自然界大事件（2009）

但在前方 冰块结成了无法穿越的屏障
But ahead, the ice forms an impenetrable barrier.
角鲸用头部和长牙
The narwhal use their heads and their long tusks
击破冰块 扩大让它们呼吸的冰窟
to break the ice and enlarge the breathing holes.
现在 它们没了出路 只能等待
For now they've reached a dead end and must wait.
冰块要继续融化 才能前进
The ice will need to melt further if they are to continue.
整个北极圈内 海冰都开始消融
All across the Arctic the sea ice is beginning to retreat.
通道变宽了 形成一大♥片♥开阔水面
The leads widen, forming tracts of open water.
松动的冰块随海风和洋流而漂移 破裂
Wind and ocean currents shift the loosening ice, breaking it up.
随着冰块消融 广阔的海洋变得畅通无阻
As the ice melts, thousands of miles of open ocean become accessible,
给数百万海鸟带来了福音
providing a bonanza for millions of seabirds.
仅仅4周里 一处聚居地的海鸠就能够
In just four weeks a colony of guillemots
吞食150万吨♥北极鱼类
can devour one and a half million tonnes of arctic fish.
随着海冰消融 它们去开阔海域捕食的距离
As the ice melts, their journey to their feeding grounds in the open sea
也会日渐缩短
shortens by the day.
它们聚集在消退的海冰边缘
They gather at the edge of the retreating ice
潜入水中寻找北极鳕鱼和小海鱼
and dive to hunt for arctic cod and capelin.
这些鱼群生活在洋面以下80米的黑暗深处
The shoals are found 80 metres down in the murky depths,
海鸠必须屏住呼吸大约2分钟
and the guillemots must hold their breath for nearly two minutes.
嗉囊里填满鱼后 它们返回聚居地
With their crops stuffed with fish, they return to the colony
去喂养饥饿的幼鸟
to feed their hungry youngsters.
在长达24小时的白昼里 它们一刻也不停歇的捕鱼
With 24 hours of daylight, they go on fishing around the clock.
在阳光照射下 伴着海风和洋流侵蚀
Warmed by the sun and driven by winds and currents,
海冰现在已经支离破碎了
the sea ice is now fragmenting.
这对依靠海冰来捕食的动物来说 是一个大问题
That is a big problem if you need the ice to hunt from.
北极熊能嗅到一英里外海豹的气味
A polar bear can smell a seal from over a mile away.
在这不断变换的景致中
But the prey he depends on is hard to find
很难发现它赖以生存的猎物
in this constantly moving landscape.
它必须进入水里 穿越浮冰的迷宫
He must take to the water to navigate through the drifting maze of ice.
北极熊很擅长游泳 但是比不上海豹
Bears are excellent swimmers, but he's no match for a seal.
随着冰块的消融 捕食海豹更加困难
As the ice melts, finding seals gets harder
水域越来越开阔 海豹就更容易逃生
and with more open water, it's easier for a seal to escape.
冰块的消融引起了力量的转移
The melt has caused a shift in power.
现在是"海豹优势"时间
Now it's ''advantage seal''.
北极熊失去了捕食机会 越来越饥饿
The bear's chance has slipped away, and his hunger grows.
冰块这道屏障消除
The ice barrier broken,
陌生的海洋不速之客到来
strange marine visitors begin to arrive.
它们游了600英里才到达 因为冰块融化了
They've swum 600 miles to get here, and with the ice gone
它们能够到达淡水入海口
they can make their way into the shallows of freshwater estuaries.
白鲸
Beluga whales.
随着越来越多的白鲸到来
As more and more belugas arrive,
一年一度的特别仪式开始了
a strange annual ritual begins.
对白鲸来说 这是件有特殊意义的事情
For belugas, this is a very special event.
猛烈的拍打河床使它们的陈年死皮脱落
The violent thrashing against the river bed loosens their year-old skin
也替它们除去了旅途中附着在身上的
and rids them of unwelcome parasites
讨厌的寄生虫
they may have picked up on their journey.
在淡水中 阳光温暖着白鲸
In freshwater, warmed by the strengthening sun
它们在浅滩中轻轻摩擦着光滑的卵石
and with the smooth pebbles in the shallows to rub against,
高兴地鸣叫着
the whales whistle with pleasure.
但是 没有寒冰的夏天是短暂的
But the ice-free summer will be short.
白鲸只能享受北极温泉短短两星期
The whales can only enjoy their arctic spa for two weeks.
很快白鲸就要离开浅海口
Soon the belugas must leave the shallows
用夏天剩余的大部分时间
and make the most of what's left of the summer
去捕食鱼类
to hunt the shoals of arctic fish.
六月初
It's early July,
在鸟群聚居的海崖旁 一只狐狸捉住了正在筑巢的暴雪鹱
and at the bird cliff the fox has caught a nesting fulmar.
她的家里有8只小狐狸等待她去喂养
She has a family now, eight tiny mouths to feed,
一只鸟是远远不够它们分食的
and one bird is not enough to go round.
小狐狸们争着抢食
The cubs bicker over their dinner.
它们只有三周大 而在接下来的两周里
They're only three weeks old and in just another two weeks
它们要学会照顾自己
they'll have to be ready to fend for themselves.
即将到来的冬天是如此残酷 它们中只有两个能
The winter ahead will be so harsh that only two of these eight cubs
积蓄足够的体重存活
are likely to gain enough weight to survive.
它们的生死和每一口食物息息相关
Their lives depend on every mouthful.
食物不足时 只有最强壮的那只可以饱食
When food is scarce the most dominant cub will feed.
弱小的那只 只能挨饿
And the smallest will go hungry.
海鸟夜以继日的辛勤劳作 来喂养幼鸟
The seabirds have been working round the clock to keep their chicks fed
并为它们生命中第一个重要挑战而做准备
and to prepare them for the first big challenge of their lives.
如果它们要躲避冬天
If they are to escape the winter,
它们就要立刻离开山崖 去远方的海洋
they'll have to leave the cliffs right away, and get far out to sea.
但它们孵化出来只有20天
But it's only been 20 days since they hatched
翅膀还太弱不能飞翔
and their wings are still too weak for them to fly.
迄今为止 它们还没离开过地面
So far their feet have never left the ground
要去300米以下的安全的海洋
and there is only one way down to the safety of the sea,
只有一个办法
300 metres below.
尽管不情愿 小海雀们紧张地一步步迈向悬崖
Reluctantly, the chicks take a few nervous steps towards the edge.
它被轻轻地一推
Encouraged by a gentle nudge,
跃向了未知的世界
he leaps into the unknown.
海雀爸爸紧跟着它 呼喊着小海雀让它放心
Dad follows right behind him, reassuringly calling to his chick.
它成功了
Made it.
着陆也许并不美观 但至少它们到达目的地了
The landings may not be stylish, but at least they're on target.
距离很容易误测 一些小海雀跌落在岸上
It's easy to misjudge the distance and some fall short of the water.
但是即便如此 海雀爸爸还是紧随其后
But even now, Dad sticks close by.
它鼓励孩子走好最后几步
He encourages his chick to take the last few steps
迈向安全的海浪中
towards the safety of the waves.
但一些小海雀在离水很远的地方着陆
But some chicks land a long way from the water.
它们已经足够坚强 能够在摔落中存活
They're sturdy enough to survive the fall,
但并没有地方能给它们求生
but this is no place to be left alone.
对狐狸妈妈来说 捉住它轻而易举
For the mother fox it's easy pickings.
对于这从天而降的免费午餐
With so many free meals falling from the sky,
狐狸妈妈一个接一个捕杀
she runs from one kill to the next.
小海雀学习飞跃只有三天
The chicks will be jumping for only three days,
所以狐狸妈妈必须充分利用这份礼物
so she must make the most of this bonanza.
它的幼崽的生存都有赖于此
The survival of her own family depends on it.
食物太多 它无法都带回去
With more chicks than she can possibly carry,
狐狸妈妈很机智
the mother fox has to be clever.
它把幼崽现在吃不完的食物埋起来
What her family can't eat now, she buries.
几天后 它就有了足够的库藏食物
For the days ahead she'll have a well-stocked larder,
够它的8个孩子吃了
enough for all eight of her cubs.
填饱了肚子 小狐狸们可以在阳光下尽情放松
Their bellies now full at last, the cubs can relax in the sun.
而对于那些幸存的小海雀来说 考验才刚刚开始
For the guillemot chicks that survive, the ordeal has only just begun.
它们要在冬天来临之前 向南飞600英里
They must retreat south 600 miles, beyond the reach of winter.
但小鸟们还不能飞翔 它们的翅膀还不够强壮
But the youngsters can't fly yet, their wings aren't strong enough.
所以 它们只能由家长带着游泳
So, led by their parents, they'll have to swim.
在夏日炎炎的时候 连永久性冰盖
At the height of summer even the permanent ice caps
都被太阳融化
are touched by the power of the sun.
融化的水 从冰帽上顺着渠道流下
Melt-water, channelled down from high on these ice caps,
冲激向冰山与海洋交接的悬崖处
pours over a precipice where the ice meets the ocean.
沿着这个200米的冰墙
Along this 200-mile wall of ice,
大量淡水一起跌入大海
a thousand freshwater cascades plummet into the sea.
七月来临时 大消融进入它的巅峰
As July draws on, the great melt reaches its peak.
规模最大的季节性变化发生了
The greatest seasonal change on the planet has taken place.
原本延伸至海平线的海冰
The sea ice that once extended all the way to the horizon
如今成了广阔的海洋
is now open ocean.
仅仅三个月 太阳战胜了冰川
In just three months, the sun has won its battle with the ice.
超过250万平方米的冰川消失了
Over two and a half million square miles of ice has melted away,
露出被广阔海洋环绕的大♥片♥陆地
uncovering thousands of islands surrounded by open ocean.
但近年来 消融的规模不断增加
But in recent years, the scale of this melt has been growing.
对于一种动物来说这是个严重的问题
And for one animal this is a critical issue.
一只母熊和她的幼崽
A mother bear and her adolescent cub
一片海冰上休息
rest on a fragment of sea ice.
由于大消融 它们不得不游得更远
With the melt, they're forced to swim ever-greater distances
去捕食海豹
to hunt for seals.
它们北极区的家对于变化的气候非常脆弱
Their arctic home is increasingly vulnerable to a changing climate,
今年的海冰甚至比往年更少
and this year there has been even less ice than normal.
如果未来的大消融像这次激烈
If future melts are as extreme as this one,
这些熊或饿死或淹死 消失于♥大♥海♥
bears like these may starve or drown, lost at sea.
这是漂泊海上的最后一片冰川之一
This is one of the last pieces of ice now adrift in the open ocean.
极地熊的冰川世界已经消融
The polar bear's icy world has melted away.
开放水域为其他动物提供了年度盛宴
For many others the open water provides the greatest feast of the year.
独角鲸终于战胜了坚冰
The narwhal have made it through the ice.