美洲大陆（2025）

它们想找的贻贝 生长在受海浪拍打的岩石上
The mussels they want grow on these wave-pummeled rocks.
配备蹼足的海獭是游泳健将
The otters' webbed feet make them powerful swimmers
但事情依然不容易
but it isn't easy.
它们得在6米的巨浪之间 把握好潜入的时机
They must time their dives between the 20-foot waves.
而成功的收获 是大量高质量蛋白质
The reward is a supply of top-quality protein.
但对海獭妈妈来说
But for an otter mom
在这里觅食太冒险了
hunting here can be a risk too far.
潜水时
While she dives
它得将小海獭留在水面
she has to leave her baby on the surface
漂浮在激烈的海流中
drifting on the strong currents.
妈妈开始呼叫小海獭
Mom cries out for her pup.
小海獭认出了妈妈独特的叫声
And he recognizes her unique call.
再次团圆
She's found him.
为了养活成长中的小海獭
To provide for her growing youngster
海獭妈妈一天得吃25磅的海鲜
Mom needs to eat 25 pounds of seafood every day.
这里确实有很多食物
There may be plenty of food here
但有个不远的地方 海流更加和缓
but there is somewhere close by with calmer waters.
蒙特雷湾
Monterey Harbor.
这里或许没有那么多食物
There may not be as much food here
但看来更安全 不怕独留小海獭
but it seems like a safer place for a mom to leave her pup.
或许不然
Or maybe not.
这处海湾也有其危险性
This harbor has hazards of its own.
当母亲的一刻不得闲
The mom can never really relax.
它需要想想办法
She needs a plan.
真是个好点子
There's an idea.
小海獭有个定点可以待着 海獭妈妈就可以放心狩猎
With pup securely anchored, Mom can hunt without worrying.
虽然很伤船漆
That's not doing the paintwork much good
但船身确实很适合用来开贻贝的壳
but a ship's hull does make a fine mussel cracker.
小海獭要靠妈妈养到六个月大
Sea otter pups depend on their mothers for six months.
这段期间 妈妈几乎得不断进食
All that time, moms have to feed almost nonstop.
不管在大浪间 或是海湾中
Whether it's big surf or harbor living
海獭已学会因地制宜
sea otters have worked out how to make the most
适应西岸截然不同的
of two very different worlds
两种环境
on the West Coast.
蒙特雷湾已经繁荣了超过一百年
Monterey has been a bustling harbor for more than 100 years
人们善加利用了资源丰沛的水域
making the most out of the bountiful waters.
其中奥秘就在海湾之外不远处
Its secret lies just beyond the harbor wall
水面之下
beneath the surface
超过3218米的深海
in places more than two miles down...
是蒙特雷峡谷
lies Monterey Canyon.
在其最深处 峡谷的巨大岩壁更是往下延伸1609米
At its deepest, colossal walls descend a mile further
深度可与大峡谷匹敌
rivaling the Grand Canyon in scale.
在这底下
Lurking down here
住着一群非常奇特的生物
is a truly bizarre collection of creatures
全都演化成能够适应近乎全黑
all evolved to live in near total darkness
且水压极高的环境
and under crushing pressure.
例如这只大鳍后肛鱼
Like this barreleye
正通过它透明的头部往上看
gazing upwards through its own transparent head
试图捕捉上方任何猎物的
trying to pick out the faint silhouette
模糊轮廓
of any prey above.
这是尚未探索的新疆界
This is a new frontier of exploration
我们要寻找那些奇特美丽的生物
where we search for the weird and the wonderful.
这里有些动物 超乎人们的想象
Some animals here almost defy imagination.
这只叫做巨型尾海鞘
This is known as a giant larvacean
虽然实则长7.62厘米
even though it's only three inches long.
每天它都会从头部 分泌两个奇怪的结构
Every day it secretes two strange structures from its head
皆由黏液组成
both made of mucus.
一个由尾部驱动的食物过滤系统
A food filtration system powered by its tail.
与一张大网 捕捉黑暗中
And a huge net, which traps thousands of particles
流过的无数碎屑
as they drift through the darkness.
这里的动物确实令人惊艳
And while the animals are extraordinary
但峡谷本身也非比寻常
so, too, is the canyon itself.
峡谷会喷出寒冷又富含营养的水到海面 规模极其庞大
It funnels cold nutrient-rich water to the surface on a vast scale.
帮助珊瑚生长
Helping reefs to flourish
而栖息其中的一种 九颗脑袋的庞然大物
and providing a home for a nine-brained behemoth
有着一种神秘行为
that has a secretive ritual
极少有人类目睹
few people have ever witnessed.
美国西岸的冷水暗礁中
On the cold-water reefs off the West Coast
红黄道蟹有个困扰
the red rock crabs have a problem.
每天它们都被迫参加致命的捉迷藏
Everyday, they're forced into a deadly game of hide-and-seek
对手是鬼祟又聪明的猎手
with a stealthy and clever hunter
不但头部有脑
who not only has a brain in her head
每条触腕也都有
but one in each arm as well.
最好找到地方躲藏
You'd better have a good hiding place...
别被北太平洋巨型章鱼找到
from a giant Pacific octopus.
它们是世界上最大的章鱼
They are the world's largest
体型可长达4.9米
up to 16 feet across.
只要它找到螃蟹 就会用有毒的唾液将其包覆制伏
Any crab she finds is smothered and subdued with toxic saliva
再用锋利的喙撬开蟹壳
Then cracked open with her razor-sharp beak.
过去四年来所有成功的狩猎
Her hunting success over the last four years
都是为了这一刻
has been preparing for this moment.
它释放出一种气味来吸引异性
She sends out a scent to attract a suitor.
仰慕者来了
And someone's homing in.
这只巨大的公章鱼
A huge male...
无法抵挡它的魅力
who finds her irresistible.
它有条用来交♥配♥的交接腕 用来送出精♥子♥囊
He has a special mating arm to gently transfer a packet of sperm.
这场温柔的仪式 先前从未有野外影像纪录
A tender ritual that has never been filmed before in the wild.
交♥配♥过程最长可达四小时
Their embrace can last four hours.
交♥配♥完后
But once it's over
它们各分东西
they part ways.
此生不再相见
Never to meet again.
母章鱼的任务才刚开始
Her work is just beginning.
首先 它建立屏障
First, she creates a barricade.
直到无路可进
Until there is no way in...
也无路可出
or out.
九个月过去了
Nine months pass.
它正守卫着十万颗卵
She is now guarding 100,000 eggs.
每天 它都仔细清洁每颗卵
Every day, she has gently cleaned them
确保卵泡在富含氧气的水中
and made sure they're bathed in oxygen-rich water.
这段时间它不曾离开巢穴
All this time, she's never left her den.
现在
And by now
它已十分虚弱
she has grown very weak.
终于
But at last
卵要准备孵化了
the eggs are ready to hatch.
体型只有米粒大小
Just the size of a grain of rice
每只小章鱼
each miniature octopus
现在都得在广阔的太平洋碰运气
must now take its chances in the vast Pacific Ocean.
而章鱼妈妈注定活不过这个阶段
But this is something no octopus mom survives.
它忍♥受饥饿
By starving herself
牺牲自己的性命
she sacrificed her own life
给了后代最好的生存机会
to give her offspring the best chance.
不到百分之一的小章鱼能活到成年
Less than one percent will become adults.
幸运的生存者会回到深海
The lucky ones will descend back to the depths
长成像妈妈一样的
and grow into giants
巨大章鱼
just like Mom.
为了在西岸生存 有时得牺牲一切
To succeed on the West Coast can take everything you've got.
但当万事俱备时
But when the conditions are right
收获可能非常丰厚
the rewards can be huge.
（洛杉矶 马里布）
距洛杉矶161公里处
Just 100 miles from Los Angeles
有一群列为保护区的岛屿
lies a chain of protected islands
吸引了各样的海洋生物
that are a magnet for marine life.
最西端的
Their most westerly point
一座偏远海滩 有着经典加州风情
is a remote beach with classic California vibes
尽管此地不见冲浪板的踪影
even though there's not a surfboard in sight.
圣米格尔岛是世界上 最多海狮和海豹的聚集之处
San Miguel Island hosts the largest gathering of sea lions and seals on Earth.
每年夏天都有12万只 以这座僻远的
Every summer, 120,000 make the soft
柔软沙滩 为栖息地
secluded sands their home.
虽然沙滩是避风港
And while the beach is their sanctuary
但大海才是生存关键
the water holds the key to their survival.
该下水冲浪了