exactly what the male is seeking. |
这正是公熊所寻觅的对象 |
He seems to relish her scent, |
他似乎很欣赏她的气息 |
even though she's miles away. |
即使她仍在数英里之外 |
This is an exciting prospect. |
这种憧憬激动人心 |
She's clearly giving off the right signals. |
无疑她发出了正确的信号 |
He locks onto her tracks, eager not to lose her trail. |
他紧跟她的足印生怕遗失她的踪迹 |
It's easier to tread |
踩着她的足印 |
in the compacted snow of her footprints. |
在夯实的雪上前行更加省力 |
This pursuit could last for days. |
此次觅偶之旅可持续数日 |
The female eventually comes into view. |
终于母熊映入了眼帘 |
The search is finally over. |
搜索行动最终宣告结束 |
For the female, only half his weight, |
对于体重仅为其一半的母熊来说 |
this must be a nerve-racking encounter. |
这必然是一次心惊肉跳的邂逅 |
The male could kill her if he chooses. |
因为如果公熊愿意可将其杀死 |
But he has other intentions... |
但是他另有所图 |
And she is ready and willing. |
而她也准备好服从 |
She leads him to higher ground. |
她将他引上高地 |
It seems that courting polar bears prefer privacy, |
求爱中的北极熊似乎很注重隐私 |
often leaving the sea ice and heading for the hills |
他们通常会远离海冰移步至山上 |
to avoid the prying eyes of rival males who might disturb them. |
以躲避雄性竞争者窥探的眼光免受其扰 |
Few have witnessed this moment. |
很少有人得以见证这一刻 |
For the male, |
对公熊而言 |
his only tender encounter in an otherwise solitary life. |
这是他孤独生活的一场难得的邂逅 |
But it doesn't last long - |
但美景不长 |
a rival suitor has also caught the female's scent. |
另一位求爱竞争者追随母熊的气味而来 |
Courtship has to be put on hold. He must fight for his rights. |
求爱要暂停了他必须为权利而战 |
He sees off this first challenger without injury to either party, |
他击退第一位挑战者双方都毫发无伤 |
but bloodier battles are to come. |
但血腥之战即将上演 |
Another battle won, though he has been slightly injured. |
尽管受了点轻伤但他胜利了 |
He hurries back to his mate, |
他迅速回到配偶身边 |
but now she seems to have lost her enthusiasm. |
但她好像失去了性趣 |
Female polar bears are high-maintenance. |
母北极熊是需要高度呵护的动物 |
Wherever she goes, he will follow, |
无论她走到哪他都如影随形 |
mating with her when she allows |
在她愿意之时与她交配 |
and guarding her at all times. |
并一直守护着她 |
Over the next two weeks, the male sees off many rivals |
接下来的两周内公熊击败了多位对手 |
but the battles take their toll on him. |
但他也为战斗付出了代价 |
He is almost spent, |
他已筋疲力竭 |
but he has ensured that |
但他已确保 |
no other bears have mated with his female. |
不会再有公熊与他的伴侣交配 |
It's time for the couple |
这对伴侣 |
to go their separate ways. |
分道扬镳的时候到了 |
She will give birth to his cubs, alone, in nine months' time |
九个月之后她将独自产下他的幼崽 |
and he may never see her again. |
也许他们将天涯永别 |
He returns to the frozen ocean, |
他回到了冰冻的海洋 |
完整版请点击 |
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no doubt relieved to resume his solitary ways, |
安详的重新开始独居生活 |
and just in time. |
时机正正好 |
The ice beneath his feet will soon be gone. |
他脚下的冰不久就要消失 |
Each spring, the Arctic Ocean undergoes |
每到春天北冰洋都要经历 |
an extraordinary transformation. |
一次非凡的转变 |
An area of sea ice the size of Europe melts, |
面积如欧洲大小的海冰融化 |
exposing the rich waters beneath. |
冰下富饶的海域重见天日 |
Short-tailed shearwaters have travelled 10,000 miles |
短尾鹱[短尾水剃鸟]从一万六千公里外的 |
from Australia to be here. |
澳大利亚飞行至此 |
18 million visitors darken the skies, |
一千八百万只迁徙鸟遮蔽了天空 |
the largest gathering of sea birds on the planet. |
地球上最庞大的海鸟群在此聚集 |
Humpback whales have come all the way from the Equator |
座头鲸从赤道一路游来 |
to feed in these rich, polar waters. |
在这富饶的极地海洋中觅食 |
Their giant tails are five metres across. |
它们巨硕的尾鳍长达五米 |
Simply raising them above the surface |
尾部轻轻抬出海面 |
gives the whales enough downward momentum |
就能给予座头鲸足够的向下动量 |
to reach the great swarms of krill and herring below. |
去品尝海下的磷虾和青鱼 |
The shearwaters follow the giants' lead. |
海鸥跟随巨鲸的指引捕食 |
For those who can get here, in summer, |
海水为那些在夏天光临到此的生物 |
these waters provide a feast of epic proportions. |
提供一场空前绝后的盛宴 |
But the good times will be very short - |
但美好的时光转瞬即逝 |
a problem that faces all life in the polar regions. |
这是极地所有生命所面临的问题 |
Journeying south across the Arctic Ocean, |
向南穿越北冰洋 |
the first land you reach is Greenland, |
抵达的第一站是世界第一大岛 |
the largest island in the world. |
格陵兰岛[字面义为绿岛] |
Despite its name, Greenland is mostly white, |
与它的名字不同格陵兰岛以白色为主 |
covered by a giant ice sheet |
被一块硕大的冰原覆盖 |
six times the size of the United Kingdom. |
它的大小是英国的六倍 |
In the middle of the island, the ice is nearly two miles thick. |
在岛中央冰层有三千米厚 |
It's a bleak, quiet world. |
一个荒凉寂静的世界 |
Sapphire-blue melt lakes |
海水融化成的宝石蓝湖泊 |
are the first sign that a dynamic process is underway. |
表明一个变化正在悄然发生 |
Each lake forms in a matter of days, |
每个湖的形成需要几天时间 |
expanding until it's miles across |
湖面慢慢扩大宽达几公里 |
and starts to overflow. |
最后开始溢出 |
The spill water then carves its way through the ice. |
流水在冰面上开凿出条条水道 |
The water courses through an icy delta |
蜿蜒在冰雪三角洲上的融水 |
like blood along the arteries of a cold-blooded monster, |
正如流淌在冷血巨兽的动脉中血液 |
a monster that is stirring. |
而且只苏醒中的巨兽 |
And without warning, |
没有任何征兆 |
the water suddenly plunges down an open shaft, |
水流被凭空出现的天井打断 |
falling a vertical mile into the heart of the ice sheet. |
垂直坠入冰原之心 |
This meltwater has a surprising effect - |
融水还有着出人意料的作用 |
it lubricates the junction between the ice |
在冰面与其下岩石床间 |
and the rock floor beneath, |
起到润滑的作用 |
so the entire ice sheet is now on the move, |
整个冰原都在移动 |
sliding downhill into the ocean. |
顺着地势滑向海洋 |
This, Jakobshavn Isbrae, |
雅各布港冰川 |
is the fastest-flowing glacier on our planet, |
是地球上流动最快的冰川 |
moving as much as 40 metres a day. |
移动速度约为40米每天 |
As it advances, it destroys everything in its path, |
冰川所到之处一切都被夷为平地 |
even cutting its way |
它顺势滑向海洋 |
through Greenland's great mountain ranges |
即便是格陵兰岛最雄伟的山脉 |
on its drive downwards towards the sea. |
也无法阻挡它前行的脚步 |
When speeded up, |
随着速度的加快 |
these solid rivers of ice seem to flow just like liquid rivers. |
固态冰川如河水般流淌 |