这是乌龟聚集季的开始
It's the beginning of a seasonal gathering of turtles,
当地语言叫做埃里巴达 也就是来临
known locally as the arribada, the arrival.
接下来几夜
Over the next few nights,
将有三万海龟来这个沙滩筑巢
30,000 turtles will come to this beach to nest.
事实上 她也吃不了多少
In fact, she won't eat many.
但对这个孕期母亲来讲
But for this expectant mother,
几只乌龟对她的帮助很大
the meat from a few turtles will make all the difference.
很快 这个机会就将过去
Soon this opportunity will be over
她也将再度回到森里捕猎
and she will return to hunting in the forest...
留下沙滩上无数小龟
leaving the beach to the thousands of hatchlings
破壳而出 重归大海
that emerge and return safely to sea.
往北4000公里
2,500 miles north...
加州清凉多雨的海滩
the cool and stormy shores of California.
完全不同的海岸线 一种完全不同的猫
A very different coastline, where a very different cat
找到了自己的谋生之道
has found her own way to make her living.
就在沙滩附近的窝里
At home in her den close to the beach...
一只山猫
a bobcat.
山猫一般捕猎兔子等小型哺乳动物
Bobcats usually hunt rabbits and small mammals,
但这只雌山猫的眼界更高
but this female has set her sights rather higher.
山猫
在这里 有条清流汇入大海
Here, where a freshwater stream meets the sea...
海鸥在这里聚集饮水 清洗羽毛
gulls flock to drink and wash salt from their feathers.
这正中她的下怀
It's what she's counting on.
但这并不容易
But it's not going to be easy.
她只能等待海鸥回来了
She'll just have to wait for the gulls to come back.
这种捕猎方式需要极大的毅力
To hunt like this takes determination.
大多时候都会落空
Most end in failure...
但她还会回来 日复一日
but she returns, day after day.
每次她都在精进自己的技巧
With every attempt, she refines her technique.
终于
At last...
但一只海鸥也不够她吃很久
but one gull won't keep her fed for long.
幸运的是 这片沙滩从来不缺少机遇
Fortunately, this beach is never short of chances to hunt.
她的毅力和技巧都毋庸置疑
There's no doubting her persistence and skill...
即使偶有海鸥逃脱了她的利爪
even if the occasional gull does slip her grip.
最震撼的是
And, remarkably,
她是以一只独眼完成这一切的
she's doing all this whilst she's blind in one eye.
印度和孟加拉的山达本斯山脉
The Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh
是世界上最大的红树林沼泽
is the world's largest mangrove swamp.
人迹罕至的泥泞岛屿
Unexplored, muddy islands
四面环海
surrounded by the sea...
被一种传奇的猫科动物统治着
where a legendary big cat rules.
恐怕是最不为人所知 所了解的猫科动物
Perhaps the most elusive and least understood.
沼泽虎
The swamp tiger.
虎
只有在退潮时才能一瞥
Only at low tide is it possible to catch a glimpse
神秘的红森林中隐藏的生物
of what lies within these mysterious mangroves.
动物们此时会来到岸边觅食
This is when the animals come down to the shore to feed...
不论猎物 还是猎手
...both hunted ...and hunter.
退潮也给了这只雄虎短暂的机会
Low tide also offers a brief chance for this male
在岛上的海岸线巡视
to patrol the shoreline of his island.
气味标记会警告
Scent marking is a warning
其他虎保持距离
to other tigers to keep off.
猫科动物在这里必须一生都
This is a place where a cat must live his entire life
与潮汐保持协调
in tune with the tide.
随着海水的上升
With the rising water,
动物们返回红树林深处
life retreats back to the depths of the mangroves...
他也必须跟上
...and he must follow...
再次消失在奇异的沼泽中
...disappearing again into these strange swamplands.
我们对这些虎几乎一无所知
We know almost nothing about these tigers,
但研究者认为有多达100只虎
but researchers now believe that as many as 100 of them
栖息于这样的偏僻岛屿
make these remote islands their home.
世界最著名的大型猫科动物不断地给我们惊喜
The world's most celebrated big cats continue to surprise us,
但最令人惊讶的猫
but the most surprising cats of all...
是小猫
...are the little cats.
在已知的40个猫科物种中
Out of the 40 known cat species,
有33种都被科学家称为小型猫科动物
33 are what scientists call the small cats.
它们是所有猫科动物中
They are the most secretive
最神秘 也是研究最匮乏的物种
and least studied of all the cats.
智利的山区
In the mountains of Chile,
一只南美林猫 全美洲最小的猫科动物
a guigna, the smallest cat in all the Americas,
在灌木丛中捕食飞蛾
hunts moths amongst the undergrowth.
豹猫是哥斯达黎加丛林中最常见的猫科动物
Ocelots are the most common cat in the Costa Rican jungle,
但它们行踪隐秘
yet they are rarely seen.
伪装完美的毛色
Their perfectly camouflaged coats
使它们能够瞬间隐蔽
help them to disappear in an instant.
非洲野猫遍布整个非洲
African wild cats live scattered all across Africa,
从摩洛哥到南非
from Morocco to South Africa,
属于分布最广的猫科动物之一
one of the most widespread of all cats,
但它们也很少出现在人类视野中
yet they too are hardly ever seen.
而现在专业摄像技术使我们
But now specialist camera technology is giving us
重新认识了这些栖息在世界最偏远地区的
a new insight into the mysterious lives of these small cats
小型猫科动物的神秘生活
in some of the most remote places on Earth.
南非 卡鲁沙漠
The Karoo desert, South Africa.
广袤的土地上长满了低矮的沙漠灌木
A vast landscape dominated by low desert scrub.
这为非洲最小的猫科动物提供了绝佳的掩护
It provides the perfect cover for Africa's smallest cat.
她静待夜幕降临 出发捕猎
She waits for the cool of night before heading out to hunt.
一只黑足猫
A black-footed cat.
黑足猫
研究人员把这只小母猫称作姬拉
This little female is known to researchers as Gyra.
她身材娇小 体重不过一千克
She's tiny, weighing not much more than a kilo,
一头狮子体重是她的200倍
200 times lighter than a lion.
她几乎难以被人发现
She'd be almost impossible to find,
但无线电项圈记录着她的行踪
but she's being tracked with a radio collar.
我们使用带夜视功能的监视摄像机
And using surveillance cameras that rival a cat's night vision,
才得以揭示她的夜间行动
we can at last reveal her nocturnal pursuits.
她能一夜行走32公里以寻找食物
She can walk 20 miles a night in search of food,
创造了小型猫科动物中的最远记录
the furthest recorded for any small cat.
借助超强的夜视能力
Guided by superb night vision,
和敏锐的听觉功能
and responding to the tiniest sounds...
任何移♥动♥物体都是潜在的觅食目标
...anything that moves is a potential meal.
她连蚱蜢也不放过
She'll even eat locusts...
但还是更喜欢沙鼠
...but she prefers gerbils.
实在不行 就捕鸟吧
Or, if that doesn't work, birds.
她扭动着把腿收了起来
With a wiggle to tuck her legs in,
尽可能地贴近地面
she gets as low to the ground as possible.
她好似弹簧 跃跃欲试
Primed like a spring,
能够爆发出最大能量
she can deliver maximum power...
跳跃捕猎
..to jump.
她每次有60%的成功率
She hits her target 60% of the time.
所以黑足猫是整个猫科家族中
It's what makes black-footed cats the most lethal hunters
最致命的猎手
in the entire cat family.
姬拉贪婪捕猎
And the reason for Gyra's huge appetite
是因为她在抚养自己的小猎手
is that she's raising her own little hunter.
即使作为非洲最致命的猫也有温柔的一面
Even the deadliest cat in Africa can have a softer side.
最古怪的小型猫也许生活在此
Perhaps the most bizarre small cat of all lives here...
蒙古的中心地带
...in the heart of Mongolia...
地球上最偏远和荒无人烟的地区之一
...one of the most remote and least populated places on Earth.
经过几十年的探索
After decades of research,
我们终于得以一窥这些动物隐秘的生活
we are now able to reveal an insight into their hidden lives.
这是兔狲
This is Pallas's cat.
兔狲
她的谨小慎微是有原因的
She's cautious and she has good reason.
幼猫
Kittens.
一共四只
Four of them.
两个月大
Two months old
刚走出猫窝
and just out of the den.
它们已经有些难以管教了
They're already becoming a bit of a handful.
它们生活在一片多风的大草原上
They live in a world of windswept grassland,
这里的面♥积♥比英国还要大三倍
an area three times bigger than the UK,
而这些地表上的岩石可以把一家子都藏起来
but this outcrop of rocks is a safe place to hide the family.
现在是早晨 小猫们饿了
It's morning and the kittens are hungry,
但一只母猫是无法带着
but a mother can't hunt