BBC地球系列：非洲（2013）

This oasis is fed by a hot volcanic spring.
离滚烫水流稍远一点的地方
Slightly away from the stream of near-boiling water,
水温较低 鱼类便在此生活
its cooler, and fish can live.
这些是罗非鱼
These are tilapia.
小鱼们都紧贴在母亲身边
Hatchlings stick close to their mother.
除了滚烫的水流之外 还有其他危险
There are other dangers here beside the scalding water.
特别是夜晚时分
Particularly at night.
那些鳄鱼的行踪非常隐秘
The crocodiles are stealthy.
而罗非鱼在黑暗中基本处于失明的状态
And the tilapia are almost blind in the darkness.
恐慌之中 他们纷纷跳出水面逃生
In panic, they all leap to escape the hunters' approach.
但母鱼不能抛弃她的孩子
But this female can't abandon her brood.
鳄鱼不会因此收手 他们也能跃出水面
The crocodiles won't be thwarted. They too can leap.
但天一亮 鳄鱼就无法偷袭了
With first light, the crocodiles lose the element of surprise,
战斗暂时结束了
and the battle is over, for now.
母鱼逃过了一劫 但她的孩子们在哪里
The mother fish has survived, but where are her young?
全都安然无恙
All present and correct.
他们在妈妈的嘴里平安地度过了一夜
They spent the whole night sheltering in her mouth.
然而这场战役在日落时又将打响
The contest will be repeated at sunset.
他们无处可逃
There is nowhere else to go.
绿洲往往是沙漠旅客们的索求之地
Oases are always sought by desert travellers,
但并不是所有绿洲都是安全的
but not all are as they seem.
眼前是壮观的奥巴里沙海
This is the great Ubari Sand Sea,
位于撒哈拉沙漠的中心
in the heart of the Sahara.
这些家燕自离开尼日利亚后
These swallows have travelled 1,500 miles
已飞行了1500英里
since they left Nigeria.
他们杰出的导航定向能力
Their superb powers of navigation
将引领它们飞向欧洲
will eventually guide them to Europe,
但现在 它们和其他饥渴的候鸟
but now they, and other thirsty migrants,
急需在这片沙海中找到一处水源
need to find a speck of blue amidst this ocean of sand.
就是这里
And here it is.
乌姆海
Umm el Mar.
在这里 古老的地下水涌出地面
Here too, ancient groundwater wells up to the surface.
但鸟儿们需要加倍小心
But the birds need to be careful,
因为太阳开了一个可怕的玩笑
for the sun has played a terrible trick.
绿洲里的水是有毒的
This oasis is poisonous.
上千年的剧烈蒸发
Intense evaporation over thousands of years
使得此片水源的盐度超过了海水
has left the water saltier than the sea.
更为恐怖的是
As if to underline the horror,
大量的苍蝇聚集于此
the place is infested by vast swarms of flies.
然而这些疫虫是候鸟们的救星
But this plague is a birds' salvation.
它们能将盐水过滤 使体内充满淡水
The flies are filled with freshwater, filtered from the brine.
就像沙漠迷途者挤压仙人掌摄取水分那样
So, like a desert wanderer squeezing a drink from a cactus,
鸟儿们通过捕食苍蝇来获取淡水
the birds get all the water they need from the flies' bodies.
越来越多的候鸟加入了捕食行列
More and more migrants join in.
比如鹡鸰
Wagtails.
这是候鸟们途中唯一的一次短暂停留
This is the birds' only stopover.
他们在此补充了足够的能量
It gives them enough fuel to
以便能够飞出撒哈拉沙漠和非洲
escape from the Sahara and Africa.
在远离绿洲的地方
Away from an oasis,
能存活下来的生物都是奇迹
it seems remarkable that anything can live at all.
沙子的温度可以超过70摄氏度
The temperature of the sands can exceed 70 degrees Celsius.
沙子表面毫无水流过的痕迹
There's not the slightest trace of water left at the surface.
出现流动时 便是撒哈拉沙漠哭泣的时候
And when that happens, the Sahara itself cries out.
无数沙粒滑动发出的嗡嗡声
Billions of sliding grains generate a hum
在方圆几英里的空旷沙漠中回响
that echoes across miles of empty desert.
这就是传说中撒哈拉鸣唱沙丘
These are the Sahara's legendary singing dunes.
随着时间的推移 崩塌的沙子聚集起来
Over time, these avalanches add up.
若你长♥期♥观察这些沙丘
If you watch the dunes for long enough,
便会发现一些惊人的变化
something remarkable is revealed.
将一年半的影像资料缩短至几秒
One and a half years flash past in a matter of seconds.
在这样的播放速度下
On this timescale,
沙丘仿佛风急雨骤的大海
the dunes are like a stormy sea.
是永不停歇的沙石海啸
An unstoppable tsunami of sand.
在这个巨大的 瞬息万变的景象中
In this immense, ever-shifting landscape,
不难理解 一个迷路的旅客
it's easy to see how a lost traveller could succumb
为何会屈死于撒哈拉沙漠的地方病
to what's been called the Sahara's only endemic disease -
疯狂绝望
madness.
是否有生物能在北非沙漠
Can anything survive the North African desert
烈日的炙烤下存活呢
when the sun is at its fiercest?
此刻响午时分将至
It's approaching mid-day.
一只棘趾蜥早已饥肠辘辘
A fringe-toed lizard is hungry.
他正在监视猎物
He's on a stake-out.
闪耀的鳞片能够反射一些阳光
Flashy scales reflect some of the sun's rays.
尽管如此 高温依旧令他难以忍♥受
Nevertheless, the heat is almost unbearable.
他的猎物一整天都没有离开巢穴
His prey hasn't left home all day.
那只蜥蜴是沙丘上唯一暴露在外的生物
The lizard is the last animal still out on the dunes.
但他也无法忍♥受这酷热了
But even he can't take it any more.
想活得更久 需要一件太空服
To survive longer, you would need a spacesuit.
而这些昆虫就好像是穿着太空服一样
And in a way, that's what these insects have.
银蚁的皮肤能够反射光线
Silver ants' armoured skin reflects light.
他们因此能够承受
They can tolerate temperatures
足以杀死任何陆地生物的高温
that would kill any other land animal.
即便如此
Even so,
他们在正午骄阳的炙烤下 也存活不到10分钟
they can only survive for less than ten minutes in the midday sun.
时间极其宝贵
Time is precious.
一旦天敌转入地下
The ants race to find food
银蚁便火速出动寻找食物
as soon as their predators go to ground.
为了不因迷路而浪费时间
They can't afford to waste a second getting lost,
他们参照太阳的位置进行转向
so they spin to take a bearing from the sun.
他们会记下每一次转向和走过的每一步
They log every change of direction, every footstep,
以便知晓当前所处的位置
in order to know exactly where they
以及巢穴的方位
are and where their nest lies.
只剩4分钟了
Only four minutes to spare,
他们找到了一只中暑的昆虫
and they've found a victim of heatstroke.
丰盛的一餐
A meal.
但他们需付出极大的努力才能将之运回巢穴
But it's going to take a monumental effort to get it home.
还剩三分钟
Three minutes to go and
他们身体的温度已接近忍♥耐的极限
they're nearing their maximum temperature,
达到了惊人的53摄氏度
an astounding 53 degrees Celsius.
已经有银蚁倒下了
But there are already casualties.
只剩1分钟 他们已无法完成任务
One minute left, and they're not going to make it.
必须改变策略
Something has to change.
银蚁是最坚强的沙漠居民
The silver ant is the hardiest of all desert inhabitants.
即使如此 他们在正午的骄阳下
Even so, it can only survive outside in the middle of the day
也只能存活短短几分钟
for a matter of minutes.
现在 整片沙漠只属于太阳
Now, the desert belongs to the sun alone.
太阳使撒哈拉沙漠生灵涂炭
The sun has scorched life from the Sahara.
然而正是它所创造的这片广阔的沙漠
And yet the vast desert it created
为地球另一边的生命带来了生机
is a source of life half a world away.
世界上最大的湖泊在撒哈拉沙漠中蒸发
The advancing Sahara vaporised the world's largest lake,
留下了无数微小藻类的银色颗粒
leaving behind the silvery remains of countless microscopic algae.
在冬季 每天大风都会挟带着70万吨♥
In winter, the wind carries away 700,000 tonnes
矿物质丰富的尘土
of this mineral-rich dust every day.
一路从这里吹向南美
It blows from here all the way to South America,
在那里 那些尘土神奇地滋养了亚马逊雨林
where, astonishingly, it fertilises the Amazon rainforest.
这片浩瀚大♥陆♥的影响范围之大可见一斑
A striking demonstration of the reach of this mighty continent.
在历史的长河中
Throughout its long history,
非洲深深影响了整个地球
Africa has influenced the entire planet.
它是无数陆生动物成长的摇篮
It was the cradle of a remarkable array of land animals
它们的后代遍布全球 当然
that spread across the globe, and, of course,
非洲也是我们人类祖先的家园
it was the ancestral home of all of us.
零距离
接下来要讲述的是两个非洲摄制小组
This is the tale of two of the Africa team's
最具挑战的沙漠探险故事
most challenging desert expeditions.
其中一个小组负责拍摄
One focused on a miniscule creature
爬行速度极快的微小生物
with an incredible turn of speed.
另一组的摄制对象则恰恰相反
The other, on a subject so slow,
可能需要几年时间才能拍到它的运动
to film it in action would take years.
相同的是 撒哈拉沙漠将迫使摄制组
In both cases, the Sahara would push crews
挑战极限 获得最佳画面
to the limit in pursuit of the perfect shot.
在突尼斯
In Tunisia,