美洲大陆（2025）

由水底通道穿梭形成
The flooded passageways...
面♥积♥约达十万平方英里
stretching for 100,000 square miles.
不仅引流着全佛州地底的淡水
It channels fresh water underneath the whole of Florida
甚至远达密西西比和南卡罗来纳州
and as far as Mississippi and South Carolina.
然而在地面上
Yet on the surface...
却完全无从得知
you'd never know it was there.
阳光之州几乎所有民生用水
Almost all the water that people use in the Sunshine State
都来自这座珍贵的水库
comes from this precious reservoir
就在脚底下
right beneath their feet.
有些岩洞深达1000英尺
Some caves may be a thousand feet deep.
若没有灯照 可是一片漆黑
Without our lights, there's absolute darkness.
但生命总会找到出路
But life finds a way.
佐治亚盲螈
The Georgia blind salamander.
体型仅约人类小指
The size of your pinky.
活在不见天日的环境 皮肤不需要色素保护
In a world that never sees sun, skin needs no protective pigment.
也不需要有眼睛
But there's no point in having eyes.
牠利用的是吻部的感官窝
Instead, sensory pits on its snout
来察觉最细微的动静
detect the slightest movement.
这只虫想活命
The worm will be safe
就必须静止不动
only if it stays still.
可惜
Oh, well.
多么惬意的生活
What a life.
含水层岩洞靠近表面处
Where the aquifer caves are close to the surface
水源源涌出
water flows out...
成了上千座清澈涌泉
into more than a thousand crystal clear springs.
华氏72度的水温
At a temperature close to 72 degrees
终年维持
all year round.
冬季期间 仰赖这些地点生存的
During the winter months, these places are vital
是佛州最怪异却又最为人喜爱的动物
for the survival of one of Florida's strangest but most loved animals.
佛州是全球涌泉最密集之处
Florida is home to the greatest concentration of springs on Earth.
这些涌泉与水晶河
These and Crystal River are winter refuges for animals
是某种和大象同祖先的
who share an ancestor...
动物避冬之地
with elephants.
海牛
Manatees.
牠们体型巨大
They're huge.
可能跟你家沙发一样大
They can be the size of your couch
却几乎没有半点隔热脂肪
but they barely have an ounce of insulating fat.
得靠温暖的佛州泉水来保命
So the warmth of Florida springs is a lifeline.
季节性群聚是社交的好机会
Seasonal get-togethers are a welcome chance to socialize.
鬼捉人游戏
A game of touch tag
谁不爱玩呢
is simply too good to miss.
科学家称之为嬉戏行为
Scientists called this behavior "cavorting."
本节目拍到公海牛 练习社交技巧的罕见画面
Rarely filmed these males are, in fact, honing their social skills
一边练习如何求偶
and practicing courtship moves.
人类还不够了解海牛的友谊
There's still a lot to understand about manatee friendships.
或许这将是一辈子的情谊
But perhaps these are bonds that will last a lifetime.
海牛寿命可超过半世纪
Manatees can live more than half a century
每年都回到同一处泉水
and return to the same springs year after year.
其生存不可或缺的安全庇护处
Safe harbors crucial for their survival.
佛罗里达的水愈往南流
As water flows southwards in Florida
水陆界线愈发模糊
the line between land and water continues to blur
在这片平坦低地上
creating in these flat lowlands
形成全美最壮观的自然奇景
one of America's great natural wonders.
佛罗里达大沼泽地
The Everglades.
看似一片浅水 其实
A shallow sheet of water that is, in fact
是缓缓流动的河
a slow-moving river.
宽度称霸全美
The widest in America.
地平线上一望无际的芒草
There's little to break the horizon but sawgrass
赋予其饶富情怀的别称
which gives it the rather more romantic name.
草原之河
The River of Grass.
超过一千种动物栖息于此
Home to over a thousand types of animals.
部分地区流速仅每小时2英尺
In places, water creeps along at just two feet an hour.
生活步调可说是有如蜗牛一样慢
You could say life moves at a snail's pace.
但这可不是普通的蜗牛
But this is no ordinary snail.
佛罗里达苹果螺
The Florida apple snail
是美国体型最大的本土淡水螺
is the largest native freshwater snail in America.
大小约一颗高尔夫球
The size of a golf ball.
这只母螺即将产卵
She's expecting a brood of babies.
眼前却有一道难题
But there's one obstacle.
苹果螺必须离水产卵
Apple snails must lay their eggs out of water.
以避免被鱼吃掉
So they'll be out of reach of hungry fish.
因此必须往上攀
And that means going up.
但爬上水面 自己也有生命危险
But climbing to the surface puts her life at risk.
苹果螺的天敌正在上空盘旋
Patrolling the skies is an apple snail's nemesis.
不少同类已罹难
Many have already fallen victim.
这宗大屠♥杀♥的始作俑者
This carnage is the signature of a remarkable
是一种出众且致命的猛禽
and deadly bird of prey.
佛罗里达大沼泽地上空
The skies above Florida's Everglades
有掠食者盘旋
are patrolled by a predator...
其特长足以致命
with a lethal specialty.
大沼泽地食螺鸢
An everglade snail kite.
这种濒危猛禽靠捕食一种动物为生
These endangered birds rely on one thing as prey.
苹果螺
Apple snails.
每只食螺鸢一天可吃掉十几只苹果螺
Each bird can eat more than a dozen snails a day.
鸟喙弧度完全吻合螺壳的旋形
The curve of the kite's bill perfectly matches the spiral of the shell.
专为除壳而演化的工具
A tool evolved for shucking snails.
这对于待产卵的苹果螺是一大威胁
And that's bad news if you're an apple snail that needs to lay eggs.
食螺鸢可从30英尺上空 看见水面下的螺
A kite can spot a snail just under the water's surface from 30 feet up.
苹果螺自有逃脱计划
Apple snails do have an escape plan.
就是返回原处
Back to square one.
食螺鸢入夜后不再捕猎
But kites don't hunt after dark.
夜晚是动身的好机会
So nightfall gives an opportunity.
牠攀着芒草往上爬
She's climbing a blade of sawgrass.
芒刺有助保护螺卵
The tiny barbs will help protect her brood.
牠已就定位
She's in position.
机会错过不再
It's now or never.
牠得在日出前产完数十颗卵
Before sunrise, she must lay dozens of eggs.
缩时摄影让我们见证大自然的奥妙
Time-lapse photography reveals this wonder of nature.
拂晓时分
Dawn.
还剩最后几颗
And just a few more to go.
最后一颗了
The last one.
任务完成
Mission accomplished.
两周后 螺卵便会孵化
In a couple of weeks, the eggs are ready to hatch.
一出生就得独♥立♥
Independent from the get-go
新一代的苹果螺
a new generation of apple snails
将在这片大沼泽地生长
will grow up in the mighty Everglades
直至轮到牠们
until it is their turn...
面对食螺鸢
to face the kites.
宽广的草原之河
The vast river of grass
最终流向佛州的墨西哥湾岸
eventually makes its way towards Florida's Gulf Coast.
海洋咸水与河流淡水混合处
Where sea water mixes with the river's fresh water
最适合湿生植物生长
mangrove trees thrive...
形成北美规模最大的红树林
forming the biggest mangrove forest in North America.
面♥积♥比纽约市还大
Larger than New York City.
红树林横跨水陆
It straddles land and water.
形成一座座错综复杂的小岛
A network of exquisite, tiny islands.
大多数荒无人烟
Most are uninhabited.
但也有例外
But not all.
若能居住在人间天堂
When there's an opportunity to live in paradise
谁不想把握机会呢
who wouldn't jump at the chance?
短短60年内
In just 60 years
马可岛从几近蛮荒
Marco Island has gone from near wilderness
发展成近2万人口的城市
to a city of almost 20,000.
当地庭院终年饱经灌溉
Here, yards are irrigated all year round.
草长得青翠又茂盛
So grass is green and luscious.
家家户户都有完美草坪
And everyone has the perfect lawn.
或说几近完美
Or almost perfect.
洞穴如雨后春笋般出现
Holes are appearing everywhere.
表示有不速之客 迁入了这个小区
The sign that someone surprising has moved into the neighborhood.
佛州墨西哥湾岸
On Florida's Gulf Coast