搜索
Thereareonlyadozenpeaksintheworldthatrisefivemileshigh.世界上超过八千米的山峰屈指可数Allofthemarehere,intheHimalayas.它们全部位于喜马拉雅地区Lethallycold,scouredbygalesandblizzards,在极端低温与暴风雪的洗礼下thesemountainsareamongthemosthostileplacesonEarth.这些山脉成为地球上生存条件最苛刻的地区Yet,afewspecialanimalsmanagetolivehere.然而仍有动物能够生活在这里Snowleopards.雪豹Likeallcreaturesofthehighmountains,与所有高山生物相同theyhavehadtoadaptboththeirbodyandtheirbehaviour为了生存他们必须从体型和行为上inordertosurvive.充分适应环境Lifeatextremealtitude极高海拔之上的生存hasshapedsomeofthetoughestanimalsontheplanet.塑造出了这个星球上最顽强的动物ThesunbakedmountainsoftheArabianPeninsula.阿拉伯半岛上的山地被阳光炙烤得发烫TheymayonlybeafractionoftheheightoftheHimalayas,它们的海拔也许只是喜马拉雅山脉的零头buttheyarestillsodizzyinglysteep但却异常险峻thatinmanyplacesit'salmostimpossibletogetafoothold.很多地方几乎无法立足YetNubianibexhavemadethistheirhome.而努比亚羱羊还是栖息于此Theibexchoosethesteepestcliffstoraisetheiryoung,羱羊选择在最陡峭的绝壁上养育幼仔insafety,beyondthereachofpredators.环境安全没有天敌Butlivinginthissanctuarycomeswithacost.在生活在这里也要付出代价Thesenurseryslopesaresosteep,山崖过于陡峭thereisalmostnostandingwateruphere.几乎没有任何积水Sotodrink,anibexfamilymustdescendintothevalley...1,000feetbelow.为了饮水羱羊必须下到三百米下的峡谷之中...Themotherspickoutthesafestwaydown.母羊选出一条最安全的下山路径Withsoftclovenhoovesthatgripbetterthananyclimbingshoe,四只柔软的分趾蹄胜过最好用的登山鞋theyarethemostaccomplishedmountaineers.让他们成为最高超的登山者Butthenewbornkidsarestillhavingtofindtheirfeet.但新生的雏羊还在蹒跚学步Thisistheirfirstdescent.这是他们第一次下山Onemistakecouldmakeittheirlast.一次失蹄就可能一命呜呼Followingtheadults,thekidsfinallyreachthevalley.跟着成年羱羊小羊们终于到达山谷Butonceonlevelground,they'revulnerable.但回到平地上他们就很容易遭到攻击Redfoxeslieinwait.赤狐埋伏许久了Atthefirstsignofdanger,一有危险迹象theyoungibexinstinctivelyrunbacktosteeperground.羱羊幼仔便本能地奔回陡坡Butheadingforthisparticularrockyoutcropcouldbeamistake.但爬上这块突出的岩石可能是个错误It'sa30-footdrop.这有九米高Thefoxhasthemtrapped...赤狐把它们困住了orsoitseems.或者看起来是这样Thisiswhatibexwereborntodo.这正是羱羊与生俱来的本领Scatteringmakesithardforthefoxtopickatarget.四散而逃的羊群让赤狐难以选择目标Anditcertainlycan'tfollowthemuphere.显然它也无法追上峭壁Allitcandoiswaitforonetoslipandfall.只能等待某只羱羊失蹄跌落Buttheseyoungstersarefastlearners,但这些小羊学得很快andthey'renowalmostassure-footedastheirparents.现在几乎可以和双亲一样如履平地了Thefoxwillhavetofinditsmealelsewhere.赤狐只能去别处觅食It'sjustnotbeenagoodday.今天还真不是个好日子Now,atlast,theyoungibexcandrink.小羱羊终于喝上水了Butthey'llsoonneedto但很快他们又得returntothesafetyofthesheercliffs.回到峭壁上的安全区域Masteringprecipitousterrainisalwayschallenging,在峭壁上行走固然很难buttherearemorefundamentalproblems但对于高山动物而言forlifeinthemountains.还有更根本的难题TheAlps.Europe'shighestpeaks.阿尔卑斯山脉欧洲最高的山峰It'swinter,andfoodisdesperatelyshort.时至冬季食物极度匮乏Agoldeneaglehastospendeverydaylighthour金雕不得不花费整个白天scanningtheslopesforsomething,somewhere,toeat.俯视山坡寻找食物Herseven-footwingspanallowshertoglideeffortlessly长达两米的翼展让她for100milesinasingleday.一天可以轻松滑翔160公里Herextraordinaryeyes非凡的视力enablehertospotpreyfromtwomilesaway.让她可以看到三公里外的猎物Butsheisnottheonlyonewho'slookingforfood.但她并非这里唯一的觅食者Whenshespotsachance,shemustmovefast.一旦发现良机必须快速行动Shecandiveat200milesanhour.她能以320公里的时速俯冲而下Onlyaperegrineisfaster.只有游隼能飞得更快Duringwinter,eveneaglesrelyalmostentirelyoncarrion.在冬季即使鹰类也几乎完全仰赖腐尸度日It'sadeadfox,这是一只死去的狐狸anditcouldsustainherfordays.这顿美餐能让她支撑数日Otherscavengersmustdefer.其它食腐者只能等着了Thehungrycrowssoonregaintheircourage.饥饿的乌鸦很快重新鼓起勇气They'lltryanytricktostealamorsel.他们想尽办法试图分一杯羹Andtheyareannoyinglypersistent.顽固地令人厌烦Butthismobaretheleastofherworries.但这群乌鸦是她最不需要担心的Abiggereagletakescontrol.一只更大的金雕抢走了食物Butthiskillistooimportanttogiveup.但这顿美餐太过重要不能轻易放弃Soshemustfight.必须奋起一搏Forthemoment,she'swonthecarcassback.她暂时抢回了尸体Butakilllikethiswillattracteveryeagleformilesaround.但这样的猎物会引来方圆数公里内所有的鹰Asever,thestrongestwinsthelion'sshare.最终依然是最强者赢得大部分食物Unabletodefendthecarcassanylonger,抢不到那具尸体thefirsteaglemustnowcontinueitssearch.第一只雕只能继续它的觅食之旅Itmaybemanydaysbeforeshefeedsagain.也许下一次饱餐就是数日之后的事情了Onlythemostcompetitive只有最具竞争力的生物willsurvivetheperilsofthemountainwinter.才能在山脉的寒冬中存活下来Anavalanche.一场雪崩tonnesofsnow十万吨积雪100,000travellingat80milesanhour,以130公里的时速席卷而下capableofsmashingeverythinginitspath.足以粉碎沿途的一切ThemountainsofNorthAmerica北美洲的山脉arehitbythousandsofavalancheseveryyear.每年要发生数千起雪崩Yetoneanimalspendsthewholewinterslumbering然而有一种动物整个冬季withinthesnowontheseavalanche-proneslopes.都在这些极易发生雪崩的山坡上冬眠Andwhenspringcomes,theyemerge.待春天来临它们就出洞了Allacrossthesemountains,在这些山脉中grizzlybearsmaketheirwinterdens灰熊将巢筑在背风坡厚厚的积雪之下feetupinthedeepsnowofleewardslopes.海拔高达三千米10,000Andwhiletheywerehalf-asleepinthedepthsofwinter,他们在隆冬半梦半醒之际theiryoungwereborn.产下幼崽Nowthesecubsaretakingtheirfirststeps现在这些熊宝宝正迈出他们intotheoutsideworld.走向外界的第一步Thismotherisleadingherthreeyoungsters熊妈妈带着三只幼崽toaplacewheretheycanfindfood.去找东西吃Theyneedtodescendasquicklyaspossible.他们得尽快下山Thedebrisfromanavalancheisclearevidence雪崩肆虐后的残骸清楚地表明thatthisslopeisstilldangerouslyunstable.这片山坡仍然非常不稳定Thisisnotaplacetodawdle.此地不宜久留Andtheyhaveanotherreasontokeepmoving.他们继续前行还有另一个原因Afterfivemonthsintheden,在巢里呆了五个月后thesebearsareveryhungry.这些灰熊饿得正慌Bearsthathavehibernatedthroughoutthesepeaks这片山峰之间冬眠的灰熊nowalldescendtothevalleys,wherespringcomesearliest.现在都下山了那里的春天来得更早IntheRockies,seasonalchangeisswiftanddramatic.落基山脉的季节变换迅速而突然Inj