自然界大事件（2009）

这个时候 悠闲不再了
And this time there's no hanging about.
很快地 喝水变成了泥巴浴
It soon turns into a mud bath.
但泥巴对大象也是有用的
But elephants have a use for the mud, too,
泥巴可以起到防晒和驱虫的功效
for mud acts both as a sunscreen and an insect repellent.
水牛知道跟着大象的足迹 可以找到水源
Buffalo have learned to follow the elephant trails to water.
但排队饮水的顺序是固定的
There is a clear pecking order here.
大象优先
Elephants take priority,
斑马在队伍最后
and zebra are the last in the line.
小公象喝足了水
Even when young bulls have drunk their fill,
开始想着骚扰水牛
they still torment the buffalo.
而且它们清楚的知道 该从水牛的哪一头进攻
And they definitely know which end to aim for.
当象群面临 穿越浩瀚沙漠的最后一段路程时
By the time the herds face their final trek across open desert,
湿地已经被灌满了
the swamp has filled.
深入干裂平原的河道
The channels which lead out onto the parched plains
终于迎来了第一道涓流
get their first, welcome trickle of water.
令人惊奇的是 当平原正处在最干旱的时候
Amazingly, when the plains are at their driest,
清水从很远的地方 缓缓流入了这片干枯的河床
fresh water from a distant land spills into the parched river beds.
它们首先注满了干涸的河道
First it fills the dry channels,
而两岸的平原依旧干裂 坚硬
leaving the baked plains on either side hard and dry.
沿着这条路线 水会注满那些干涸的水塘
All along the route it finds empty pools to fill.
现在 这些水塘如磁铁般吸引鸟儿蜂拥而至
And now, these pools become magnets for birds,
它们从周边的沙漠 聚集到这里
which flock here from the surrounding desert lands.
红嘴奎利亚雀现在可以收集那些
Red-billed quelea can now collect those grass seeds
被白蚁落下的草种
that the termites have missed.
一年中的大部分时间 红嘴奎利亚雀都在流浪
For most of the year, the quelea are nomadic,
这份自♥由♥让它们可以追寻水流
and it's this freedom to follow the water
这使红嘴奎利亚雀 成为地球上数量最多的鸟类之一
that helps make quelea one of the most numerous birds on Earth.
当清水注入奥卡凡戈平原
As the water fills the Okavango,
那些靠着一小片水塘 生存下来的动物
animals that have survived in shrinking waterholes
开始移居到了这里
begin to move in.
母河马聚集在一块最好的领地里
Female hippos gather in the best territories.
而这只公河马 准备为了它们而开战
And this male is prepared to fight for one.
只有公河马的首领 可以与母河马交♥配♥
Only a dominant bull will mate with the females,
而现在的首领并不打算让步
and the current chieftain isn't prepared to give way.
挑战开始了
The intimidation begins.
如果双方都不放弃 就只有一种结果
When neither backs down, there can be only one outcome.
争斗会持续数小时 而且可能致命
Fights can go on for hours and can be to the death.
獠牙能刺穿起到保护作用的脂肪
Forward-pointing tusks can stab right through protective blubber.
狠狠咬在对手头上的一口 结束了这场争斗
This savage bite to the head brings the contest to an end.
现任领袖再一次确立了 它与母河马交♥配♥的权力
The incumbent has re-established his right to mate with the females,
而且没费多少时间
and he wastes no time.
这是一片最好的领地
This is a prime territory,
如果它想继续掌管 就将面临更多的挑战
and he will face many more challenges if he is to continue to hold it.
失败者受伤很严重
The loser is badly injured.
河马可能会因为伤口感染而死亡
Hippos can die from infected wounds,
但这只年轻的公河马很健壮 应当能幸存下来
but this young male is fit and should survive.
牛椋鸟令人喜忧参半(非洲以偶蹄动物身上细菌为食之鸟类)
Ox-peckers are a mixed blessing.
它们清理伤口 但也使伤口无法愈合
They keep his wounds clean, but they also keep them open.
清水继续倾入奥卡万戈平原
Fresh water continues to pump through the Okavango plains,
流经之处 生机焕发
bringing life wherever it flows.
不过在卡拉哈里地区 依然不见水的踪迹
But out in the Kalahari, water is now almost impossible to find.
一只母象领着她的家族走了数英里
A matriarch has led her family many miles,
只找到一个早已干涸的水坑
only to find the waterhole empty.
今年的旱期迟迟不肯离去
This year the drought is gripping hard.
每个母象首领都鼓舞着各自的家族 继续前进
Each matriarch encourages her family onward.
小象的生存有赖于她
The calves' lives depend on her.
当水源如此缺乏的时候
And with pools so scarce now,
即便她找到了水源 象群也无法独享
even when she finds water, they won't be drinking alone.
每年的这个时期 都会有狮群呆在水塘周围
At this time of year, some lion prides base themselves around waterholes,
时刻留意着它们的菜肴
and they're always on the lookout for a meal.
但是大象对水的极度渴望 使它们铤而走险
But the elephants' desperate need to drink outweighs the risk.
由于象妈妈只有很少的奶 小象十分虚弱
The mothers are producing less milk, and the calves are weak.
成年象掩护着它们 避开捕食者的目光
The adults try to shield them from watchful eyes.
但这很难使它们真正避开危险
It's an uneasy stand-off.
在白天 大象无所畏惧
In daylight, the elephants should have nothing to fear.
狮子假装想喝水 蹑手蹑脚 尽可能地接近它们
The lions creep as close as they dare, as they too try to drink.
只要大象露出一点破绽 狮子便会发起攻击
One mistake from an elephant and the lions could attack.
这些大猫让疲惫的大象时刻警觉着
Big cats keep tired elephants on their toes.
当沙漠的干旱达到极致时
While the desert experiences the peak of the drought,
蜿蜒的奥卡万戈河道
the meandering network of channels in the Okavango
终于被注满了
is finally brimful.
水流即将溢出
They are ready to overflow.
鱼都集结在一起 准备当奇迹突然出现时 乘洪水游走
Fish gather, ready to ride the flood as a miracle begins to materialise.
神奇的水流开始瓦解沙漠的阵线
And the barrier of desert sand seems to dissolve in the magical water.
卡拉哈里万里无云的天空下
Under cloudless Kalahari skies,
清甜的水流终于开始冲刷这片焦灼的平原
fresh, sweet water at last begins to bathe the parched plains.
千百万升水咆哮着 冲出了堤岸
Millions upon millions of litres surge over the banks.
这是鱼儿期待已久的时刻
This is what the fish have been waiting for.
新生活到来了
New life returns.
水浸入到沙子的深处
And as the water soaks deep into the sand,
唤醒了一些沉睡的动物
it stirs dormant animals into life.
而另一些却狼狈离去
Others are more forcibly evicted.
到处都是鲜美的食物 一场盛宴即将开席
It's all fresh food, a banquet ready for the feasting.
水鸟紧随着前进的水流 享用着唾手可得的丰收
Water birds follow the advancing front, making the most of the sudden harvest.
平原上顿时生机勃勃起来
The plains soon teem with life.
但是动物们不仅在这里寻找食物
But not all are here to feed.
有些正准备繁衍后代
Some have come to breed.
没人知道它们从哪里来
No one knows where they've come from,
但在洪水到来的瞬间
but within moments of the flood's arrival,
成千上万的蜻蜓出现在水边
tens of thousands of dragonflies appear at the water's edge.
这个活泼的红色雄蜻蜓用迷人的舞蹈引导他的配偶
The vivid red male leads his partner in a magical dance,
引导她在浅水处产卵
guiding her to lay their eggs in the shallows.
洪水不断地向前溢出
The flood spills ever onwards,
直到它最终越过奥卡万戈的边缘
until it finally reaches the outer fringes of the Okavango.
鲶鱼 奇迹般地 仍顽强地活着
The catfish, miraculously, still cling to life.
生命之水瞬间使他们恢复了活力
Within moments, the life-giving power of fresh water revitalises them.
之前还死气沉沉的平原
And now, on the plains that appeared so lifeless,
涣然一新 生机勃勃
some of the most beautiful and colourful changes occur.
几天时间 遍野的百合花绽放开来
Within days, fields of lilies burst into life.
它们为早到的蜜蜂提供花粉 为芦苇蛙提供藏身之所
They provide pollen for the early bees, and a hiding place for reed frogs.
现在洪水带来最好的礼物
And it's only now that the most crucial gift of the flood, the grass
沙漠牧群迫切需要的牧草 开始生长了
that the desert herds need so badly, begins to grow.
河马朝生长中的牧草地进发
Hippos bulldoze their way towards the sprouting grasslands,
他们开♥发♥的新路线促进了水的流动
their paths opening up new arteries that help keep the water flowing.
仅仅几周
In just a few weeks,
数千平方英里的干漠平原
thousands of square miles of dry desert plains
变成了水份充足的草原
are turned into a watery green grassland.
河马开拓的路径方便了其他所有动物
The network of hippo paths benefits all kinds of other animals,
无论是食肉的鳄鱼还是食草动物群
from predatory crocodiles to the grazing herds.
新鲜牧草是大象一直期盼的
This fresh grass is what the elephants, and indeed all the grazing animals,
更不用说所有食草动物了
have been waiting for.
它们加快了速度
Their pace quickens.
几个月来 它们只闻到沙漠的干燥气息
For months, they have only known the dry smell of the desert.
现在它们捕捉到风中新鲜牧草的讯息
And now, they can catch the scent of fresh grass in the wind.
红驴羚是最先享用到嫩芽的
Red lechwe are the first to take advantage of the young shoots.
狮子在这里没有优势
The lions are no threat here.
它们在水里没在陆地快 它们的猎物似乎也知道这点
They're not very fast in water, and their prey seem to know it.
驴羚纵情于这洪水带来的安宁
Lechwe revel in the safety the flood brings.
很快大象和水牛也会加入到他们的行列
Soon they will be joined by the herds of elephant and buffalo.
狮子似乎知道他们快来了
And the lions seem to know they're not far away.
狒狒不喜欢沾湿脚
Baboons don't enjoy getting their feet wet,
但又无法抗拒花和多汁蜗牛这样的美味
but the banquet of flowers and juicy snails is just irresistible.
但它们在这里最易受
But they are at their most vulnerable here
潜伏鳄鱼的攻击
from lurking crocodiles,
所以他们始终保持警惕
so they keep an ever-watchful eye.
婴儿狒狒紧紧抱着大狒狒希望水不要太深
Babies just cling on tight and hope the water doesn't get too deep.
在他们脚下 洪水淹没的平原成了巨大的鱼类收♥容♥所♥
At their feet, the flooded plains are now a vast fish nursery,
充满了生命
teeming with life.
掠食性鱼类紧跟其后
Predatory fish follow.
但他们也必须得小心谨慎
But they too will have to be wary.