我们星球上的生命（2023）

They have no defense against this new type of reptile...
甚至无法意识到对方所带来的威胁
or even awareness of the threat it poses.
就像狐狸进了鸡窝
Like a fox in a chicken coop,
引鳄可以肆意杀戮
an Erythrosuchid can kill more than it needs.
水龙兽成了那个时代的渡渡鸟
Lystrosaurus was the unwitting dodo of its age.
捕食者和竞争者的到来
A combination of predators and competition
使地球的主宰者水龙兽
saw Lystrosaurus go from total domination of the planet
走向灭绝
to extinction.
哺乳动物走下王座
The mammals had lost their crown.
这个时代
This...
属于爬行动物
...was the age of reptiles.
如今有超过一万种爬行动物
Today, there are more than 10,000 species of reptile...
虽然它们并非都像祖先那般可怕
although they are not all as terrifying as their ancestors.
随着地球的变化
As the Earth has changed...
爬行动物 不得不适应一个越来越拥挤的世界
...reptiles have had to adapt to an ever more crowded world.
使它们征服盘♥古♥大♥陆♥的坚韧鳞片皮肤
And the tough, scaly skin that allowed them to conquer the deserts of Pangaea,
仍然是它们成功的秘诀
continues to be the secret of their success.
对于有些动物来说 皮肤使它们成为伪装大♥师♥
For some, their skin has allowed them to become masters of disguise.
但皮肤也可以用来吓退攻击者
But skin can also be used to scare off an attacker.
即便如此 有时也需要更极端的措施
Even then, there are times when more drastic measures are called for.
它也许逃过了鸟的追捕
It may have escaped the bird,
但蜥蜴并不以游泳技巧闻名
but lizards aren't known for their swimming prowess.
但是哥斯达黎加的安乐蜥蜴 有一项非凡的生存技巧
Yet the anole lizard of Costa Rica has an extraordinary survival technique.
当它呼气时 会产生一个气泡 附着在它防水的皮肤上
As it exhales, it creates a bubble that sticks to its water-repellent skin...
形成一个属于它自己的潜水钟
forming its very own diving bell...
能够让它在水下隐藏
and allowing it to stay hidden underwater
长达15分钟
for up to 15 minutes.
今天的爬行动物如此擅长在边缘生存
Today's reptiles are such experts at living in the margins,
很难想象它们曾主宰我们的星球
it's hard to imagine they once dominated our planet.
但是在印度尼西亚有一系列岛屿
But there's a series of islands in Indonesia
我们能够一窥遥远的过去
that offer a glimpse into that very distant past.
因为在这里 蜥蜴仍是主宰
For here, lizards still rule.
刚孵化出来 已经充满好奇
Recently hatched and already curious...
这个小家伙在蜥蜴天堂的生活 由此开始
this youngster is starting life in a lizard paradise.
它所面临的唯一问题
The only issue she has...
是它的亲戚们
...is her relatives.
因为它是一只科摩多巨蜥幼崽
For this is a baby Komodo dragon...
而科摩多巨蜥会同类相食
and Komodos are cannibals...
用分叉的舌头嗅探空气 寻找猎物
smelling the air with their forked tongue to find their prey.
对于这种世界上最大的蜥蜴来说
For the world's largest lizards...
幼崽是完美的零食
baby dragons make perfect snacks.
它很幸运
Luckily for her,
一窝科摩多巨蜥蛋
a nest of buried Komodo eggs
相比于它 是更容易获取的美食
offers an easier meal.
但这不会让这只怪物满足太久
But it won't satisfy this monster for long.
它要在树上躲七、八年
It'll be seven or eight years of hiding in trees
才能长到足够强大 能够保护自己
before she's big enough to stand up for herself.
成年巨蜥太重 无法爬树
Too heavy to climb,
只能去寻找更容易攻击的目标
the adult goes in search of something more accessible.
厚厚的泥浆掩盖不住它的气味
A thick layer of mud can't disguise this animal's scent.
水牛时刻保持警惕
Water buffalo are ever vigilant...
谨防爬行统治者来袭
wary of their reptilian overlords.
但是小水牛就没有父母那么精明了
But buffalo calves are not as savvy as their parents.
巨蜥失去了猎物
The dragon has lost its kill,
但这只是暂时的
but only temporarily.
下颚腺体分泌的毒液
Venom from a gland in its jaw
使猎物的血无法凝结
prevents the blood of its prey from clotting,
导致血压急剧下降
leading to a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
结果无法避免
The result is inevitable.
这是三叠纪时期生活的历史回声
This is an echo of what life was like back in the Triassic.
哺乳动物必须为生存而战
Mammals must fight for their lives,
而爬行动物则以自信的姿态 统治着世界
while reptiles dominate with a confident swagger.
但爬行动物统治时代早期 最精彩的篇章
But perhaps the most remarkable chapter of that early era of reptile supremacy...
也许是其中一些动物放弃陆地
was when some of them turned their back on the land
回到海洋
and returned to the ocean.
海龟
Turtles.
不论是因为竞争而被赶来这里
Whether pushed here through competition
还是受到机遇的诱惑
or enticed by opportunity...
海龟回到了祖先曾离开的大海
turtles went back to the seas their ancestors left,
如今栖息在 除最冷的海洋之外的所有海洋中
and today inhabit all but the coldest oceans.
但是成年雌海龟
Yet once a year,
每年仍要返回干燥的陆地上产卵
adult females must still return to dry land to lay their eggs.
在大堡礁的边缘
Here, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef...
它们成千上万结伴而来
they come together in their thousands.
数百万年来
Aggregations like this
这样的聚集 一直是自然界最壮丽的奇观之一
have been one of nature's greatest spectacles for millions of years.
如此聚集是有原因的
There's a good reason for this gathering.
龟多更安全
Safety in numbers.
海龟最早是在三叠纪时期进化而来
Turtles first evolved back in the Triassic.
但当它们征服大海时 海洋已经成为致命捕食者的家园
But by the time they'd conquered the seas, the ocean was home to deadly predators.
（1.5亿年前）
这只蛇颈龙身长八米
At eight meters long, this is a plesiosaur.
它也是爬行动物
It, too, is a reptile,
但一辈子在海中生活
but one that spends its entire life at sea.
因为蛇颈龙食量有限
As the plesiosaur can only eat so much,
这样的大规模聚集
gathering in huge numbers like this
可以让更多海龟生存下来
allows many more turtles to survive.
剩下的工作
All that remains
就是要爬上它们出生的海滩
is to haul themselves up onto the beach where they were born
并找到完美的产蛋地点
and find the perfect spot to lay their eggs.
将近两个月之后 雌海龟的努力得到回报
Almost two months later, and the females' efforts are rewarded.
孵化出的小海龟
Hatchlings.
但现在每一只小海龟都要面对考验
But each one now has its own gauntlet to run...
它们本能地朝着海洋前进
as they instinctively head towards the ocean.
翼龙
Pterosaurs.
在鸟类出现之前很久
Long before the existence of birds,
这群古代爬行动物 就迈出了巨大的进化步伐
this group of ancient reptiles made a huge evolutionary step.
它们展翅高飞
They took to the wing...
成为天空的主人
...and became masters of the air.
这些刚孵出的小海龟毫无防备
Totally defenseless...
它们唯一的机会
this hatchling's only chance...
就是继续前进
is to carry on...
无视逼近的危险
ignoring the near misses,
期待翼龙选择其他小海龟
and hoping that the pterosaurs will be spoiled for choice.
每一次幸运的逃脱
Every lucky escape...
都使它离海岸更近一步
...brings it closer to the water's edge.
但是到达海洋的小海龟也并不安全
Yet even those that reach the oceans aren't safe.
只有进入更深的水域
Only by getting to deeper water
才能避开翼龙
can it avoid the pterosaurs...
逃入蓝色的海洋
and escape into the blue.
爬行动物曾统治天空和海洋
Reptiles once ruled the skies and the waves.
但尽管它们优势如此
But despite their supremacy,
翼龙和蛇颈龙终将灭绝
Pterosaurs and plesiosaurs would both go extinct in time.
然而统治这个时代的爬行动物中 有一种幸存了下来
Yet one of the ruling reptiles from this era has survived.
它们是完美的隐形猎手
They're such perfect stealth hunters
以至于即便经过了两亿年
that even after 200 million years...
仍很少被超越
little has bettered them.
角马来到这里解渴
Oblivious to the danger...
对危险毫无知觉
...wildebeest come to quench their thirst.
就差一点
Almost.
但是没关系
But it doesn't matter.
这只尼罗鳄知道角马♥会♥回来
The Nile crocodile knows the wildebeest will return...
它们总会回来
just as they always have.
为避免被发现 鳄鱼悄无声息地潜入水中
To avoid detection, the crocodile silently submerges...
屏住呼吸
holding its breath
长达一小时
for up to an hour.
鳄鱼能够将心跳降至每分钟两次
Crocodiles can slow their heart rate to just two beats a minute...
接近完全停跳
almost completely shutting down...
爬行动物在数百万年前 将这种方法予以完善
in a way the reptiles perfected millions of years ago.
它瞬间发动进攻
Yet in the moment it launches its attack...
从静止状态
it goes from inertia...