野性英伦（2023）

在出发寻找自己的领地之前
before setting out to find territories of their own.
苏格兰有超过250个河狸领地
There are over 250 beaver territories in Scotland,
现在它们被重新引入英格兰和威尔士
and they're now being reintroduced into England and Wales.
对于其它物种来说 河狸通过减缓河水流速
By slowing the river, the beavers create a rich habitat
创造了一个富饶的栖息地
for a whole range of other species.
食物链的顶端
Right to the top of the food chain.
鱼鹰
Ospreys.
干净的水仍吸引了各种野生动物
Still, clean water attracts all kinds of wildlife.
在多塞特郡的石南荒原上
On a heathland in Dorset,
蜘蛛网覆盖着池塘周围的灌木丛
spiders' webs cover the bushes surrounding a pond.
有一种特殊的物种生活在水的边缘
And one specialist species lives at the very edge of the water.
一只雌性筏蛛
A female raft spider.
她只有你的手掌那么大 但却是个致命的刺客
She's the size of your palm and a deadly assassin.
她用水面当网
She uses the surface of the water as her web
通过振动感应猎物的存在
and senses the presence of prey from its vibrations.
不错的开始 但现在是繁殖季节
A good start, but it's mating season,
如果要繁殖后代的话 她需要更多的食物
and she'll need much more food if she's going to breed.
一只水黾可能是个很好开胃小菜
A pond-skater could be a good snack.
但不容易被抓住
But it's not easily caught.
这么少的一顿饭几乎不值得费这个劲
Such a small meal is barely worth the effort
但她也能在水下捕猎
but she can also hunt under the surface.
在这里有更丰盛的食物
There are much bigger meals to be had down here.
龙虱幼虫
The larva of a diving-beetle.
它本身就是凶猛的掠食者
Itself a ferocious predator.
但它必须浮出水面才能呼吸
But it has to come to the surface to breathe
通过尾部的气管
through a tube in its rear.
这样就进入了蜘蛛的攻击范围
And that brings it within striking range of the spider.
终于有一顿真正的大餐了
At last, a real meal.
现在她有了寻找配偶所需的能量
Now she has the energy needed to find a mate.
她留下一根丝线
She lays down a thread of silk
掺有香味
laced with perfume
然后回到她最喜欢待的地方
before returning to her favourite spot.
没过多久另一只筏蛛就发现了踪迹
And it's not long before another raft spider picks up the trail.
一只雄性
A male.
它有一对如拳击手套般的器官
He has a pair of large boxing glove-like organs
叫做须肢 用来储存精♥子♥
called pedipalps in which he stores his sperm.
这就是它一直在找的东西
And this is what he's been looking for
一根直接通向她的丝线
a thread of silk that leads straight to her.
一旦靠近 它就在水面上敲击
Once close, he taps the water's surface
发出它要靠近的信♥号♥♥
to signal that he's about to approach.
它还没她最后一顿饭大
He's no bigger than her last meal.
现在走错一步 它就可能变成甜点
A wrong move now and he could become dessert.
她似乎能接受
She seems receptive.
机会难得
It's now or never.
小心翼翼地
Carefully does it.
它们以缠绕的腿交♥配♥
They mate in a tangle of legs
它用一根须肢来转移精♥子♥
and he uses one of his palps to transfer his sperm
放进她身体的一个囊里 她会把它保存起来
into a sac in her body, where she will keep it
直到她准备好使用它
until she's ready to use it.
雄蛛随即迅速撤离
The male then beats a hasty retreat
在她把它也吃了之前
before she makes a meal of him, too.
当河流到达它们旅程的中间阶段时
As rivers reach the middle stages of their journey,
它们的体积和能量都会增加
they increase in both size and power.
几千年来 正是它们的力量塑造了我们的地貌
And it is their force over millennia that has shaped our landscape.
在石灰岩地区
In limestone country,
淡水在地下凿出一条路
the freshwater carves its way underground.
英国和爱尔兰有数千英里长的洞穴
Britain and Ireland contain thousands of miles of caves,
包括卡文郡的这些
including these in County Cavan.
水滴造就了钟乳石和石笋
The dripping water builds stalactites and stalagmites,
就像这些牙齿聚集在一起做鬼脸
like these teeth coming together in a rocky grimace.
几个世纪以来 它创造出了各式各样的石柱和石帘
Over centuries, it can create all kinds of pillars and curtains.
但即使在这里也有生命
Yet, even here, there is life.
水鼠耳蝠白天栖息在洞穴里
Daubenton's bats roost in caves during the day.
夜幕降临时它们才开始觅食
And, as night falls, they head out to feed.
幽灵般的影子出现在星光闪烁的河流上
Ghostly shapes appear over a starlit river.
蝙蝠通过发出回声定位的叫声来导航
The bats navigate by sending out echolocation calls
如果我们放慢声音和图像的速度 我们就能看到它的运作
which we can watch in operation if we slow down both sound and picture.
很快就明白了为什么水鼠耳蝠
It's soon clear why Daubenton's bats
也被称为水蝠
are also called water bats.
它们在河上巡逻 利用缓慢流动的水
They patrol the river, searching for tiny movements on the surface
搜寻水面上的微小动静
of the slow-moving water.
它们用叫声的回声
They use the echoes from their calls
来锁定猎物
to lock on to their prey.
然后从水面抓走
And then skim it from the surface.
这些小蝙蝠重约8克
Weighing about 8g, these little bats can nearly double
它们的体重在一夜的狩猎中会增加一倍
their body weight in a single night's hunting.
在这个秋天的夜晚
And on this autumn night,
雄性尤其需要它们所能获得的所有能量
the males in particular need all the energy they can get.
一只水鼠耳蝠在林间空地盘旋
A Daubenton's bat circles in a woodland glade.
很快其它的也从树的
And it's soon joined by others emerging from a cave
底部洞穴中出来
at the base of a tree.
在它们的导航声中 有一种不同的声音
Amongst their navigational clicks, there's a different sound.
它们在互相呼唤
They are calling to one another.
随着它们数量的增加 它们的叫声也在增加
As their numbers increase, so do their calls.
很快 其他物种也来了 包括纳特勒的
Soon, other species arrive, including Natterer's
棕色长耳蝙蝠
and brown long-eared bats.
任何一个时间里最多可以有十个物种
There can be up to ten species at any one time,
在这漆黑的竞技场里旋转
whirling around in this pitch-black arena.
这是一个展示会场
This is a display ground
雄性蝙蝠竞相吸引雌性
where male bats compete to impress the females.
有些蝙蝠甚至跋涉40英里来到这里
Some of these bats have travelled over 40 miles to be here.
午夜时分 蝙蝠都消失在下面的洞穴里
Around midnight, the bats disappear back into the caves below,
它们很快就会在那里安顿下来并冬眠
where they will soon settle down to hibernate.
春天结束了另一种动物的冬眠
Spring brings the end of hibernation for another animal.
一只蟾蜍
A common toad.
这是一只母的
This is a female.
母蟾蜍需要淡水来产卵
Common toads need freshwater in which to lay their eggs,
所以她必须找到一个池塘
so she must find a pond
这可能需要几英里的路程
and that can involve a journey of several miles
道路充满了障碍和危险
which is full of obstacles and dangers.
今晚行动的可不止她一个
She's not the only one on the move tonight.
雄性蟾蜍另有目标
Male toads are also about.
它们在寻找雌性
They're in search of females,
当这只雄性找到一只时 它会紧紧地锁住她
and when this male finds one, he locks on tight.
但它的对手也有同样的想法
But his rivals have the same idea
然后是一场摔跤比赛
and then it's a wet-legged wrestling match
争夺最佳位置
to stay in prime position.
比赛结束了 奖金是免费搭便车
The competition is seen off and the bonus is a free ride.
但最大的挑战还在前面
But the biggest challenge lies ahead.
现在许多蟾蜍的传统迁徙路线是穿过公路
Roads now cross many of the toads' traditional migration routes
每年都有成千上万的蟾蜍被杀
and tens of thousands are killed every year.
成功了
Made it.
在过去的30年里 蟾蜍的数量
With toad numbers down by two-thirds
减少了三分之二
in the past 30 years,
在三月温暖潮湿的夜晚 我们应该注意下路面
we ought to be careful on warm, wet nights in March.
黎明时分 母蟾蜍和她的搭车者
At dawn, the female and her hitchhiker
终于到达它们旅程的终点
reach the end of their journey.
她小时候孵化成蝌蚪的那个池塘
The very pond in which she hatched as a tadpole.
它们直接进入正题
They get straight down to business
雌性会产下成千上万的卵 一串一串的
and the female produces thousands of eggs in long links of spawn.
如果雄性紧抓不放 它们会全部受精
The male, if he holds on tight, will fertilise them all.
几个月后 夏天到了
A few months later and summer is here.
这些小蟾蜍现在已经准备好进入下一个阶段
These tiny toadlets are now ready for their next stage.
它们必须前往陆地
They must head for dry land.
成年后的大部分时间里 它们将在树林里度过
They will spend most of their adult lives in the woods
也就是它们母亲的出发地
from which their mother emerged.
但要到达那里 它们必须穿过一个杀戮区
But to get there, they must cross a killing zone
被巨大的水蛭所困扰
haunted by giant leeches.
有些有15厘米长
Some are 15cm long.
而且它们对小蟾蜍很有胃口
And they have an appetite for baby toads.