大裂谷：美丽的非洲心脏（2010）

埃塞俄比亚高地
The Ethiopian highlands.
非洲的屋脊
The roof of Africa.
三千万年前
30 million years ago,
这片广袤的高原有西班牙那么大
this was a vast high-altitude plateau the size of Spain.
自此，非洲的原始风貌
Since then, the elements have carved the landscape
可以媲美大峡谷
into Africa's equivalent of the Grand Canyon.
数百万年的侵蚀
Millions of years of erosion
形成了离岛的高原地形
have created isolated islands of alpine terrain
这里奇特的生物是地球上其他地方没有的
supporting strange and unique creatures found nowhere else on earth.
猴叫声
MONKEYS CHIRP
高地的狮尾狒狒有一个核心领袖
The gelada baboon needs a head for heights,
如果单独行动就意味着死亡
where a single slip would mean certain death.
狮尾狒狒专属这寒冷的高原
Geladas are exclusive to this chilly plateau,
它们有一身厚厚的毛皮御寒
kept warm by a long fur coat.
它们是地球上住得最高的灵长类
They are the highest-dwelling primates on the planet,
最高处达到4500米
ranging up to 4,500 metres.
狒狒咕噜声
BABOON GRUNTS
但是真正令人惊讶的是它们的数量
But what's really surprising is their sheer numbers.
狮尾狒狒是最善交际的猴子
Geladas are the most sociable monkeys on earth.
象塞伦盖蒂的庞大兽群，它们是素食主义者
Like the game herds of the Serengeti, they are vegetarians.
在这些高地牧场，它们代替了吃草的羚羊
In these high pastures, they take the place of grazing antelopes.
但是狮尾狒狒并不是非洲屋脊上的唯一奇特的生物
But geladas aren't the only peculiar creatures up here on the roof of Africa.
一只巨型鼹鼠…
This is a giant mole rat...
吱吱声
SQUEAKS
一种埃赛俄比亚高地独有的草食动物
..a specialised grass-eater that's unique to the Ethiopian highlands.
鼹鼠居住在地下
The mole rat lives underground,
在黄昏或黎明时分出来觅食
emerging at dawn and dusk to snatch mouthfuls of grass,
它把食物拖回洞穴再悠闲的慢慢食用
which it drags back to its burrow to munch at leisure.
吱吱声
MOLE RAT SQUEAKS
它的谨慎是有理由的
There's every reason to be cautious.
狡猾的埃塞俄比亚狼
This foxy-looking Ethiopian wolf
几乎专门捕食巨型鼹鼠
preys almost exclusively on giant mole rats.
-(鼹鼠惨叫声) -(狼的咆哮声)
MOLE RAT SQUEAKS, WOLF GROWLS
尽管狼的捕猎能力很强,但鼹鼠实在太多了
Despite the wolf's best efforts, mole rats are incredibly common.
估计每平方英里的草地上
It's estimated there may be more than 15,000 of them
生活着15,000只鼹鼠
in each square mile of grassland.
尽管鼹鼠和狮尾狒狒的数量都很多，但它们却从没见过面
Yet despite their high numbers, mole rats and geladas never meet.
那么，怎么会这样呢
So, how can that be?
原因是这样的
The answer is this.
鼹鼠和狮尾狒狒各自占据着一处高地
Dividing geladas on one side from mole rats on the other,
东非大裂谷贯穿埃塞俄比亚
the Great Rift Valley runs through Ethiopia,
把非洲屋脊一分为二
slicing the roof of Africa in two.
但它并没有就此止步
But it doesn't stop there.
继续向南延伸了3,000英里
Extending 3,000 miles further south,
大裂谷生态决定了整个东非的自然景观
the Great Rift shapes and defines the entire landscape of East Africa,
创造了一个生物进化的热点地区
creating intense hot spots of evolution.
大裂谷一路飙升至最热点，草原上弥漫着飞尘
All along the Rift Valley, soaring above the hot, dusty plains,
海港隔离的高地形成了独特的野生生物群落
isolated mountain peaks harbour unique wildlife communities.
一个奇异而五彩斑斓的生物空间
A kaleidoscope of strange and remarkable creatures.
包括非凡的野生动物
As well as extraordinary wildlife,
还有奇形怪状的山峰
there's something else that's special about these mountains.
它们都是拥有共同的起源
They all share a common origin
关键是要了解大裂谷是如何形成的……
that is key to understanding how the rift was formed...
......为什么这片土地对非洲有着深远的影响
..and why it has had such a far-reaching impact on this part of Africa.
第一个线索就在这里
The first clue lies here,
在大裂谷最北端的空旷地带
at the very northern margin of the Great Rift Valley.
埃塞俄比亚达纳基尔洼地
Ethiopia's Danakil Depression.
这里是厄特尔
This is Erta Ale,
非洲最活跃的火山
Africa's most active volcano.
它包含了世界上唯一的永久性熔岩湖
It contains the world's only permanent lava lake.
厄特尔火山让我们看到了地球最可怕的一面
Like a window into the fiery heart of the earth,
在我们脚下燃烧的熔岩
Erta Ale provides a terrifying glimpse of the inner workings of our planet.
在我们脚下燃烧的熔岩
A cauldron of molten rock beneath our feet.
就地质条件,厄特尔火山目前还处于初级阶段
In geological terms, Erta Ale's volcano is still in its infancy.
但往南1000英里
But 1,000 miles to the south,
另一个大裂谷火山已经存在了一百万年
another Rift Valley volcano has been growing for at least a million years.
上升到大裂谷的东边
Rising to the east of the Great Rift Valley,
白雪皑皑的乞力马扎罗山海拔近4英里
snow-capped Kilimanjaro towers nearly four miles high.
这是非洲最高的山脉
It's Africa's loftiest peak
也是地球上海拔最高的独♥立♥火山
and the tallest free-standing volcano on earth.
乞力马扎罗和厄特尔这两座紧紧相连的火山
Kilimanjaro and Erta Ale are just two links in a long chain of volcanoes
造就了大峡谷的长度
that runs the length of the Great Rift.
实际上，大裂谷沿途的山脉都是
In fact, all the mountains along the rift are volcanic,
深埋在地表之下的火山
born deep beneath the earth's surface.
科学家认为，一个超热熔岩柱
Scientists believe that a plume of superhot lava
在东非地壳下不断上升了
has been rising up beneath the crust of East Africa
数百万年
for millions of years.
地表已经被提升了一英里多
The thick crust above the plume has been lifted more than a mile high,
导致它的周围出现了许多裂缝
causing cracks to appear around its margins.
东部和西部地表上升的裂缝
The Eastern and Western Rift Valleys mark the fractured edges
暗示东非高地处于爆裂的边缘
of the uplifted East African Plateau,
且进一步向四周延伸
with further branches extending outwards.
并且，哪里都有熔岩渗出
And wherever molten rock has seeped through from below,
巨大的火山将要喷发
huge volcanoes have grown up.
据估计在过去三千万年里
It's estimated that over the last 30 million years,
大裂谷的火山已经喷发出了大量的岩浆
the rift's volcanoes have poured out enough molten rock
淹没面♥积♥约有威尔士那么大，且厚度达15英里
to bury an area the size of Wales to a depth of 15 miles.
高达 5,200 米的肯尼亚山就是岩浆堆积经多年风化的产物
Mount Kenya's 5,200-metre-high summit is an eroded lava plug,
这说明它曾经更高
suggesting it was once even taller.
在高山下面
Below the summit,
一种奇异的植物顽强的生存在斜坡一带
a belt of strange and unique alpine plants clings to the slopes.
即使是在赤道上，山上的天气仍是不可预知的
Even on the equator, mountain weather is unpredictable.
在几英里之外
Just a few miles away,
狮子和斑马暴露在非洲炙热的太阳下
lions and zebra are sweltering under a blazing African sun,
但在这里，在肯尼亚山，突然间便有狂风暴雪来袭
yet here, on Mount Kenya, a sudden squall can bring snow,
创造的冬日奇境
creating a winter wonderland.
这种极端的气候对山上的
This extreme climate poses a real challenge
野生动物是种真正的挑战
to the mountain's wild inhabitants.
只有在肯尼亚山才能看见高原岩蹄兔
Highland rock hyraxes are found only on Mount Kenya.
高原岩蹄兔不断变化，以应对寒冬
High mountain hyraxes have evolved to cope with the cold.
它们的体积远远大于平原蹄兔
They are much larger than lowland hyraxes
并且有非常浓密的毛皮
and have exceptionally dense fur,
这使得它们的核心体温有了保证
which allows them to maintain their core temperature
这是在冰冷山上的必备因素
in freezing mountain conditions.
(蹄兔叫声)
HYRAXES CALL
太阳出来时，蹄兔以晒太阳的方式来节省能量
When the sun reappears, the hyraxes save energy by sunbathing.
巨大的高山植物免受霜冻损害的秘技是叶子
Giant alpine plants insulate their delicate buds from frost damage
它像保温的羽绒被
by wrapping them in a protective duvet of leaves,
层层包裹着嫩芽
which unfurl one by one as the temperature rises.
巨型鸵羽半边莲已经形成了独特的生命周期
The giant ostrich plume lobelia has evolved a peculiar life cycle.
经过几年的成长，一个巨大的花蕾含苞待放
After several years of growth, it sprouts a huge flower spike,
毛茸茸的外皮包裹着无数朵小花
containing hundreds of tiny flowers swathed in a mass of furry insulation.
这里往上,在海拔两英里半高的地方
Up here, over two and a half miles above sea level,
传粉的昆虫很少
insect pollinators are scarce,
所以，半边莲进化出了特别的伙伴关系
so the lobelia has developed an alternative partnership.
(鸟叫)
BIRD CHIRPS
植物丰富的花蜜深深吸引了高空飞翔的太阳鸟
The plant attracts high-flying sunbirds with a rich supply of nectar.
太阳鸟把半边莲当做一个加油站
The sunbirds use the lobelia as a fuelling depot,
一个聚会之地
a social meeting point
和一个晒太阳的好地方
and a sunbathing perch.
反之，半边莲也得到了授粉和繁殖的机会
In return, the lobelias get pollinated and set seed.
继续往下，约3000米的地方
Further down the mountain, at around 3,000 metres,
生活着一种肯尼亚山的奇妙居民
lives perhaps Mount Kenya's strangest resident -
侧条纹变色龙
the side-striped chameleon.
这是种唯一适合高海拔生活的冷血爬行动物
This cold-blooded reptile is uniquely adapted for mountain life,
这里远远高出爬行动物通常生存地方的高度
far above the altitude where reptiles normally survive.
黎明时分，它爬到了裸♥露♥的高处
As dawn breaks, it creeps onto an exposed perch,
冉冉升起的太阳直接照射在它的身上
where it lines up its body at right angles to the rising sun.
随后，它的皮肤变成了暗淡的潮红
Then, flushing its skin with dark pigment,
像太阳能一样吸收阳光的热量
it soaks up the rays like a solar panel.