七个世界，一个星球（2019）

物种纷繁多样
has had time to diversify.
许多生物进化出庞大的体形
Creatures here grow to a great size.
这些四处觅食的纽虫足有3米长
Predatory nemertean worms are three metres long.
快进后我们才得以欣赏到它们的演出
These dramas only become visible when speeded up.
对于这些奇特的生物 我们才刚刚开始探究
We're only just beginning to discover the details of the lives
它们的生活细节
of such strange creatures.
海蛞蝓是雌雄同体的动物
Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites.
每只海蛞蝓各有一套雄性和雌性生殖器官
Each individual possesses both male and female reproductive organs.
它们交♥配♥时 只需再找到一只同类
So, to mate, one nudibranch just needs to find
任何个体都可以
And any one will do.
问题是 它们的眼睛几乎看不到物体 所以找寻同类也并非易事
But nonetheless, this is a challenge when their tiny eyes can barely see.
有些海蛞蝓的运气不错
Some do get lucky.
它们相互进行异体授精 可以各自繁殖出后代
They're fertilising each other and both will produce young.
当连同类都难寻时 交♥配♥无需分辨性别的做法
When it's hard to find a partner, it pays not to have to worry
确实大有益处
about your gender.
海葵看起来或许很像植物 其实却是不折不扣的动物
Sea anemones may look like plants, but, actually, are animals
它四处伸展触手 捕食水流中
and feed by catching edible particles that drift within reach
漂浮的可食物质
of their tentacles.
不过扎根海底意味着它们很容易遭到捕食者攻击
But being rooted to the sea floor makes them vulnerable to predators.
一种直径大约一米的远洋水母正在四处觅食
An ocean-going jellyfish, a metre or so across, searching for food.
这只水母察觉到了猎物
The jellyfish senses prey.
但是水母捕猎不成 反倒被海葵们降服
But it's the sea anemones that have made the catch
它们捕获了一只大怪物
and they've grabbed a monster.
这些捕食者守株待免 便获得了一顿大餐
A rare feast for these stationary predators.
在接下来的4天里 它们可以慢慢消化了
They devour their catch over the next four days.
数千年来 冰层下的海洋生命几乎毫无改变
Life here under the ice has remained unchanged for millennia.
但是在过去的200年里 南极洲的许多野生动物
But in the last 200 years, much of Antarctica's wildlife
不得不面临一些新到的捕食者
has had to face new predators...
人类
..human beings.
我们人类发明了新的捕猎技巧 并毫不留情地捕杀海洋生物
We devised new hunting techniques and used them so mercilessly
险些导致巨型鲸类销声匿迹
that we almost exterminated the great whales.
南乔治亚岛的这些捕鲸站曾是
These whaling stations on South Georgia were at the centre
捕鲸行业的中心
of this industry.
单纯南极海域就有超过150万头鲸鱼
More than one-and-a-half million whales were slaughtered
相继遭到猎杀
in Antarctic waters.
人们从它们庞大的身躯上剥下厚厚的脂肪
The blubber was stripped from their massive bodies
放入大桶中 熬煮制♥造♥人造黄油和肥皂
and boiled down in vats to make margarine and soap.
目前记载的最大的一头蓝鲸
And the largest animal ever recorded,
体长33米 寿命超过100岁
a 33-metre blue whale, perhaps over 100 years old,
它在短短两小时内就在这里惨遭肢解
was butchered on this ramp in just two hours.
这种肆无忌惮的屠♥杀♥行为标志着人类与自然世界的关系
This reckless slaughter marked a new low in our relationship
跌至新低
with the natural world.
南露脊鲸受到的打击最为严重
Southern right whales were hit the hardest.
它们生性好奇 毫无戒心
They were so trusting and inquisitive
经常会主动靠近捕鲸船
that they swam right up to the whalers' boats.
捕鲸者认为它们很不错
And the whalers called them right whales
就是因为它们很方便猎杀
because they were the right whales to hunt.
带着幼崽的南露脊鲸是捕鲸者最先攻击的目标
Mothers with calves were targeted first.
雌性南露脊鲸通常到相同的避风港繁殖后代
To give birth, females came to the same sheltered bays
而且会与幼崽始终形影不离
and would not leave their calves alone at the surface.
短短几十年里 就有3.5万头南露脊鲸遭到猎杀
In just decades, a population of 35,000
仅剩35头雌性南露脊鲸存活下来
was so reduced that only 35 of the females survived.
好在局面发生了转变
But times have changed.
1986年国际捕鲸委员会通过法令禁止商业捕鲸
A ban on the commercial hunting of whales, introduced in 1986,
只有日本、挪威和冰岛除外
has stopped all but Japan, Norway and Iceland.
我们与这些非凡动物的关系
Our relationship to these remarkable creatures
得以显著改善
has undergone a huge shift.
如今科学家们对南露脊鲸已有了很多了解
Scientists are now learning a great deal about these whales.
但它们的寿命仍旧是个谜
But we still don't know how long they live.
有人认为现存的这些南露脊鲸
It's thought that some individuals alive today
很可能也经历过那些捕鲸猖撅的年代
were around at the time of the mass slaughter.
尽管如此 这些60吨♥重的庞然大物
Yet these 60-tonne whales remain gentle
对人类仍旧保持着温和和好奇的态度
and inquisitive around humans.
随着商业捕鲸的禁止
By putting a stop to commercial hunting,
南露脊鲸的种群数量已经达到了2000多头
this population of whales has now grown to over 2,000.
这种庞然大物在南极水域的种群恢复
The recovery of life in Antarctic waters may have a significance
将会产生深远影响 不仅仅局限于南极大♥陆♥
that extends far beyond the reaches of the continent
甚至会影响我们整个人类
and will affect us all.
就在南极洲的象岛海岸
Just off the coast of Elephant Island,
我们最近目睹了
we have recently witnessed what might be
地球上最蔚为壮观的觅食景象
the greatest feeding spectacle on Earth.
在遥远的地平线上 150多条鲸鱼聚在一起
On the horizon, over 150 whales have gathered
尽情享受着难得的磷虾盛宴
to feast on krill.
又是迄今为止拍到的世界上规模最大的鲸鱼集♥会♥
This is the largest congregation of great whales ever filmed.
它们中大多数是长须鲸 体长将近26米
These are mostly fin whales, up to 26 metres long.
座头鲸在它面前都有些相形见绌了
Humpback whales are dwarfed in comparison.
来自南极海域的成千上万只动物
Thousands of animals from all over Antarctic waters
正在向这里进发
are making their way here.
这片广阔的海洋再次变得生机勃勃
These seas are, once again, beginning to brim with life.
科学家们发现南极附近海域
And scientists have discovered that the Southern Ocean,
及其孕育的无数生命吸收大气中碳元素的含量
and the life within it, soaks up more than twice as much
是亚马逊雨林吸收量的两倍还多
carbon from the atmosphere as the Amazon rainforest.
通过保护南极洲 我们不仅能够保护这里多样的生命
By protecting Antarctica, we don't just protect the life here...
也有助于恢复我们整个星球的
..we are helping to restore the natural balance
自然平衡
of the entire planet.
下集预告
Next time...
地球上最大洲
..the largest continent on Earth.
一个遍布极端环境的世界
A world of extremes...
极其罕见的动物漫步其间
..where rarely seen animals roam the land...
亚洲
..Asia.