鲸鱼的秘密（2021）

Two hundred miles above the Arctic Circle,
一个非常不同的鲸群 围绕一种鱼形成了自己的传统绝技
a very different pod shapes its traditions around a fish.
每年春季穿过挪威峡湾的鲱鱼
More herring pass through the fjords of Norway every spring
数量远胜地球上的人口数
than there are people on Earth.
这个鲸群来此将鲱鱼赶拢
This pod is here to round them up.
跟新西兰的情况一样
Just like New Zealand,
这个家族也是由一位雌性家长领导
a matriarch leads this family.
它利用脉冲呼叫与鲸群对话
She uses pulsed calls to talk to her pod,
这是这种虎鲸独特的语言
in a language only spoken by these orcas.
它的目标是将鲱鱼赶成一个球形
Her goal is to herd the herring into a ball.
一旦所有成员都就位
Once everyone is in position,
它的联络呼叫声就会变成指令
her contact calls turn into directions.
它命令自己的妹妹潜入下方
She instructs her sister to go below. . .
亮出白色的肚皮来吓吓鲱鱼
and flash her white belly to frighten the herring.
另一头则吹泡泡迫使鲱鱼浮出水面
Another blows bubbles to force the fish to the surface.
然后 这位雌性家长 用它的尾部拍击鲱鱼球
Then, the matriarch slaps the ball of fish with her tail. . .
将它们纷纷击昏
knocking them out.
它是这个家族悠久传统的守护者
She's the keeper of this family's time-honored tradition.
但世界总在不断变化
But it's a changing world.
总是有新的挑战
There are new challenges.
新的竞争
And new competition.
一艘挪威渔船
A Norwegian fishing boat
一天可捕捞几百吨♥鲱鱼
can pull up hundreds of tons of herring a day.
这些虎鲸不与人类竞争
Instead of competing with humans. . .
而是学会了利用人类
these orcas learn to take advantage of them.
就像从渔网中抓鱼那么简单
It's as easy as plucking fish from the net.
只需更聪明 无需更努力
Work smarter, not harder.
几千年的传统在一瞬间改变了
Thousands of years of tradition change in an instant.
布赖恩·斯克里来此 就是为了亲眼目睹这样的技能
Brian Skerry is here to see these techniques for himself.
这不是它们与生俱来的特质
These are not innate traits that they're born with.
它们在传授在海洋中生存所需的行为
They're teaching behaviors that they need to survive in the ocean. . .
正如人类母亲教授自己的孩子
just the way human mothers teach their babies.
下一代将在学习新传统中成长
The next generation is growing up with new traditions.
但这可能会付出惨重的代价
But it can come at a heavy cost.
我看到过一个虎鲸家族
I saw a family of orca,
其中一头可能是妈妈
with what I think was probably the mom,
托着一头死去的幼鲸
carrying a dead calf.
它将那头幼鲸推过水面
She was just pushing it through the water.
我们可能永远不知道这头幼鲸的死因
We may never know why this calf died. . .
但这头雌鲸可能会跟它死去的幼崽
but this female may stay with her dead infant for days. . .
待上几天 甚至几周
even weeks.
目睹那样的同理心 我想除了哀悼和悲痛
To see that empathy, I don't think there's any other way
没有其他词来描述那样的行为
to describe that, other than mourning and grief.
这说明了这种动物及其文化的复杂性
It speaks to the complexity of these animals and their culture.
它们是非常有知觉的生物
They are very sentient beings,
高度进化
they are highly evolved,
掌握着我们无法完全理解的文化
they possess cultures that we don't fully understand.
生命是宝贵的
Life is precious.
这是我们从鲸鱼身上学到的
That's what I've learned from the whales,
爱 温情和家庭
that love and tenderness and family,
互相关爱 这是我们学到的东西
and one another, that's all we've got.
对于失去孩子的母亲
There is no solace
任何安慰都无济于事
for a mother who loses a child.
虎鲸幼崽是鲸群中最宝贵的资源
Young orca are a pod's most precious resource.
鲸鱼会举全家之力来养育幼崽
It takes the whole family to raise kids,
尤其是在地球上环境最恶劣的地方
especially in the harshest place on Earth.
南极洲
南大洋中南极半岛
The frigid waters of the Antarctic Peninsula,
海水冰寒彻骨
in the Southern Ocean.
这群是地球上个头最小的虎鲸
The orcas in this pod are among the smallest on the planet.
它们每年大部分时间都在这里度过
And they spend so much of the year here
因此会改变颜色
that they change color.
它们皮肤的黄色是藻类附着所致
Their skin's yellow hue is algae.
冰冷的海水会阻止新皮肤生长
The cold water prevents new skin from growing.
它们又无法使旧皮肤脱落
They can't shed their old.
它们是世界上最喜社交的虎鲸
They're among the world's most social orcas,
一个鲸群可以有多达75头鲸鱼
with as many as 75 animals in one pod.
它们的寿命能和人类一样长
They can live as long as humans. . .
但幼崽却极少
but have very few calves.
因此 每头新生幼鲸都备受珍爱
So, each newborn is cherished.
在如此庞大的鲸群中
In a pod this big,
这意味着所有成员都要全力以赴
that means all hands on deck.
这头尚处青少年时期的雌鲸 承担着一项最重要的任务
This teenage female has a most important job.
它担任保姆
She is the babysitter.
跟人类的青少年很像
Much like a human teenager,
在爸妈不在家时
while mom and dad are away,
它负责照看幼崽
she's in charge of the kids.
它必须照顾弟妹和堂弟堂妹 让它们远离麻烦
She must keep her younger siblings and cousins out of trouble.
当幼鲸们出去探险时
When young ones head out exploring,
它们的姐姐必须跟随
their big sister has to follow.
这群幼鲸偶然发现一群海豹
The young orcas stumble upon a large colony of seals.
唯一的问题是
The only problem,
这个鲸群并不捕食毛皮海豹
this pod doesn't hunt fur seals.
因此 这群毛皮海豹并不怕它们
So, the fur seals don't fear them.
一头十几岁的鲸鱼带着一群幼鲸
One teenager with a bunch of youngsters
无法忍♥受愤怒的毛皮海豹群
can't stand up to the angry mob.
毛皮海豹发起了攻击
The fur seals attack.
这位保姆别无选择 只能让幼崽们聚拢
The babysitter has no choice but to gather the kids
然后撤退到更大的鲸群中
and retreat back to the larger pod.
人多势众 会安全些
There is safety in numbers.
这头年轻的雌鲸 通过了一次关键的考验
The young female has passed a crucial test
迈出了成为雌性家长的第一步
and taken her first step toward becoming a matriarch.
等到它14岁时
By the time she's 14,
它会在直系亲属之外找到一头雄鲸
she'll find a male outside her immediate family,
然后生育它自己的幼崽
and have a baby of her own. . .
为这个鲸群添丁增口 壮大力量
adding strength in numbers to the pod,
在海底世界延续它们的家族传统
and continuing their legacy at the bottom of the world.
有些鲸群依靠人多势众
While some pods rely on numbers,
有些则没有这种优势
others don't have that luxury.
较小的家族必须利用现有资源
Smaller families must work with what they have.
独特的知识代代相传
Unique knowledge passed down from one generation to the next.
福克兰群岛
往北大约1600公里处
Nearly a thousand miles north,
另一头勇敢的鲸鱼妈妈面临着
another brave mother faces a foe
一个比南极毛皮海豹 强大很多倍的劲敌
many times stronger than Antarctic fur seals.
为了养活家人 它将尝试潜入
To feed her family, she will attempt to infiltrate
福克兰岛最大的象海豹聚居地
the Falkland's largest elephant seal colony.
对于大多数虎鲸来说 这些庞然大物要大得多
These giants are way too big for most orca.
一头雌性象海豹体重将近1吨♥
A female elephant seal weighs nearly a ton.
一头雄性象海豹比一辆皮卡车还重
A big male can weigh more than a pick-up truck.
虎鲸妈妈的巧妙战略是伏击
The mother orca's finely tuned strategy is an ambush. . .
是它妈妈传授的
taught to her by her mother.
它等着日落时分
She waits for sundown,
象海豹出来捕鱼时
when elephant seals head out to fish.
它清楚它们从何处入水和出水
She knows where they get in and out of the water.
这一切都是为了供养它的鲸群
This is all about providing for her pod.
如果它被发现
If she's seen,
全家老小将吃不上饭
her family won't eat.
它的上鳍起着方向舵的作用
Her top fin acts as a rudder,
但这次为了成事 它必须把上鳍藏起来
but for this trick, she has to keep it hidden.
一旦就位后
Once she's in position,
它便守株待兔
she waits.
抓住那头动物只是第一步而已
Grabbing the creature is only the first step.
象海豹拥有尖牙利爪 堪称重型武器
Elephant seals are heavily armed with teeth and nails. . .
所以虎鲸妈妈请求支援
so orca mom calls for back-up.
它的四个家庭实习生匆忙赶来助战
Her four family-in-training rush to help with the fight.
这次实战考验对它们的未来至关重要
This hands-on test is the key to their future.
地球上没有其他虎鲸
No other orcas on Earth
能像这样捕捉象海豹
catch elephant seals quite like this.
它们的家族世代就是这样存活下来的
It's how their family has survived for generations.
最年长的女儿十几岁了
The eldest daughter is a teenager,
它简直就是妈妈的翻版