野性南美洲（2000）

这里是南美的绿色心脏
This is the green heart of South America
地球上最辽阔的雨林
the largest expanse of rainforest on the planet.
生机蓬勃，举世无双
For sheer exuberance of life it's unrivalled.
地球上其他地方找不到像这里这么多样的动植物
Nowhere else on earth can you find so many different plants and animals.
有这么多数不尽的物种
With such infinite variety
你可能以为住在这里很容易
you might think that living here was easy.
那你就错了
But you'd be wrong
大错特错
very wrong.
在亚马逊丛林这种地方生存非常不容易
Few places are as hard to survive in as the Amazon jungle.
这里经过好几十年的砍伐
Despite decades of deforestation
仍然有一大♥片♥树海
an ocean of trees still stretches almost unbroken
从大西洋绵延不断伸展到安地斯山麓
from the Atlantic to the foothills of the Andes.
在上方盘旋个几小时都看不到人类的踪迹
You can fly over it for hours and see no trace of human activity.
森林里的确住有人类
People do live in the forest
但人口非常的少...就跟沙漠里一样罕见
but their numbers are tiny as low as in a desert.
因为这里不是热带天堂
For this is no tropical paradise.
其实，富裕的外观只是一种假象
In fact, the image of abundance is an illusion.
看起来食物好像很丰富
There may seem to be plenty to eat
但是要吃到东西可能是极大的挑战
but taking advantage of it can be an enormous challenge
不只是人类如此
and not just for people.
住在这里的生物对于自己选择的生活，都必须有绝佳的生存之道
Anything that lives here must be supremely adapted to its chosen way of life.
绒毛猴住在高高的树冠层上
Woolly monkeys live in the high canopy.
在树梢之间走动, 五肢比四肢方便
When you're moving through the treetops five limbs are better than four.
有抓握力的卷尾巴就像多了一条手臂
A grasping, prehensile tail acts as an extra arm
还可以为宝宝搭桥
or a bridge for a baby.
用尾巴吊在树上就能空出双手
And hanging by their tails leaves their hands free to gather food
摘取本来碰不到的食物
from places otherwise hard to reach.
它们吃水果维生，想不到在热带森林里
They're fruit eaters but surprisingly in a tropical forest
这么做并不容易
that's no easy option.
这里也许有几千棵树，但是结果实的树却分散在四处
There may be thousands of trees but those in fruit are widely scattered.
就算猴子知道哪里有食物
Even if the monkeys know where to go
通常还得长途跋涉才找得到下一餐
they often have to travel a long way between meals.
绒毛猴只吃果肉
They eat just the fleshy part of the fruit.
它们的双颚力道不够, 咬不开坚硬的种子
Their jaws aren't strong enough to deal with the hard seeds
因此大多数的种子都掉到30公尺下头的地上
so most of those end up on the ground thirty metres or more below.
它们往下丢的不只有种子
Seeds aren't the only thing they drop.
吃了这么多水果总是会产生排泄物
Gorging on all that fruit has a predictable end product.
新鲜的粪便出炉了
Wonderfully fresh dung.
一切都会物尽其用
But nothing goes to waste.
粪便也是其他动物的食物
Even dung is someone's bread and butter.
粪便还热呼呼的就被敏锐的触须闻到气味了
Before the dung has time to cool sensitive antennae pick up its smell.
粪金龟的比赛，开始了
For the dung beetles the race is on.
只有赢家才有得吃
Only the winners will get a share.
丛林里的食物很快就会不翼而飞
In the jungle nothing edible stays around for long.
一有机会，动手就要快
You have to grab it while you can.
第一批赶到的是公粪金龟
The first beetles to arrive are males.
它们用粪便吸引配偶
They use the dung to attract a mate.
粪球越大，机会就越大
The bigger your ball the better your chances.
母粪金龟会把卵产在粪球里再把它埋起来
The female will lay her eggs in the ball and then bury it.
孵化的幼虫就可以吃粪球
It's food for the grubs when they hatch.
如果自己没有粪球的话
If you haven't got a ball of your own
也可以想办法用偷的
you can try to steal someone else's.
不到几分钟粪便就全消失不见了
Within minutes there's not a trace of dung left.
森林看来一片荒芜
The forest looks deserted
那么，种类繁多的生物种类到哪里去了？
so what has become of that infinite variety of life?
它们都躲了起来
It's here, but it's hidden
隐身在森林的绿叶枯木里
camouflaged with forest greens and browns.
如果你要吃，又不要被吃掉，就要看得到，却不能被发现
If you're to eat but not be eaten you must see but not be seen.
森林地表上薄薄的落叶层
The thin layer of leaf litter on the forest floor hides
藏着形形色♥色♥的爬虫动物
all manner of creatures that creep and crawl.
这不是蓝色蠕虫
This isn't a blue worm
而是一只叫做蚓螈的无脚两栖类
but a legless amphibian called a caecilian.
丛林里的生物通常表里不一致
In the jungle things are seldom what they seem.
有些动物会回收落叶的养分
Some of these animals recycle the nutrients in the fallen leaves.
其他动物就捕食这些回收者
Others prey on the recyclers.
它们住在潮湿，黑暗的世界
Theirs is a moist and dark world
只有2%的阳光会落在地表上
where only two percent of sunlight ever reaches the ground.
这是一只虫, 一只与众不同的虫
This is a worm but a worm with a difference.
它能长到一公尺长
It can grow to a metre long.
多数的森林动物都不爱曝光
Though most forest animals try to hide
但是有些动物却喜欢自我表现
others go out of their way to show off.
这只公线尾侏儒鸟想吸引另一半
A male wire-tailed manakin trying to attract a mate.
因此绝不能错过任何机会
He can't afford to miss a chance
只要一有动静，它就开始表演
so the slightest movement sets him off
可惜只是一头路过的蹄鼠
even if it's only a passing agouti.
蹄鼠正在吃树冠层掉下来的巴西栗
The agouti's eating Brazil nuts fallen from the canopy above.
它的硬壳很难敲开
They're a hard nut to crack
而蹄鼠却是少数能用利齿
and agoutis are one of the few animals
咬开它们的动物之一
with teeth strong enough to deal with them.
硬壳只是保护种子不被吃掉的一种方法
But being hard is only one way seeds avoid being eaten.
热带森林就像一座伊甸园
A tropical forest may seem like the Garden of Eden
长在这里的植物大多都是禁果
but much of what grows here is forbidden fruit
含有番木虌碱，吗♥啡♥跟可♥卡♥因♥之类的毒素
packed with poisons like strychnine morphine and cocaine.
就连树叶也碰不得
Even leaves are off limits.
这里的树叶很多
There are plenty of them
但是大多都有毒，因此不能吃
but most are so toxic they're inedible.
它们的毒性为什么这么强？
Why are they so poisonous?
植物没办法逃跑或躲藏来保护自己
Plants can't run or hide to defend themselves
所以用化学武器应战
so they go in for chemical warfare.
吃植物的动物如这头白面狐尾猴
Vegetarians like this white-faced saki
就要面对多数动物无法忍♥受的毒素
have to deal with poisons most creatures couldn't handle.
植物与动物展开一场军武竞赛
Plants and animals are locked in an arms race.
为了对抗植物的毒性
To counter the plant's poisons
狐尾猴自有秘密武器----长的不得了的肠道
sakis have their own secret weapon an incredibly long intestine.
这种猴子只比家猫大一点
These monkeys aren't much bigger than a domestic cat
但是它的肠道却跟大猩猩一样长
but their guts are as long as a gorilla's.
它们吃的树叶跟种子, 其他动物吃了可能会生病
They can eat leaves and seeds that would make other animals sick.
种子的毒素通常比树叶更强
Seeds are often even more poisonous than leaves.
但是狐尾猴的消化力太厉害了
But with their formidable digestive powers the sakis
它们轻轻松松的吃到肚子里
take them in their stride.
这是一头母猴
This one's a female
脸上长了白胡子，而它的配偶，却有张白脸
with a white moustache rather than her mate's white face.
吃树叶的动物，如这只鸣官鸟
Some leaf eaters like this piping guan
它们只吃嫩叶，减少毒素的量
limit the amount of poison they eat by selecting young leaves,
嫩叶的毒性比老叶子小
which aren't as toxic as older ones.
不过还是很危险
But they're still dangerous
所以鸣官鸟采用了另外一种对策
so the guan deploys another countermeasure.
它吃泥浆
It eats mud.
奇怪的是泥浆似乎对各种动物都有吸引力
The mud seems to hold a strange attraction
比如蜘蛛猴
for all sorts of other animals like spider monkeys.
这些是住在树冠层的动物
These are animals of the high canopy
它们为什么要冒险到地面来呢？
so why risk coming down to the ground?
只有在非常小心的勘察过后它们才敢跳到地上
Only after the most careful check do they take the plunge.
蜘蛛猴在树上完全适得其所
Up in the trees spider monkeys are in their element
而且天敌非常少
and have few natural predators.
到了地面，就很危险
But down here they're vulnerable.
它们是南美体型最大的猴子
As the largest of all South American monkeys
也是美洲虎的美味大餐
they'd be a good meal for a jaguar
而地面上的蜘蛛猴绝对是不可错过的猎物
and catching one on the ground would be its best chance of a kill.
泥土里一定有某种非常重要的东西
Something in the mud must be absolutely vital
它们才会冒这么大的风险
for them to take such a risk.
其中一只猴子会在旁边担任守卫
One of the group is always on the lookout.
只要有一点风吹草动它们全部逃回树上
The slightest hint of danger sends the monkeys back into the trees.
其实只是一头美洲小红鹿
But the new arrival is only a brocket deer
它也来吃泥浆
here for the same thing.
这些胆小的鹿是以果实维生
When they can these timid little deer eat fruit
没有果实的时候就只好吃树叶跟真菌
but when it's scarce they have to make do with leaves and fungi
这些可能都有含有毒素
all potentially poisonous.
小红鹿跟猴子一样冒着生命危险来这里
Like the monkeys it's risking its life to come here
它背上还留着被大猫攻击的疤痕