地球热带岛屿之旅（2020）

in just two months.
长到原来的五倍
Transforming into an adult male with an eye-catching horn.
成为带有突出犄角的成年雄性
A female approaches.
一只雌性靠近
But the male has a rival.
但情敌出现了
With such short lives,
生命过于短暂
there's fierce competition for a chance to mate.
一有交♥配♥的机会 竞争就会非常激烈
With his rival out of the way,
赶跑了情敌
he hasn't got long to take this opportunity.
它很快就抓住了机会
After just four months,
四个月之后
this male has succeeded in securing the next generation.
这只雄性成功繁衍了后代
The female will lay her
这只雌性会在死前
fertilised eggs underground before she dies.
将受精卵产在地下
And as the dry season returns,
旱季回归
not a single adult Labord's chameleon...
成年拉堡德变色龙
..Will be left alive.
无一存活
Arid regions cover more than half of western Madagascar.
马达加斯加岛西部多半属于干旱地区
Including one of its most extreme habitats.
包括一个最极端的地区
The Grand Tsingy.
大馨吉
More than 500 square miles of sharp limestone pinnacles.
超过500平方英里的锋利石灰岩石林
Eroded by rainfall over millions of years.
被雨水侵蚀了数百万年
Its deep, shaded ravines retain moisture.
它纵深荫蔽的沟壑仍然保持着湿润
Allowing small pockets of forest to grow.
让这小片森林得以生长
And providing an oasis...
为一种独特的狐猴
..For an extraordinary lemur.
提供舒适的栖息地
Decken's sifaka.
德肯狐猴
This youngster is three months old...
这个小伙子三个月大了
..And already practising the vital skill of leaping.
已经在练习跳跃 这项重要技能了
No one cluster of trees is large enough
没有哪片树林
to sustain a whole family of hungry sifakas.
能满足饥肠辘辘的狐猴全族
This mother and son need
这对母子需要
to seek out another pocket of vegetation.
寻找另一片植被
Possibly hundreds of metres away.
可能在几百米开外
They must run a deadly gauntlet.
它们必须接受致命的挑战
These limestone shards stand more than 100 metres tall...
这些石灰岩碎片高耸林立 有100多米高
..And are sharp enough to shred human skin.
锋利至极 能瞬间划破人类皮肤
But sifakas have thick, rubbery footpads,
但狐猴有粗糙而宽厚的脚垫
and spring-like legs that can leap nine metres in a single bound.
弹簧一样的腿 能够一跃九米
These lemurs have evolved into blade runners.
这些狐猴进化成了刀锋奔跑者
Safely across, mother and son claim their reward.
安全地穿过石林 母子得到了奖励
The fresh, juicy leaves they need to survive.
赖以为生 新鲜又多汁的树叶
Over millions of years of evolution,
经过数百万年的进化
the Decken's sifaka has overcome the extreme conditions
德肯狐猴克服了大馨吉
of the Grand Tsingy.
极端的生存条件
But as Madagascar's lemurs
但随着马达加斯加狐猴
continued to spread east across the island,
持续向岛东部迁移
they eventually encountered an immense barrier.
最终遇到了巨大的障碍
Over 100 miles inland, the Highlands.
绵延100多英里的内陆 高原群
It's these towering peaks that divide Madagascar's climate.
正是这高耸的山峰划分了马达加斯加岛的气候
Rising over 2,000 metres,
2000米以上的地区
they capture the full force of the seasonal rain blowing in from the east.
汇聚了自东而来的全部季节性降雨
Millions of years of rainfall
数百万年来的降雨
ave carved out fertile valleys,
塑造出了众多肥沃的山谷
perfect for growing rice.
非常适合水稻生长
A staple food of Madagascar's people.
马达加斯加人♥民♥的主食
Just a few thousand years ago,
就在几千年以前
settlers from Asia brought the skills to turn
来自亚洲的移居者带来了耕种技术
even the steepest mountains into terraced rice paddies.
甚至能把最陡峭的山峦变成水稻梯田
Today, subsistence farmers
如今 自给自足的农民
produce more than one million tonnes of rice here every year.
每年产出稻米超过一百万吨♥
Marivelo owns four paddy fields.
马里韦洛拥有四块梯田
Providing just enough rice for her family of ten.
刚好够全家十口人的口粮
在马达加斯加 米饭是我们的主食
我们必须吃米 我们靠它生活
所以作物十分重要
It's January, the height of the rainy season.
现在是一月 雨季的降水高峰期
And the most important time for any rice farmer.
对稻农来说是最重要的时候
Each kilogram of rice needs more than
每一千克稻米都需要超过
2,000 litres of water to grow.
2000公升的水灌溉
With rainwater flooding the rice paddies,
当雨水淹没稻田
Marivelo must prepare them for planting.
马里韦洛就要准备耕种了
But instead of using a plough,
但她没有用犁
she uses her most prized possession.
而是用了她最珍视的东西
Originally from Asia, these are zebu cattle.
这些是源自亚洲的瘤牛
啊 非常好 很顺利
非常棒
The stampeding hooves churn up the soil.
争先恐后的牛群踩踏着泥土
It may be dangerous work,
这也许有些危险
but it's an ancient practice
但对于马达加斯加的人来说
unique to Madagascar.
却是一种独特的古老♥习♥俗
And brings the whole community together.
还能让整个部落的人团结一致
这个传统习俗从我们祖先开始就流传下来了
无论男女 每个人都沉浸在这份喜悦中
With the soil prepared, it's time to get planting.
当泥土松好后 就是播种的时候了
To make the most of the peak rains,
为了能最大化地利用降雨高峰期
Marivelo and her daughters need to work fast.
马里韦洛还有她的女儿要加快工作了
大家都坚持 坚持下去 别停下来
They're precision planters.
她们是插秧能手
Every blade is 20 cm apart,
每束秧苗都相隔20厘米
ensuring maximum yield.
来确保产量最大化
我很幸福 因为这是我的粮食和生活
In three months' time, the rice crop should be ready for harvest,
三个月以后 就是水稻丰收的时候了
providing Marivelo and her
为马里韦洛及其家人
family with plenty of food for the year ahead.
带来了一年的食物储备
Unless the crop is struck by one
除非庄稼遭到
of the most destructive creatures on the planet.
最具破坏力的生物侵害
Locusts.
蝗虫
They're normally solitary insects.
它们通常是独居昆虫
But when there's an abundance of crops,
但一旦发现茂盛的庄稼时
their numbers can reach plague proportions.
它们的数量就足以造成蝗灾
These flightless hoppers can form armies over half a mile long.
这些不会飞的跳虫大军绵延半英里
But they have only just begun on their path of destruction.
可这仅仅是破坏的序曲
At five weeks old,
只需五周
they morph into fully-fledged adults...
它们就能发育至成年
..And can take to the air in their billions.
然后数十亿的蝗虫大军 振翅飞翔
A swarm this size may only appear once in a decade in Madagascar.
在马达加斯加 此等规模的蝗群可能十年才能一遇
Travelling over 50 miles a day,
在一天50多英里的飞行途中
they can devour 40,000 tonnes of vegetation...
可以吞食四万吨♥的植物
..Including the farmers' precious rice crops.
包括农民珍贵的水稻
On reaching the highlands,
在到达高原时
a plague is finally stopped
由于山上降下暴雨
by the heavy mountain rains.
蝗灾才最终平息
Wet wings prevent the locusts from flying,
雨水打湿了翅膀 蝗虫无法再继续飞行
until, eventually, the swarm runs out of food,
直到最后 蝗群弹尽粮绝
and dies.
等待死亡
To the east of the highlands lies a completely different world.
在高原的东面 便是另一番天地了
With warm, humid air blowing in off the Indian Ocean,
随着暖湿气流从印度洋吹拂而来
it receives ten times the rainfall of the west,
高原东面的降雨量是西面的十倍
creating lush rainforests.
形成了茂密的雨林
When Madagascar's ancient castaways
马达加斯加远古流浪者
eventually reached these eastern forests,
最终抵达东面的森林后
they flourished.
便在此繁衍生息
Over time,
随着时间的推移
creatures evolved in extraordinary ways...
生物以各种各样奇特的方式进化着
..Colonising every corner of the jungle.
居住在森林的各个角落
Today, two thirds of the island's plants and animals
如今 岛上三分之二的动植物
are found here.
都在此生活
The forest floor is home to another ancient castaway,
森林地面上生活着另一种远古流浪者
originally from Africa.
它们来源于非洲
It may look like a hedgehog,
这看起来像刺猬
but this is a tenrec,
但其实是"马岛猬"
found only on Madagascar.
是马达加斯加的特有物种
They give birth to more babies than any other mammal.
马岛猬生育的宝宝比任何哺乳动物都多
As many as 32 in a single litter.
一窝幼崽多达32只
Like lemurs, they've evolved into a wide variety of species...
像狐猴一样 它们已经进化出多样的种类了
..Each adapting in remarkable ways to their forest home.