探秘野性赤道（2020）

亚马逊热带雨林
The Amazon rainforest--
地球上物种最丰富的地区
the richest zone of life on the planet.
在这里 赤道的阳光
Here, the equatorial sun powers the planet's
激发出了世界上最多样的生物大爆♥炸♥
biggest explosion of diversity and abundance.
这里不仅聚集了南美洲水陆动物之王
It's home to the kings of South America's land and water,
悄无声息的森林杀手更是随处可见
and chock-full of stealthy killers.
独特的红脸猿猴
A unique red-faced primate.
水生海牛，一种距海洋数百英里的海豚
An aquatic cow.And a species of dolphin hundreds of miles from the sea.
每个动物都得使出浑身解数 觅食谋生 保全自我
Each is driven to extremes to find ways to eat and avoid being eaten.
这就是亚马逊雨林
This is Amazonia.
赤道的秘密
亚马逊:大洪水
坐落于赤道上的是 全球最大的热带雨林
Lying on the equator is the biggest tropical rainforest on earth--
亚马逊热带雨林
the Amazon.
赤道太阳为这片大地 源源不断地输送营养
Fueling this behemoth, the equatorial sun.
正值旱季高峰 亚马逊河处于最低潮
It's the height of the dry season and the Amazon is at its lowest ebb.
河岸边 黑秃鹫正盯着它们的下一餐
At the river's edge, black vultures are eyeing their next meal.
亚马逊的顶级掠食者美洲豹 正在享用一具动物死尸
The Amazon's apex predator, a jaguar, feasts on a carcass.
目前来看 耐心等待是秃鹫的最佳策略
For now, patience is the vultures' best strategy.
它们下水冲凉 缓解烈日的灼热
They chill out in the water, taking the edge off the hot sun.
一只巨獭和它的幼崽们也在水中避暑
Also cooling off, a giant otter and her pups.
它们以家庭为单位集体出行
They travel around in family groups
亚马逊流域中遍布着它们的身影
and are found in the waterways around the Amazon.
巨獭并不像看上去那样不堪一击
The otters are not as defenseless as they might appear.
它们也是顶级掠食者
They too are top predators
庞大的种族数量是它们的一大优势
and have the strength of numbers on their side.
随着气温升至九十华氏度
With temperatures reaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit
空气湿度升至百分之七十五
and 75 percent humidity,
美洲豹需要时常前往河边饮水消暑
the jaguar needs constant cooling from the river.
终于 机会来临
Finally, a window of opportunity.
秃鹫的耐心等待没有白费
The vultures' patience is rewarded.
因为缺少鸟类的发声器官 鸣管
Lacking a syrinx, the vocal organ of birds...
秃鹫只能发出低沉的咕噜声和嘶嘶声
the vultures' only vocalizations are grunts and low hisses.
但是食物的主人尚未结束用餐
But the carcass' owner hasn't finished dining just yet.
他们的尸体拉锯战 将是这个旱季的最后的一幕
Their carcass tug of war will be their last act of this dry season.
空气中正在酝酿着巨变
Change is in the air.
在这片大约有美国国土 三分之二大的土地上
A dramatic transformation looms for an area around two-thirds
一场巨变即将发生
of the size of the United States.
雨季即将来临
The wet season is coming.
对所有生活在亚马逊流域的生物而言
Adapting to the change will be key to survival
适应这场巨变是重要的生存法则
for all those living in Amazonia.
在亚马逊河的这一片地区 乌云于11月份在空中聚集
In this part of the Amazon, storm clouds gather in November.
其实这些乌云成形于
But the story of these clouds begins thousands of miles away,
数千英里开外的大西洋上
in the Atlantic Ocean.
强烈的赤道太阳导致表面海水蒸发
The ferocious power of the equatorial sun evaporates the surface waters.
暖气流可以携带大量的湿气
The warm air can carry a huge amount of humidity.
在赤道上 持续的东风将这股暖气流
At the equator, the consistent easterly winds
吹向亚马逊热带雨林
blow this air towards the Amazon.
这片热带雨林坐落于大西洋 和高达六千多米的
The rainforest lies between the Atlantic
不可逾越的安第斯山脉之间
and the impassable 20,000-foot-barrier of the Andes.
暖湿气流遇到山脉阻挡时被迫抬升
When the warm, wet air hits the mountains it is forced upwards,
水汽在上空发生凝结 形成降雨
where moisture condenses and falls as rain.
雨水流回贯穿
It flows back down the great network of rivers
亚马逊热带雨林的庞大河流网络
that run through the Amazon rainforest...
哺育着地球上最繁盛的生物量
fueling the greatest biomass on the planet.
雨季来临
The wet season has arrived.
广袤的亚马逊流域近乎完全平坦
The vast Amazon basin is almost completely flat.
河流涌入的水量远远高于排水量
Torrents fill the rivers faster than they can drain.
盆地在一至八月 迎来阶段性的洪水泛滥
The basin floods in phases, January through to August,
五月前会出现两次峰值
peaking twice by May,
整个盆地淹没在四十英尺深的水中
submerging it in up to 40 feet of water.
在这个离奇的世界 所有的生物必须快速适应这种变化
It's a surreal world in which life must quickly adapt.
蝴蝶曾经自♥由♥飞舞的树林，现在成了鱼儿穿梭往来的天堂
Where a butterfly once floated between branches, fish now dart.
洪水给掠食者和猎物 带来了丰富的营养
With all this water comes plenty of extra nourishment for hunter and prey.
美洲豹也许称得上是雨林之王
The jaguar may be the king of the rainforest
但面对不断上涨的水位 它也束手无策
but he must yield to the rising waters.
它的猎食范围大幅缩减
His hunting ground, shrunk.
巨獭成为新晋的顶级掠食者
The giant otters are newly crowned as the top predators.
它们的猎食机会赫然增加
Their hunting opportunities dramatically expanded.
它们是所有水獭中声音最嘹亮的一种
They're the most vocal of all otters...
巨大而凶猛 响亮的叫声足以使它们在水中称霸
big and ferocious enough to rule the river with loud calls.
但巨大的体型也有利有弊
But the trade-off for their size
它们必须大量进食
is that they must eat huge quantities of food,
每天的食物量约达体重的十分之一
up to ten percent of their bodyweight each day.
所幸的是 赤道上到处都有丰富的食物
Fortunately, abundance is everywhere on the equator.
数万平方英里的雨林浸没在洪水中
Tens of thousands of square miles of flooded rainforest
迫使许多动物迁往其他地方
drives many to have to relocate.
森林地表的昆虫 被迫撤离到较高的地带
Insects from the forest floor must evacuate to higher ground
并快速适应这充满危险的新环境
and quickly acclimate to a more precarious home...
在新环境 狭路相逢则必有一伤
where there are few places to overtake.
任何挣扎都会迅速引来掠食者的猎杀
Any struggles are quickly detected.
赤道的雨季为冷血动物
The wet season on the equator provides
提供了理想的环境
an ideal environment for cold-blooded creatures.
稳定的高温对凯门鄂来说十分理想
The high, steady heat is ideal for reptiles like the caiman...
与温血动物不同
who, unlike warm-blooded creatures,
它们无需消耗过多的能量来维持体温
doesn't need to burn a lot of energy to maintain body heat,
而从环境中汲取热量
sourcing it instead from the environment.
凯门鄂是亚马逊最大的食肉动物 体长可达5.8米
The largest predators in the Amazon,
caiman can grow up to 19 feet in length.
高湿度的环境使两栖动物 能脱离水面活动
The excessive humidity allows amphibians
to break free from the water.
不必担心湿润的皮肤会变干燥
Their moist skins are not in any fear of drying out.
但离开水塘也使它们容易受到 陆地掠食者的攻击
But leaving the ponds behind makes them vulnerable to land-based predators...
尤其是那些行动隐秘的爬行动物
especially stealthy reptiles.
现在我们看到的是南美蝮蛇
Meet the bushmaster--
新世界中最长的毒蛇之一
one of the longest venomous pit vipers in the New World.
这条雌蛇隐匿在一处耐心等待
This female uses camouflage and patience.
为了猎捕到食物 它能持续几周保持纹丝不动
She can lay motionless for weeks as she waits for a meal.
终于 她捕捉到了些细微的声响
Finally, she picks up tiny vibrations.
它头部的颊窝精准感应到了 外界体温的信♥号♥♥
Pits on her face pinpoint the signature of body heat.
人类被南美蝮蛇咬伤 只有一半的存活几率
A human stands a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the bushmaster's bite.
这只啮齿动物能活的机率为零
This rodent, absolutely none.
食物的吞咽总是从头部开始
Always starting with the head,
它用毒牙把食物吞咽下去
she walks the prey down her gullet, one fang at a time.
消化一阵后
After digesting for a while,
它爬往另外一个非常重要的地方
she slithers off to a very important location.
它的大脑里有一幅精密的雨林地图
She has a sophisticated map of the rainforest in her head.
它完全清楚自己的目的地
She knows exactly where she's going.
一个废弃了的犰狳洞
An abandoned armadillo's den.
它来这不是为了觅食 而是为了繁殖后代
She's not here for meat, but for hospitality.
它会产下十来个蛋
She will lay a dozen eggs.
接下来的两个半月 它会守护这些蛋，中途甚至不会离开去觅食
For two and a half months, she guards them...not even leaving to eat.
蛋壳柔软 颇有皮革的质感
The egg shells are soft and leather-like,
幼崽用特有的破卵齿将其咬破
and can be torn open with a special egg tooth the infant
最终破壳而出
will eventually lose.
一旦孵出后 母亲就会离开幼崽让它们自谋生路
Once hatched, the mother will leave the babies to fend for themselves.
当亚马逊雨季达到顶峰时
These new predators have arrived as the Amazon reaches
新的掠食者也已就位 处处生机蓬勃
the height of the wet season, exploding with life.
对一些动物而言 这是一场盛宴
For some, it's a time for feasting.
但于另一些动物而言 这是它们适应改变的生死关头
For others, a time to adapt to the transformation or die.
亚马逊现在正处于雨季的高峰期
The Amazon is now at the height of the wet season.
河的周围原本是一片广阔的草原
Near the rivers, what were once broad,
现在成了四十英尺深的一片汪♥洋♥
grassy plains are now under 40 feet of water.
六七月份是洪水最后的高峰期
The final peak floods are in June and July.
洪水覆盖的总面♥积♥比英国国土还要大
Taken altogether, they'd cover an area larger than the United Kingdom.
它的重量导致南美洲 大面♥积♥地区下沉数英尺
Its weight causes a sizeable portion of South America to sink several inches.
不仅动物需要适应洪涝环境
It's not only animals that have to adapt to the flood.
植物也需要适应以求生存
Plants have to as well to survive.
有些树会利用板根帮助它们扎根地面
Some trees anchor themselves to the ground using buttress roots,
板根形状像帐篷 为水中的树提供支撑
which grow like a tent-frame to provide support in the water
同时也能在贫瘠的土壤为树输送养分
and in the nutrient-poor soils.
洪水将一些植物催化成了巨人
With all the water, some plants have evolved into giants.