野性南美洲（2000）

巴西大草原是南美最神秘的地方之一
The great plains of Brazil are one of South America's best kept secrets.
奇特的生物在这片草海中漫步...外界对它一无所知
Strange creatures walk in a sea of grass the outside world hardly knows.
最狂暴的气候
Theirs is a land of extremes
主宰了这块极端大♥陆♥
dominated by the fiercest elements of nature.
这里有半年十分干旱...饱受野火肆虐
For half the year it's tinder dry and ravaged by fire.
另外半年又整个泡在倾盆大雨里
For the other six months it's drenched by torrential rain.
这片神秘大地还有另外一面
And there's another side to this secret land.
滔滔不绝的雨水从草原上倾泻而下
Huge torrents of water cascade off the grassland plain in a deluge
形成大水泛滥，创造出地球上最壮阔的季节性沼泽
so mighty it creates the greatest expanse of seasonal swamp on earth.
这是一个生意盎然的广大湿地
This is a vast wetland that teems with wildlife.
辽阔的沼泽以及高地大草原
The huge swamps and the high grasslands
是南美大草原的两种特殊面貌
are the two extraordinary faces of South America's Great Plains.
这片沼泽，名为潘塔纳
The swamp is called the Pantanal
这块湿地的面♥积♥等于英格兰加上威尔斯
a wetland the size of England and Wales combined.
湿地四周的高地草原是塞拉多
The grassy plateau surrounding it is the Cerrado.
它的面♥积♥跟整个西欧一样大
It's as big as the whole of Western Europe
不过60%的土地已经成了牧场跟农庄
although 60% is now ranchland and farms.
塞拉多草原其馀的地方
The last remnants of the Cerrado's grassland
住着当地独有的动物
have their own unique animals.
它看起来像踩高跷的狐狸
This may look like a fox on stilts
其实这是一头鬃狼
but it's actually a maned wolf.
狼是开阔草原上最大的掠食者
The wolf is the largest predator on the open plains
但是它的猎物却很小
but what it hunts is tiny.
寻找猎物就跟大海捞针一样
Finding it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
大耳朵可以帮助它准确的找到猎物
Massive ears help it pinpoint its prey.
这就是它追捕的目标...一只小老鼠
And this is what it's after a little mouse.
这头狼用力跺脚想把老鼠吓出来
The wolf stamps on the ground to try and panic it into running.
老鼠只要稍有动静
If the mouse so much as moves a whisker
就会暴露出行踪
it'll blow its cover.
对这么大的狼来说, 一口就把老鼠吃掉了
For an animal this big a mouse is just a mouthful.
这个高地平原的流浪汉想要吃饱
This high plains drifter has to keep on the move
就得不停的往前走
if it's to find enough to eat
其他猎人也一样
like everything else that hunts here.
如果这里是非洲
If this were Africa
平原上就会有成群的牛羚
the plains would be thick with wildebeest
羚羊跟斑马
antelope and zebra.
而塞拉多一片空荡...死气沉沉
The Cerrado seems empty even lifeless.
那么是谁吃掉这里的草？
So what's eating all the grass?
在这里吃草的动物多得数不清
There are grazers here countless millions
只是躲了起来
but they're hidden.
而地下城♥堡♥的小尖塔泄露了它们的行踪
Only the turrets of their subterranean castles give them away.
白蚁
Termites.
这些小昆虫是草原的动力来源
These tiny insects are the force that drives the grassland.
它们用庞大的数量来弥补体型的缺点
What they lack in size they more than make up for in sheer numbers.
每个蚁窝的中♥央♥有一只巨大的蚁后
At the centre of each colony there's a gigantic queen.
它一天可以生产3万颗卵
She can turn out thirty thousand eggs a day.
大多数的卵会孵化成工蚁
Most eggs hatch into workers
有些孵化成兵蚁，长有大嘴
but some will be soldiers armed with massive jaws
或是化学喷液
or chemical sprays.
白蚁群需要一支军队
And the colony needs an army.
白蚁是可以吃的，这么多的食物很难不引来注意
Termites are edible and this much food doesn't go unnoticed.
不过掠食者要怎么突破蚁丘的防卫呢？
But how do predators breach the defences of a termite mound?
大家都有独门技巧
Each has its own technique.
食蚁兽强而又力的爪子在墙上撕开一条缝
Anteaters tear a narrow gash in the wall with powerful claws
刚好可以让它把黏黏的长舌头伸进去
just big enough to admit a long sticky tongue.
这里有两种食蚁兽---大食蚁兽
There are two species here the giant
还有这种..小食蚁兽
and this one, the collared anteater.
而犰狳只会使用暴♥力♥
Armadillos rely more on brute force.
它们的舌头不长
Their tongues aren't so long
所以干脆一头撞进蚁丘去
so they literally bulldoze their way in.
白蚁在大草原上扮演重要的资源再生者
Termites play a vital role as recyclers on the Great Plains.
在凉爽的夜晚
In the cool of the night
它们离开蚁丘 搜集干草
they leave their mounds and collect dry grass
跟叶子来吃
and leaves to eat.
养分随着白蚁粪回归到土壤中
The nutrients are then returned to the soil in their droppings.
一个白蚁群就像一条生产线
A termite colony is like a production line
将枯草转换成肥料以及更多的白蚁
converting dead grass into fertiliser and more termites.
这座工厂有一套内部空调系统
The factory has its own built in air conditioning. In the heart of the mound
就算外面的世界热的不得了
it's constantly cool and moist
蚁丘中心仍然常保凉爽湿润
even when the world outside is sweltering in the heat.
干季快要结束的时候
Towards the end of the dry season
气温爬升到接近摄氏40度
temperatures climb to nearly forty degrees.
每年有半年的时间不下一滴雨
For six months of each year there is no rain.
因此这片草原上没有树木
As a result these plains are treeless.
连一小块树荫都没有
There's not a scrap of shade.
狼跟不会飞的美洲鸵
For the wolf and the flightless rheas
只能在烈日下暴晒
there's no escape from the sun.
狼没有危险性
The wolf is no threat
也许它的坏脾气都被热气给磨掉了
perhaps tempers are just a little frayed in the heat.
太阳吸光了草地最后一丝水气
The sun sucks the last trace of moisture from the grass.
远至西南方
Far to the south-west
就连潘塔纳大沼泽也干枯了
even the great swamp of the Pantanal is drying out.
对水中生物来说
For creatures that live in water
这是最难熬的时节
this is the hardest time of year.
它们的世界在热气中蒸发消失
Their whole world evaporates in the heat.
水豚，家豚鼠体型庞大的表亲
Capybaras giant cousins of the guinea pig.
这些水生啮齿类跟羊一样大
These aquatic rodents are as big as a sheep.
就在几周之前
Just weeks ago
这里还是水豚的天堂
this was swamp hog heaven
一块长满了食物的绿色沼地
a green lagoon, full of food.
现在却成了一片沙漠
Now it's a dusty desert.
仅存的牧草可能距离很遥远
The only grazing could be miles away.
有些水豚大概撑不到那里
Some of this family won't make it.
受苦受难的不只有野生动物
It's not just wild animals that are suffering.
许多牛群跟它们共享潘塔纳的牧草
They share the Pantanal's grazing with vast herds of cattle.
它们不停的移♥动♥寻找食物跟水
They're constantly on the move searching for food and water.
一些牛只死在路上
Some die on the journey
牧场主人的损失便宜了这些食腐动物
but the ranchers' loss is the scavengers' gain.
黑美洲鹫聚集在死了两天的母牛旁边
Black vultures gather on a cow that's been dead for two days
可惜没办法据为己有
but they don't have it to themselves.
美洲虎出现了
A jaguar.
能够在野地上看到美洲虎
Seeing one in the wild, like this
真是难得的奇景...尤其是在大白天
is incredibly rare especially during the day.
美洲虎通常是猎人...不是清道夫
Jaguars are normally hunters not scavengers.
它们的猎物是水豚之类的动物
Their prey here are creatureslike capybaras.
但对这头母虎来说...腐肉也值得它守备
But for this female even carrion is worth guarding.
美洲鹫只要一有机会...不出两小时
The vultures could strip the carcass bare in a couple of hours
就能把死尸吃个精光
given the chance.
为什么它要这么费力守住一块腐肉呢？
But why spend so much energy defending a hunk of rotten meat?
答案很简单...它要养两头小老虎
The answer is simple she has two cubs to feed.
在野地上看到小老虎是更了不起的事
Seeing cubs in the wild is even more remarkable.
这两头小老虎现在约1岁大
These cubs are now about a year old
它们会在母亲身边多待几个月
and will stay with their mother for just a few more months.
在小老虎独♥立♥以前
Until they're independent
母虎得喂饱一家三口
she has to find food for three.
美洲虎有时会杀死潘塔纳的牲畜
Jaguars do sometimes kill cattle in the Pantanal.
这是非常时期额外的食物
It gives them extra food at this critical time
但也会让它们跟牧场主人起冲突
but it also brings them into conflict with ranchers
还可能因此丧命
and that can be fatal.
这整个地区的美洲虎都受到威胁
Jaguars are now threatened throughout their range.
这种杰出的猎人只剩下几千头而已
Only a few thousand of these magnificent hunters are left
而潘塔纳是它们最后的据点之一
and the Pantanal is one of their last strongholds.
已经有6个月没有下雨了
It's now been six months without rain.
水豚每天都必须喝水
The capybaras have to drink every day
但是水却一天比一天难找
but every day water becomes harder and harder to find.
它们最后的牧草在酷热中枯萎
The last of their grazing shrivels in the heat.
最后的水池里也只剩下泥巴水
The last pools are little more than liquid mud.
泥巴水虽然不太能喝...却是降温的惟一方法
It may not be good to drink but this is the only way to cool off
鱼儿困在缩减的水池里...挣扎求生
Fish trapped in these shrinking pools are fighting for life.
在食物充沛的时节里