- In the four billion years of life on our planet,
地球生命的40亿年历程中 - countless species have risen...
无数物种兴起 - and fallen.
然后衰亡 - But one remarkable dynasty has had a greater impact than any other.
但有一个非凡的王朝 比其他任何王朝都更具影响力 - The mammals.
哺乳动物 - This is the story of their epic journey...
本集将讲述它们史诗般的征程 - ...to become rulers of the world.
成为地球统治者的故事 - Hidden in the ancient Jurassic forests...
躲藏在古代侏罗纪森林之中 - mammals came from humble beginnings...
哺乳动物出身卑微 - ruled over by the greatest dynasty that ever lived...
被史上最伟大的王朝所统治 - ...the dinosaurs.
恐龙 - They dominated so totally...
它们的统治非常彻底 - ...that early mammals were confined to the shadows.
以至于早期的哺乳动物只能躲在暗处 - For the most part, they were small, keeping to the trees...
在大部分情况下 它们都很小 在树上栖息 - away from the giants.
远离巨兽 - They became nocturnal,
它们变成了夜行性动物 - developing a range of heightened senses
发展出一系列敏锐的感官 - that helped them in the dark.
帮助它们在黑暗中生存 - Under the dinosaurs' rule,
在恐龙的统治之下 - there was a limit to how far they could rise.
它们的崛起受到限制 - But in time, everything changed.
但是随着时间的推移 一切都改变了 - One of the most violent events in our planet's history
地球历史上最剧烈的事件之一 - heralded a new era.
带来了一个新的时代 - Despite the devastation,
尽管遭受严重破坏 - the planet did recover.
但地球最终还是得以恢复 - Within a few million years,
在几百万年内 - forests had regrown and carpeted much of the land.
森林已重新生长并覆盖大部分陆地 - The climate became hot and wet.
气候变得炎热潮湿 - The perfect conditions for life to flourish.
这是生命蓬勃发展的理想条件 - A world primed for a new wave of evolution.
这个世界 非常适于新一波进化浪潮的掀起 - The asteroid had inflicted devastating losses on the mammals...
小行星碰撞 对哺乳动物造成毁灭性的打击 - yet some of the smaller ones,
但有一些小型哺乳动物 - able to hide in holes, had survived.
藏在洞中 幸存下来 - Free of the dinosaurs,
没有了恐龙 - they could finally venture out of the shadows
它们终于可以走出阴影 - and come into the open.
来到广阔的世界之中 - Like their ancestors,
与它们的祖先一样 - coatis have many adaptations
长鼻浣熊拥有许多适应性 - that help them thrive in the rich rainforest.
能够帮助它们 在富饶的雨林中兴旺发展 - Extremely social,
它们的社会性极强 - they find safety in numbers.
在群体中寻找安全 - The mother's flexible nose can smell food hidden beneath the leaf litter.
母浣熊灵活的鼻子 能够嗅到藏在树叶下的食物 - A supersense honed over millions of years of foraging in the darkness.
这是在数百万年夜间觅食的过程中 磨练出来的超凡感官 - Like all mammals,
与所有哺乳动物一样 - coatis are warm-blooded,
长鼻浣熊是温血动物 - so can be active at all times.
因此能够随时保持活跃状态 - That means these babies need plenty of energy.
这意味着这些宝宝需要足够的能量 - Fortunately,
幸运的是 - mammals have evolved an extraordinary solution.
哺乳动物 已经进化出一种非凡的解决方案 - Milk.
母乳 - They can feed their young whenever they choose,
它们可以随时喂养幼崽 - even when food is scarce.
甚至包括食物稀缺的时候 - But milk wasn't the early mammals' only secret weapon.
但是母乳并不是 早期哺乳动物唯一的秘密武器 - They also had brain power.
它们还拥有脑力 - And it's still just as important today.
这在今天依然非常重要 - In the forests of Costa Rica,
在哥斯达黎加的森林中 - this capuchin monkey is trying to solve a puzzle.
这只卷尾猴正在努力解开一道谜题 - How to get the meat from inside a closed clam.
如何吃到蛤蜊里面的肉 - The monkey isn't strong enough to crack the shell...
猴子不够强壮 无法砸碎蛤蜊壳 - but it's discovered that repeated hammering will tire the clam...
但它发现反复敲打会令蛤蜊疲惫 - until it finally opens.
直到蛤蜊最终张开 - Learning this lesson takes a large brain...
学会这一课需要巨大的脑部 - ...and coordination.
以及良好的协调能力 - This unique intelligence
这种独特的智慧 - allowed their primate ancestors to survive in the forest of 50 million years ago.
使它们的灵长类祖先 能够在5000万年前的森林中存活下来 - Clever animals tend to be inquisitive...
聪明的动物往往会很好奇 - and that can pay huge dividends.
这可能带来丰厚的回报 - This female has learned and remembered
这只母猴发现并记住了… - where she can find water.
在哪里能找到水 - But it's too deep to reach.
但是太深够不着 - Luckily, she has an inspired solution.
幸好它有一个巧妙的解决方案 - She turns her tail into a sponge.
它把自己的尾巴当作海绵 - But not all their challenges are to do with finding food and water.
但并不是所有的挑战 都与寻找食物和水有关 - Some fruit is collected not to eat...
采摘有些水果并不是为了吃 - but to rub over their bodies.
而是用于擦拭身体 - This fruit contains citronella,
这种水果含有香茅油 - an oil that mosquitoes can't stand.
能够驱蚊 - The monkeys have discovered their very own insect repellent.
猴子们发现了它们自己的驱虫剂 - Free from pesky biting insects,
没有了讨厌的昆虫叮咬 - the clever capuchins can finally relax.
聪明的卷尾猴终于可以放松一下了 - But just as their ancestors were beginning to make progress,
但正当它们的祖先开始取得进展时 - the warm, wet conditions in which they had thrived began to change.
曾令它们兴旺发展的暖湿条件 开始发生变化 - The Antarctic landmass started to split away from South America...
南极大♥陆♥开始从南美洲分离 - creating the space for new ocean currents...
为新的洋流创造了空间 - that helped drive a global cooling.
这有助于推动全球变冷 - The climate was switching into a new, colder state.
气候正在转入一个新的更寒冷的状态 - But that was just the beginning.
但这还只是一个开始 - As Antarctica became colder and more isolated,
随着南极变得更加寒冷与孤立 - the huge continent froze,
整个南极大♥陆♥冻住了 - locking up much of the planet's fresh water.
将地球上的大量淡水锁住 - As the world further north dried out,
随着世界北部进一步干旱 - it became a harsher, more difficult place to live.
它成为了 一个更恶劣、更难以生存的地方 - Food became more spread out,
食物变得更分散 - harder to find.
更难以寻找 - And as the Earth changed,
随着地球的改变 - so did the mammals.
哺乳动物也在改变 - Some became enormous.
有一些变得很庞大 - A male Megacerops.
一只雄性巨角犀 - Two and a half meters tall...
2.5米高 - ...four meters long...
4米长 - and three tons in weight.
3吨♥重 - Its huge size allows it to travel large distances in search of food...
巨大的身躯 使它能够长途跋涉寻找食物 - ...and ensures it has reserves to get through leaner times.
并能够有所储备 以便挺过食物较少的时期 - Mammals were now big enough
哺乳动物此时已非常庞大 - to rival the long-lost dinosaurs.
能够与消失已久的恐龙相媲美 - But being big has other implications...
但庞大也有别的影响 - especially when it comes to finding a mate.
尤其是在寻找配偶时 - This female is already closely guarded by a male,
这只雌巨角犀 已经被一只雄巨角犀严密地守护着 - much larger than the first.
比之前那只雄巨角犀大很多 - If challenged,
如果受到挑战 - he could seriously injure his opponent.
它能够重伤对手 - But the smaller male may be in luck.
但较小的这只雄巨角犀运气不错 - Another female,
又来了一只雌巨角犀 - and she seems to be alone.
它似乎孤身一人 - It's the chance he's been waiting for.
等待已久的机会终于到来 - He has a rival.
居然还是有对手 - This time, they're evenly matched.
这次它们旗鼓相当 - With these mammals...
对于这些哺乳动物来说 - ...size matters.
大小很重要 - But even the mightiest Megacerops
但即便是最强大的巨角犀 - couldn't overcome the planet's next great challenge.
也无法克服 地球面临的下一个严峻挑战 - The formation of Antarctica was creating global climate chaos.
南极洲的形成正在造成全球气候混乱 - As ocean currents shifted
随着洋流的变化 - and the planet dried...
以及地球变干 - it became a tinderbox.
地球变得一点就着 - Wildfires ravaged the land...
野火在陆地上肆虐 - clearing the way for something completely different...
为一种完全不同的东西铺平了道路 - something that would challenge mammals as never before.
这将对哺乳动物提出前所未有的挑战 - As the smoke cleared,
烟雾散去后 - there rose from the ashes a life-form that had previously only survived
一种此前只在边缘地带幸存的生物 - in the margins.
从灰烬中崛起 - Grass.
草 - Taking root during the great drying...
草在大干燥时期扎根 - it spread so quickly,
飞快蔓延 - it would soon cover one-fifth of the land.
不久将覆盖五分之一的陆地 - But the endless plains were no paradise for the mammals.
但无尽的平原并不是哺乳动物的天堂 - Many couldn't digest grass
许多无法消化草的动物 - and soon went extinct.
很快灭绝 - Twenty million years later,
2000万年之后 - and today's grazing mammals
今天的食草哺乳动物 - remain locked in an arms race with this green invader.
仍在与这绿色入侵者 继续展开军备竞赛 - They have evolved a whole swathe of game-changing adaptations.
它们进化出了 一系列极为重要的适应性 - Specialized teeth,
经过特别加强的牙齿 - strengthened to prevent silica in the grass from wearing them out...
能够防止草中的二氧化硅磨损牙齿 - and huge bellies to process it all.
巨大的腹部 用于将草消化 - Their young are born fully formed...
幼崽一出生就完全成型 - ...able to walk within hours of birth...
出生后几小时就能行走 - and follow their herd in search of fresh growth.
并跟随兽群寻找新长出的草 - Mammals have truly conquered the grassy plains...
哺乳动物真正征服了草原 - their huge numbers the most obvious sign of this exceptional success.
它们庞大的数量 就是巨大成功的最明显的标志 - But just as some mammals evolved to feed on the grass,
但在一些哺乳动物 进化成以草为食的同时 - others evolved to feed on the grazers.
另一些哺乳动物 则进化为以食草动物为食 - Hunters.
猎手 - The herd has its own defense against the cheetahs' blistering speed.
兽群自有 对抗猎豹惊人速度的防御策略 - Many eyes...
许多双眼睛 - ...spot the danger early.
很早就发现了危险 - Running bodies create confusion
兽群奔跑制♥造♥混乱 - for the young to hide in.
使幼崽能够藏身其中 - But the big cat has a plan...
但猎豹早有计划 - forged by its clever mammalian brain.
这要归功于它聪明的哺乳动物大脑 - Panic the herd,
让兽群陷入恐慌 - split them up,
分散兽群 - and target a lone calf.
盯住一只落单的幼崽 - Desperate to defend her only calf,
迫切地想要保护自己的幼崽 - the female wildebeest counters.
母牛铃展开反击 - The chase is far from over.
追捕远未结束 - The cheetah has lost a lot of ground...
猎豹节节败退 - but the calf is tiring.
但幼崽逐渐疲惫 - As the youngster turns,
随着幼崽转向 - it's the hunter who must now run for its life.
现在轮到猎手逃命了 - The calf is safe once more...
幼崽又安全了 - ...but the cheetah will be back...
但猎豹还会回来 - and the war between the grassland mammals will continue
草原哺乳动物之间的战争将会继续 - as it has done for millions of years.
几百万年来一直如此 - In prehistoric South America,
在史前的南美洲 - the grasslands played host to the same battle...
草原上发生了同样的战斗 - but with very different animals.
但参与者则是完全不同的动物 - This giant armadillo...
巨犰狳 - is also a mammal...
也是哺乳动物 - though one the size of a car.
尽管体型与汽车相仿 - Doedicurus may not be fast,
巨犰狳也许不快 - but what they lack in speed...
但在速度上的缺失 - ...they make up for with armor and a lethal tail...
它们用护甲和致命的尾巴弥补 - ...adaptations that protect them and their young
这些适应性可以保护它们及幼崽 - from any would-be predators.
免受任何潜在捕食者的伤害 - A Smilodon...
一只刃齿虎 - but a mere youngster.
但尚年少 - He's not a serious threat...
即便有匕♥首♥一般的牙齿 - ...even with his dagger-like teeth.
但它仍不构成严重威胁 - He's never seen a Doedicurus up close,
它从未如此近距离见过巨犰狳 - and their defenses are intriguing.
它们的防御措施很有趣 - His curiosity gets the better of him.
它没有控制住好奇心 - He explores every angle.
从每一个角度进行探索 - For the young Doedicurus, the only option is to stay put.
对巨犰狳幼崽来说 唯一的选择是保持原地不动 - The giant armadillos' armor is completely impregnable...
巨犰狳的盔甲坚不可摧 - ...and they know it.
而且它们自己很清楚 - But there is one obvious opportunity.
但有一个明显的机会 - The young Doedicurus is so much smaller.
巨犰狳幼崽小得多 - If he can get a hold on it...
如果它能抓住幼崽 - ...he might be able to turn it over.
也许可以将它翻过来 - But not with the adults around.
但有成年巨犰狳在就没戏 - Another stalemate.
又陷入了僵局 - Battles between the mammals have always driven their evolution,
哺乳动物之间的战斗 始终推动着它们的进化 - and they don't just happen in the grasslands.
这不仅仅发生在草原上 - Fifty million years ago,
5000万年前 - what are now India and Asia collided on an epic scale.
如今的印度和亚洲 以极大的规模碰撞在一起 - The crash forced the land into the sky,
将陆地推向天空 - creating the towering Himalayas.
形成了高耸的喜马拉雅山脉 - Today, they are 2,500 kilometers long,
如今该山脉长2500公里 - almost nine kilometers high,
高度接近9000米 - and still growing.
而且仍在继续增长 - With their freezing temperatures and thin air,
由于寒冷的气温和稀薄的空气 - these mountains are uninhabitable for most animals.
这些山脉 对于大多数动物来说无法居住 - But not all.
但也有例外 - Deep in a sunless valley...
在没有阳光的山谷深处 - a male snow leopard...
一头雄性雪豹 - and an ibex that has fallen to its death.
和一头摔死的羱羊 - The leopard is very old,
雪豹年纪很大了 - worn and tattered by his harsh mountain life.
受尽了严酷山区生活的折磨 - At these altitudes, mammals must feed regularly to keep warm.
海拔如此之高 哺乳动物必须定时进食以保持体温 - But the Himalayas present the ultimate hunting challenge.
但喜马拉雅山脉给出了终极捕猎挑战 - High above the valley, a female...
在山谷上方 一只母豹 - and her cubs,
和它的两只幼崽 - fathered by the male.
它们是那只公豹的孩子 - Three of them in total, all amazingly camouflaged.
三头豹都有着出色的伪装 - Snow leopards have thick fur,
雪豹有着厚厚的毛皮 - large paws,
巨大的爪子 - and long tails...
和长长的尾巴 - perfect adaptations
完美地适应了 - for the coldest, most precipitous nursery on Earth.
地球上最寒冷、最陡峭的养育场所 - Away from the dangerous cliffs...
离开危险的悬崖之后 - ...the mother initiates a hunting lesson.
母豹开始教授狩猎课程 - Teaching and caring for one's young
教育和照护幼崽 - is a key mammalian trait.
是哺乳动物的一项重要特征 - These cubs will stay with their mother for nearly two years...
小豹会与母亲待在一起将近两年 - learning the skills needed to survive on the very edge of life.
学习在生命边缘生存所需的技能 - At these altitudes,
在这样的海拔高度 - every opportunity must be taken.
必须抓住每一次机会 - The old male is tracking a herd.
年老的公豹在追踪一群山羊 - In this vertical world, he must get above his prey...
在这个垂直的世界中 它必须到猎物上方 - ...and close enough...
并且足够靠近 - for an ambush.
以发动伏击 - This time
这一次 - death has claimed them both.
二者同归于尽 - But the leopard's legacy lives on.
但这只雪豹的遗志会传承下去 - In a few months' time,
几个月之后 - his cubs will leave their mother and start to hunt alone,
它的幼崽将离开母亲 开始独自捕猎 - having learned all the skills they need
到时它们将学会一切所需技能 - to survive at the top of the world.
可以在世界之巅生存下去 - Although they had conquered the land,
虽然哺乳动物征服了陆地 - the mammals didn't stop there.
但它们并未止步于此 - One branched out and went in an entirely different direction.
有一个分支 朝一个完全不同的方向发展 - Fifty million years ago,
5000万年前 - bats opened up a whole new realm...
蝙蝠通过飞行 - through flight.
开辟了一个全新的领域 - Flying allows animals to search much further for food...
飞行使动物能够到更远的地方觅食 - and gather in their millions.
并且可以成千上万只聚在一起 - Today,
如今 - one in five of all mammal species is a bat.
所有哺乳动物中有五分之一是蝙蝠 - But bats were not the first animals to take to the skies.
但蝙蝠并不是第一个上天的动物 - Having spent the night foraging,
经过了整夜的觅食 - these fruit bats are in a race to return to the roost...
这些果蝠竞相返回巢穴 - ...for with daylight comes danger.
因为危险会与白天一同来临 - Birds.
鸟类 - They evolved flight long before the mammals.
进化出飞行技能远早于哺乳动物 - Faster and stronger than bats...
比蝙蝠更快更强壮 - eagles are armed with deadly talons.
鹰装备有致命的爪子 - But as dusk falls,
但随着黄昏降临 - the skies belong to the bats once more.
天空再次归蝙蝠所有 - Millions take to the wing,
数以百万计的蝙蝠展翅高飞 - knowing that safety lies in numbers
它们知道 庞大的数量和即将到来的黑暗 - and in the coming darkness.
能够带来安全 - At the same time as bats were first moving into the air,
在蝙蝠首次上天的同时 - other mammals were moving into the sea...
另一些哺乳动物则正在下海 - ...attracted by the abundance of food hidden beneath the waves.
它们被海浪之下的丰富食物所吸引 - The mammals' journey into the oceans was a gradual one.
哺乳动物进入海洋的过程是渐进式的 - These are Maiacetus,
这是慈母鲸 - two-and-a-half-meter-long ancestors of the whales.
身长2.5米 是鲸的祖先 - But unlike whales, they still spend much of their time lazing on land.
但与鲸不同 它们多数时间仍懒洋洋地躺在陆地上 - It's in the water that they come alive...
在水中 它们才会活跃起来 - chasing schools of fish.
追逐鱼群 - His time down here is limited by how long he can hold his breath.
它在水下的时间 受限于它能屏住呼吸的时间 - He seems caught between two worlds,
它似乎夹在两个世界之间 - especially when facing danger.
尤其是面临危险的时候 - The mammal's intelligence is his only defense...
哺乳动物的智慧是它唯一的防御手段 - but he can't stay down here forever.
但它不可能永远躲在下面 - Otodus.
耳齿鲨 - Twice the length of a great white shark.
身长是大白鲨的两倍 - With finely-tuned senses, it can pinpoint his exact location,
凭借敏锐的感官 它能准确地锁定对方的位置 - and it's in no hurry to make its move.
而且它并不急于行动 - The Maiacetus is running out of air.
慈母鲸的氧气快用完了 - In open water, there's no escape.
在开阔水域 无处可逃 - An overhang offers refuge.
一个凹岩成为避难所 - But time is running out.
但是快没时间了 - A gully provides cover.
一条海沟提供了掩护 - Safe
安全了 - and able to breathe once more.
又能呼吸了 - Mammals had a long way to go to become masters of the world's oceans,
哺乳动物想要成为海洋的主宰 还有很长的路要走 - but it was only a matter of time.
但这只是时间问题 - As the planet continued to cool,
随着地球持续降温 - it fed an explosion of life...
生命爆♥炸♥式发展 - allowing the giants of today to evolve.
使如今的巨兽得以进化 - The mammals had gone from tiny land animals...
哺乳动物从微小的陆地动物 - to being bigger than dinosaurs.
变得比恐龙还大 - With each giant breath,
通过大口呼吸 - they use oxygen far more effectively than Maiacetus.
它们利用氧气的效率远高于慈母鲸 - And being warm-blooded,
而且由于是温血动物 - their muscles are always at a temperature for maximum performance...
肌肉始终保持在最佳性能的温度 - ...allowing the whales to generate sustained bursts of energy.
所以能够产生持续的能量爆发 - When competing for a mate,
在争夺配偶的时候 - humpback males exploit this ability to the full...
众多雄性座头鲸会充分利用这项能力 - pursuing a single female.
追逐同一头雌鲸 - This is much more than about speed.
这不仅仅是速度的问题 - The males stay as close to the female as possible
雄鲸尽可能靠近雌鲸 - so she can judge their strength and stamina.
以便雌鲸能够评估自己的力量和耐力 - Bubble streaming
喷出气泡 - intimidates rivals.
恐吓对手 - The males plow into each other.
雄鲸互相冲撞 - Some get left behind,
有的落在后面 - still fighting.
仍在战斗 - The main group keeps up the chase...
大部队继续追赶 - hot on the tail of the female.
对雌鲸穷追不舍 - Then suddenly,
突然之间 - she stops.
雌鲸停了下来 - Hanging in the water...
停在水中 - she has called off the race.
叫停比赛 - She has made her decision...
决定已经作出 - and allows one male... to approach.
允许一头雄鲸靠近 - The mammals have conquered every habitat on Earth.
哺乳动物征服了地球上每一片栖息地 - Land, air, and sea.
陆地 天空 海洋 - The asteroid strike had allowed the mammals to go from lowly underdogs...
小行星撞击 使哺乳动物从卑微的弱者… - to become a global power.
变成了世界霸主 - Such is the role of chance in the history of life on our planet.
这就是机遇在地球生命历史中 所扮演的角色 - But there is one more chapter in the mammal story still to be told.
但是哺乳动物的故事 还有一章仍待讲述 - Two and a half million years ago,
250万年前 - the mammals were faced with a new challenge.
哺乳动物面临一个新的挑战 - What had been a slow cooling of the planet
过去缓慢的地球降温 - intensified.
加速了 - The start of an ice age.
冰河时代开始 - From its frozen wastes would come a new force...
从冰封的废土中 将出现一股新的力量 - a mammal armed with more intelligence and adaptability than any before.
一种哺乳动物 拥有史上最强的智力和适应性 - The most dangerous animal the world had ever seen.
这是世界上出现过的最危险的动物 - [The End]
[本集结束]
我们星球上的生命 第一季 第七集 Life on Our Planet S01E07 地球继承者
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