There we are! |
看到了 |
The sub not only gives us stunning 360-degree views, |
这辆潜艇不仅给了我们360度的环绕视野 |
it allows us to dive to depths |
还带着我们下潜到 |
where no unprotected human has ever been. |
从未有人亲身下潜到过的深度 |
For this dive, we are only going down to about 35 metres, |
这次下潜我们只会潜到大概35米的地方 |
just over 100 feet, |
差不多100英尺 |
where much of the wildlife we're hoping to film will be feeding. |
多数我们想要拍摄的野生动物会在此觅食 |
Marine geologists have recently gathered sufficient data |
海洋地质学家们最近收集到的数据 |
for us to create an accurate three-dimensional picture |
足以让我们首次描绘出一幅精确的 |
of Osprey Reef for the very first time. |
鱼鹰礁三维画面 |
It is, in fact, a huge mountain hidden beneath the waves |
事实上它是隐藏在海浪下的一座高山 |
and rising steeply from the seafloor 2,400 metres below. |
从2400米的海底拔地而起 |
The top of this vast seamount creates a shallow lagoon |
这座巨大海底山的山顶出现了一潭浅泻湖 |
that supports a flourishing community of corals. |
这成为了繁多珊瑚种群的栖息地 |
This wall of rock ahead of me is the flank of Osprey Reef. |
在我眼前的这一面岩壁就是鱼鹰礁的侧翼 |
When cold, deep, nutrient-rich currents from the ocean come in and strike it, |
当冰冷且营养充足的深海洋流冲击岩壁时 |
they defect it upwards. |
它们会转向向上 |
And that creates an oasis for living creatures of all kinds. |
如此一来便创造了众多生物的生命绿洲 |
Many creatures live here throughout the year. |
很多生物终年都栖息在这里 |
And the boss of them all is one kind, sharks. |
其中的老大便是鲨鱼 |
There's one! Close up. |
那里有一只靠近一点 |
Whatever else you say about sharks, |
无论你对鲨鱼持什么观点 |
they are so beautiful in the water. |
它们在水中都是如此的美 |
Resident predators mean one thing |
有捕猎者常驻意味着一件事 |
a plentiful supply of food. |
这里有充足的食物供给 |
For creatures travelling vast distances to get to the reef, |
对于那些长途跋涉来到珊瑚礁的生物来说 |
that makes Osprey a very desirable waypoint on their journey. |
鱼鹰礁是它们旅途中不可多得的驿站 |
Seamounts are stopping-off points for visitors. |
海底山是大堡礁访客们的临时落脚点 |
They come from far and wide. |
它们从世界各地远道而来 |
From tiger sharks to turtles. |
从虎鲨到海龟 |
And they come to refuel and also, it seems, recalibrate. |
它们来此歇息片刻似乎还在调整方向 |
It appears that this is a signpost |
这里似乎就是去大堡礁路上的 |
and a checkpoint on the way to the reef. |
指示牌和检查站 |
Visitors arrive year round. |
访客们全年络绎不绝 |
Among them are hammerheads. |
锤头鲨就是其中之一 |
Like all sharks, |
跟所有鲨鱼一样 |
they have tiny sensors on their nose |
它们鼻子上有微型传感神经 |
which can pick up signals from the Earth's magnetic field. |
能够接收地球磁场的信号 |
And that helps them navigate |
这能帮助它们 |
through the blue infinity of the open ocean. |
在这片无垠的蓝色海洋中寻找方向 |
There are tiger sharks here, too. |
这里还有虎鲨 |
They come to the reef to feed. |
它们到大堡礁来是为了觅食 |
And they seem to know exactly where they're going. |
它们似乎对路线了如指掌 |
The proportion of their brain dedicated to smell |
它们大脑中负责嗅觉部分的所占比例 |
is the largest of any shark. |
是所有鲨鱼中最大的 |
完整版请点击 |
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Their two nostrils work independently, |
它们的两个鼻孔独立工作 |
allowing them to smell in stereo |
使得它们能够鼻闻四方 |
and track prey over huge distances. |
并追踪到极远的猎物 |
From Osprey, some tiger sharks |
一些虎鲨从鱼鹰礁出发 |
travel to a very specific destination on the reef. |
去往大堡礁中一处非常特别的地方 |
230 miles north of Osprey lies Raine Island. |
在鱼鹰礁370公里以北的地方便是雷恩岛 |
Every summer, the tiger sharks arrive without fail. |
每逢夏天虎鲨都必定会来这里 |
They're here to take advantage of a major event on the reef - |
它们是想赶上大堡礁上的一个重要活动 |
the arrival of the female green turtles. |
雌性绿海龟的到来 |
The tiger sharks aren't here to kill, |
虎鲨不是来这里杀戮的 |
they've come to scavenge on the dead. |
它们是来这里清理尸体的 |
The unlucky turtles who have not survived |
那些在耗尽精力的迁徙中 |
their exhausting immigration. |
不幸死去的海龟 |
This is why the tiger shark has earned the unflattering title... |
因此虎鲨得到了一个不怎么好听的名号 |
Dustbin of the Sea. |
海洋垃圾桶 |
They prefer the easy life of the scavenger, |
它们更喜欢清道夫的轻松生活 |
so the majority of green turtles |
所以大部分绿海龟 |
have little to fear from these predators. |
都不怎么害怕这些捕猎者 |
In the summer months, the turtles arrive in thousands. |
在夏日成千上万的海龟到达此处 |
They have come from as far as New Guinea, Vanuatu |
它们从东边的新几内亚瓦努阿图 |
and New Caledonia to the east, |
以及新喀里多尼亚 |
as well as from the Torres Straits and beyond to the west. |
还有西边的托雷斯海峡甚至更远处远道而来 |
Some have travelled an impressive 1,500 miles |
一些海龟甚至游了整整2400公里 |
to reach this particular beach. |
才到达这片海滩 |
It measures only a few hundred metres across, |
这片岛屿只有几百米长 |
a tiny speck in a vast ocean. |
不过是沧海中的一粟 |
But Raine Island plays a major role in their lives. |
但是雷恩岛却在它们的生命中扮演着重要的角色 |
70% of the Barrier Reef's breeding green turtles |
大堡礁的繁殖期绿海龟中 |
come here to lay. |
有70%会来到这里产卵 |
It's one of the most important nesting sites in the world. |
这是世界上最重要的筑巢地之一 |
I first visited Raine for a television series |
我首次踏上雷恩岛 |
called Zoo Quest back in 1957. |
是在1957年来这里拍摄《动物园探索》 |
At the time, Raine was little known and rarely visited. |
那时雷恩岛还默默无名且人迹罕至 |
It was then I met my first green turtle hatchling. |
当时我第一次见到了绿海龟蛋的孵化 |
Back then, we had no idea |
在那时我们完全不知道 |
just how extraordinary a story these turtles had to tell. |
这些海龟身上有多么神奇的故事 |
We now know that if they survive, |
我们现在才知道如果它们能活下去 |
they'll spend the next 40 years of their lives at sea. |
它们将在海洋中度过接下来的40年时光 |
Only then do they return to Raine to breed. |
然后重回雷恩岛产卵 |
And astonishingly, |
令人震惊的是 |
they return to exactly the same beach where they themselves hatched. |
它们会回到自己孵化时的同一片海滩 |
How they find their way back after decades at sea |
海中生活数十年后的它们如何找到回家的路 |
is one of the mysteries that surround this species. |
仍是有关这种生物的谜团之一 |
But new research is suggesting that, just like the sharks, |
但新的研究显示海龟和鲨鱼一样 |
they navigate using the Earth's magnetic field. |
也通过地球磁场寻找方向 |
They weigh up to 130 kilos, |
它们重达130公斤 |
so hauling themselves up the beach is a gruelling task. |
所以拖着沉重的身躯爬上海滩是艰巨的任务 |
But it's expected |
但据预估 |
that 30,000 of them will come ashore to lay their eggs this year. |
今年仍会有三万只海龟上岸产卵 |
With space in short supply, it's every female for herself. |
由于地方不大雌海龟们都各自为政 |
Once they've dug a hole, laying can begin. |
一旦它们挖好了洞就可以开始产卵了 |
Each egg is roughly the size of a Ping-Pong ball. |
每个蛋大概和乒乓球一般大 |
A female may lay up to 120 of them at a time |
一只雌性海龟每次可产120个蛋 |
and she's able to do this six times in a single breeding season. |
而在一次繁殖期中她可以产卵6次 |
Once the eggs are laid, she buries them. |
当产完卵后她会把蛋埋好 |
For the next 60 days, |
接下来的60天 |