野性南美洲（2000）

its back still carries the scar of an attack by a big cat.
对所有的动物来说
For all kinds of animal
走一趟舔泥处是日常生活的一部分
a visit to a clay lick is a regular part of their routine.
但是必须找到正确的泥巴
But it has to be just the right kind of clay.
好的泥地非常稀少
Good licks are few and far between.
这里就像非洲大草原的小水塘
Like waterholes on the African savannah
也是动物聚集的地方，但是绝不能掉以轻心
they're a focus of activity but you can never drop your guard.
太阳出来之后泥地变得更危险
When the sun comes out the lick becomes even more dangerous.
因为会更难发现掠食者
Predators are harder to spot.
猴子靠敏锐的眼力侦测出危险
Monkeys rely on their good eyesight to warn them of danger.
没有阳光的时候，还不成问题
When it's overcast there's no problem
但是热带阳光照出来深色阴影
but the tropical sun casts deep shadows
这明暗对比让它们很伤脑筋
And they find it hard to cope with the contrast.
抖动的叶子下是美洲虎藏在里面吗？
Does that twitching leaf hide a stealthy jaguar?
躲在阴影里的是美洲狮吗？
Is there a puma in that shadow?
走一趟舔泥处显然非常危险
Coming to a clay lick is obviously very risky
这么多动物愿意来一定有充分的理由
but so many animals do it there must be a good reason.
人类从前以为动物吃泥巴，是为了摄取盐分
People used to think that animals ate soil just to obtain salt.
但是某些舔泥处的盐分含量还不如它们的食物
But some of these licks are no richer in salt than their natural diet
所以，还有其他原因
so that's only part of the story.
最近的研究显示, 某些泥巴能中和
Recent research shows that some kinds of clay neutralise
许多植物含有的毒素
many of the poisons plants use to defend themselves
有的可以跟毒素产生化学作用
either by combining with them chemically
或是在消化道里形成保护膜
or by lining the gut with a protective coating.
所以动物愿意冒险来这里
That's why animals risk their lives to come here.
不然它们只有被毒死或饿死的份
The alternatives are death by poisoning or starvation.
没有泥浆解毒的话
Without clay to counteract the toxins
森林里的大多植物根本没有办法吃
much of what grows in the forest would be simply impossible to eat.
但是它们为什么每次要吃一肚子的泥，目前仍然没有解答
But why they should eat such a bellyful in one go, is still unknown.
矮树丛只要出现响声猴子就赶紧逃生
Every rustle in the undergrowth sends the monkeys running for safety.
其实只是一群白吻貒猪
But it's just a herd of white-lipped peccaries.
貒猪是群居的动物
Peccaries are social animals
它们用气味腺沟通, 把大家聚在一起
using scent glands to communicate and keep the group together.
整个族群发出的臭气非常强烈
Their collective stench is overpowering.
有树根，球茎，掉落的果实跟种子
Peccaries eat a varied diet of roots bulbs, fallen fruit and seeds.
这种吃法可以降低过量食用某种毒素的危险
That reduces the risk of overdosing on any one poison
但是混着吃，仍然可能致命
but it could still be a lethal cocktail.
它们好像是在找正确的泥块
They seem to be seeking out just the right pieces of mud
没人知道它们怎么挑选
but how they choose nobody knows.
我们对这项奇特的行为只有初步的了解
We're only just beginning to understand
我们对这项奇特的行为只有初步的了解
the full story behind this extraordinary behaviour.
一开始下雨, 所有动物都离开了
As soon as it begins to rain all the animals depart.
只留下貒猪的气味
Only the smell of the peccaries lingers.
舔泥处现在更危险了
The lick is now even more dangerous.
雨水打在树叶上的声响盖住了猎人接近的声音
The roaring of raindrops on leaves would drown the sound of an approaching hunter.
森林的动物必须想办法克服植物的毒性
For forest animals plant poisons are a problem to be overcome.
而森林的人类, 比如瓦欧雷尼部落
But forest people, like the Waorani
却要利用植物的毒性
have turned them to their advantage.
这棵藤本植物的树皮制♥作♥的箭毒含神经毒素
The bark of this liana gives them curare a nerve poison.
瓦欧雷尼人在打猎时把它涂在吹箭的箭头
The Waorani use it to tip their darts when they're hunting.
它可以瘫痪胸肌
It kills by paralysing the chest muscles
使得受害者窒息而死
so the victim dies of suffocation.
没有箭毒的话
Without curare
瓦欧雷尼人几乎不可能捕到猴子之类的动物
the Waorani would find hunting animals like monkeys almost impossible.
箭毒是他们在森林生存的关键
It's a key to their survival in the forest.
只要你知道门路
The jungle provides all you need to live here
丛林里有所有生存的必需品
if you know where to find it.
瓦欧雷尼人没有手写文字
The Waorani have no written language.
重要的生存知识都要靠口述代代相传
Vital knowledge is handed down over the generations by word of mouth.
这些男人在收集吉贝木棉的种子
These men are collecting kapok seeds.
不过，吉贝木棉是森林里最高的一种树
The only problem is that the kapok tree is one of the tallest in the forest.
脚一滑，就会摔死
A slip would be fatal.
绒毛种子一摇就掉了下来
Shaking dislodges the fluffy seeds
但他们要的是还没裂开的豆荚
but what they're really after are the unopened pods.
豆荚挂在最远的树枝末梢
They're hanging from the tips of the furthest branches.
有些人拿绒毛当床垫的内衬
Some people use the down for stuffing mattresses.
瓦欧雷尼人则用来打猎
The Waorani use it in their hunting.
他们是老练的猎人
They're skilful hunters
但是顶级掠食者一出现他们也得让路
but even they step aside when the top predators arrive.
行军蚁
Army ants.
它们以惊人的数量来弥补体型上的不足
What they lack in size they make up for by overwhelming numbers.
像这样一支军队可能有百万大军
An army like this can be a million strong.
这些又咬又叮的蚂蚁是森林地表的大灾难
These biting, stinging hordes are the scourge of the forest floor.
沿路的小生物不是逃跑，飞走...就是死路一条
Anything small in their path must run fly... or die.
从它们吃掉的猎物重量来看
Measured by the weight of prey they consume
这些小昆虫对森林的影响
these little insects have as great an impact
跟美洲虎或瓦欧雷尼猎人一样大
on the forest as any jaguar or Waorani hunter.
不过有些生物能骗过这个致命军团
But a few creatures can outwit the lethal horde.
行军蚁是瞎子, 有动作才会引起它们的攻击
Army ants are blind, and need movement to trigger their attack.
这只蚱蜢只要不动, 就不会被发现
By keeping still, this grasshopper becomes invisible to them.
蜘蛛的性命真的是悬在一线间
A spider's life literally hangs by a thread.
大多数小生物，根本无路可逃
But for most small things there's no escape.
这看起来像是没有纪律的乌合之众
This may look like an undisciplined rabble
其实却是井然有序的军事机器
but in fact it's a highly organised military machine.
蚂蚁用气味，声音及碰触来沟通
Ants communicate by scent sound and touch.
它们聚在一起传送讯息
They come together to pass on information.
这些是兵蚁
These are soldiers
不过它们的大嘴只是防御武器
but their massive jaws are defensive weapons.
真正的杀手是体型较小的工蚁
The real killers are the smaller workers
它们会把猎物蜇死
which sting their prey to death.
每天早上蚂蚁从营地出发搜寻食物
Every morning the ants march out of camp to forage.
一队队的工蚁沿路留下气味让同伴跟着走
Columns of workers lay down scent trails for others to follow.
如果侦查队发现食物
If a scouting party finds food
就会将化学讯号♥一路回传召集后援
it sends chemical signals down the line to summon reinforcements.
跟一般军队一样它们也有随行者
Like any army this one has its camp followers.
想要逃离蚂蚁的昆虫
Insects trying to escape the ants are flushed
全被赶进守株待兔的蚁鸟嘴里
into the waiting mouths of ant birds.
但是这种谋生的方式很危险
But it's a risky way to make a living.
只要被蚂蚁蜇到4次, 这么小的鸟就会没命
As few as four ant stings can kill a small bird like this.
光是蚂蚁跟鸟儿就能清除一小块森林地表上
Ants and birds between them can clear a patch of forest floor
所有无脊椎动物
of almost all invertebrate life
但是空出来的地方很快又被占据了
but any empty space is soon re-colonised.
有些蚁鸟完全依赖行军蚁
Some ant birds are totally dependent on the army to flush out prey
把躲藏的猎物全赶了出来
that would otherwise be hidden.
没有蚂蚁的帮忙它们可能就会绝种
Without ants to help them they would become extinct.
一队蚂蚁后头
A column of ants
就有30种不同的鸟跟着
can have thirty different kinds of bird following it.
它们有严格的进食顺序
There's a strict pecking order
最老练的专家占据最有利的眺望点
with the most skilled professionals occupying the best vantage points.
这些活动又让线尾侏儒鸟跳起舞来
All this activity sets the manakin off again.
至少这回追的对象是鸟, 只不过不是它的同类
At least he's courting a bird this time even if it's not his kind.
蚂蚁肢解瘫痪的猎物以后
The ants dismember the paralysed bodies of their prey
再搬回营区
and cart them back to camp.
特别的长脚搬运工也来帮忙搬运
Special long-legged 'carriers' help with the heavy haulage.
它们合力可以拖走比自己重好几倍的东西
Between them they can drag many times their own weight.
这里是大本营, 由蚂蚁搭起来的帐篷
This is headquarters a living tent of ants.
营地是军队的神经中枢
The bivouac is the army's nerve centre
蚁后就藏在营地深处
with the queen hidden deep inside.
它们大部分时间都在移防
Most of the time they keep on the move
要是蚁窝里有卵
but when the colony has eggs
蚂蚁大军每天傍晚都会回到同一个营地
the troops come back to the same camp each evening.
虽然夜晚已经来临了, 动物们都回到舔泥处
Even though night is falling animals return to the clay lick.
热带大雨让这里淹起了水
It's been flooded by heavy tropical rain
蝙蝠飞来饮用富含矿物质的水
and bats come to drink its mineral-rich waters.
还有一只凯门鳄出现，侏儒凯门鳄
There's even a caiman here a dwarf caiman
不到一公尺长
less than a metre long.
它太小了吓不倒鹿
It's much too small to worry a deer
却捉得到蝙蝠或是飞蛾
but it would take a bat or a moth.
各种猎人都聚集在这临时水池边
All sorts of hunter home in on this temporary pool
今天晚上，来了个特别嘉宾
And tonight there's a special visitor.
它是亚马逊丛林里最大的动物