美洲大陆（2025）

这是一只橡果啄木鸟
And this is an acorn woodpecker.
牠仰赖这些橡果来过冬
He relies on these nuts to survive the coming winter.
但必须囤积数千颗才行
But he'll need to store away thousands.
每颗橡果都必须嵌进专属的储藏孔
Every acorn must be wedged into its very own storage hole.
一颗就得敲凿整整20分钟
Each takes a full 20 minutes of chiseling
这可真是头疼
and that could be a real headache.
所幸牠们脑部对冲击力的耐受性
Fortunately, their brains can tolerate forces
远超出人类数千倍
thousands of times greater than ours can.
牠与家族成员分工合作
He and his family work as a team.
这在鸟类中极为罕见
One of the only birds in the world to do so.
团队合作还有一个益处
Teamwork is also handy
提防窃贼
to keep an eye out for thieves.
虽然牠们不分享食物
They might not share food
但与人类共存在这片肥沃丘陵
but they have shared these fertile hills with people
已有一万年之久
for 10,000 years.
牧场的发展带来转变
Ranchers brought change
也给了啄木鸟新的机遇
along with new opportunities for the birds.
谷仓的侧壁 或许是个省力的捷径
The side of a barn might offer a labor-saving shortcut.
于是另一群啄木鸟便把握这个机会
And another woodpecker family is taking advantage.
红杉护墙板比橡树更柔软
Redwood cladding is softer than an oak tree.
凿洞就能事半功倍
So they can work twice as fast.
然而 事情并不如预期顺利
But it's not all going to plan.
虽然红杉较软
The cladding may be soft
却过于单薄
but it's also thin.
这下没那么明智了吧
Not so clever now, huh?
多么丧气啊
How frustrating.
辛苦藏的橡果都积在墙板后
All those acorns piled up behind the boards.
直到
Until...
至少牠们还有机会能痛改前非
At least now they've got another chance to do it right.
有时候
Sometimes the old ways
老方法才最可靠
are the best ways.
至于橡树上的家族
For the oak tree family
努力倒是有所成果
their work has paid off.
该来稍作歇息 盘点收获了
Time to sit back and take inventory.
牠们已安全储藏了超过四千颗橡果
They've safely stored more than 4,000 acorns.
由于牠们专挑枯枝
And since they prefer dead branches
树木毫发无伤
the trees are unharmed.
这种树叫作"粮仓树"
Known as a granary
在大自然中独树一帜
this is unlike anything else in nature.
这支顶尖团队将靠着粮仓树 渡过狂野西部的寒冬
It will see this top team through the Wild West winter.
内华达山脉的高峰
The peaks of the Sierra Nevadas
挡住了从海岸涌来的雨云
block rainclouds sweeping in from the coast.
最终的结果
The result?
就是一片广袤的沙漠 其中全然不同的挑战
Vast deserts that set a very different challenge
考验着狂野西部的生物
to life in the Wild West.
纪念碑谷
Monument Valley
这片令人屏息的壮丽景色
the breathtaking landscape
是上千部电影的取景地
in which a thousand movies are set.
这里是纳瓦霍族800年来的家园
This has been home to the Navajo Nation for 800 years.
这片西部沙漠是全北美最炎热且干燥的地区
These Western deserts are the hottest and driest in all of North America.
在索诺拉沙漠
Here in the Sonoran
气温经常飙升至华氏120度
the temperature often hits 120 degrees.
为了应对
And to cope
某种生物的生存策略
one animal has a survival strategy
宛如科幻作品般神奇
that seems straight out of science fiction.
一支全由雌蚁组成的团队
An all-female team of ants.
牠们知道艰难时期即将来临
They know that lean times lie ahead.
因此这些工蚁正忙碌奔波
So these worker ants are rushed off their feet
搜集花蜜和水
collecting nectar and water
储存在地下深处
to store away deep underground.
蚂蚁在地底9呎处建造巢穴
The ants build a nest 9ft beneath the surface
里面堆满了奇形怪状的储藏罐
packed with bizarre-looking storage pots.
但转折来了
But here's the plot twist.
这些罐子
The pots...
是活的
are alive.
罐子起初是普通的工蚁
They start life as ordinary worker ants
之后不断被喂食花蜜和水
but then are constantly fed nectar and water.
随着腹部膨胀
As they swell
上头的黑色硬质片因而撑开
the black bands of their abdomens are forced apart...
直到体积大如葡萄
until they end up the size of a grape.
此时这些工蚁余生的职责
Now they're destined to spend the rest of their lives
就是悬挂在巢穴顶部
hanging from the ceiling
成为活生生的储藏罐
as a living pantry.
这个蚁种也因而得名
And that's why this species is called...
蜜罐蚁
the honeypot ant.
每只蚂蚁各司其职
Every ant plays their part.
这只巨蚁就是蚁后
This giant is the queen.
牠的体型是工蚁的三倍大
Three times the size of the workers.
并且只负责产卵
All she does is lay eggs.
统治期间可产数百万颗
Millions during her reign.
过去五年
For the last five years
牠只产工蚁卵
she produced worker eggs.
而如今牠开始产下新的阶级
But now, she's making something new.
带翅的王子和公主
Princes and princesses with wings.
飞蚁
Flying ants.
飞蚁唯一的使命就是离巢
Their sole mission is to leave
并创建新的巢穴
and start fresh colonies.
不过牠们挖掘新巢的地点
However, they can only dig a new nest
只能是经雨水软化后的土壤
in earth that's been softened by rain.
而在这片沙漠中
And in this desert
牠们可有得等了
that could mean a long wait.
在烈日的照射下
As the sun beats down
蚁群的食物供应逐渐枯竭
the colony's food supply dries up.
此时蜜罐蚁的牺牲起了作用
Now the honeypots' sacrifice pays off.
每只蜜罐蚁开始 把存于体内的花蜜反刍出来
Each begins to regurgitate the nectar stored within its body.
由工蚁分食
Shared around by the workers
如此恰好足以供养整个蚁群
it's just enough to keep the whole colony alive.
暂时如此
For now.
但在索诺拉沙漠
But in the Sonoran
并非所有个体都有团队支持
not everyone has a team to back them up.
特别是这只单亲妈妈
Especially this single mom.
一只美国大山猫
A bobcat
还带着双倍麻烦
with double trouble.
一对双胞胎幼崽
Twins.
牠的小猫才几周大
Her kittens are just a few weeks old
完全仰赖母乳
and totally dependent on her milk.
雌猫一天得喂奶四次
Mom needs to feed them four times a day.
为了做到这点 牠急需水源
And to do that, she urgently needs water.
不像蚁群
Unlike the ant colony
牠没有存粮能依赖
she doesn't have a store to fall back on.
所以必须离开孩子
So she must leave her family
独自外出
and venture out alone.
这片土地两个月来未曾降下一滴雨
This land hasn't received a drop of rain in two long months.
牠面临艰巨挑战
She's got her work cut out.
小猫的存亡全靠牠了
The survival of her kittens depends on her.
即便有存粮
Despite their stores
蜜罐蚁也渐感绝望
even the honeypot ants are getting desperate.
由于僧多粥少
With so many extra mouths to feed
假如干旱持续
if the drought continues
存粮将会耗尽
their supply will run dry
蚁群终究会全数饿死
and they'll all starve.
极度干旱的索诺拉沙漠里
In the bone-dry Sonoran Desert
所有生物皆引颈盼望着同一件事
everyone is waiting for one thing.
天降甘霖
Rain.
暴雨持续得不久
The storm doesn't last long.
但已经足够了
But it's enough.
山猫会连续猛喝水五分钟
A bobcat will gulp water for five minutes straight.
小猫
The tiny kittens
焦急地等待着母亲归来
are anxiously waiting for Mom's return.
终于啊
About time too.