于此并非易事
It may look like paradise, but living here is not easy.
十万年以来 厄加勒斯洋流任意肆虐
For 100,000 years, the Agulhas Current has battered
不断在海底掀起沙尘风暴
these submerged dunes with underwater sandstorms.
但在海底风平浪静之处
But where the water is deep enough to escape these storms,
来自非洲内陆的营养物质汇聚在此