地球改变之年（2021）

就取得了成果
pays off.
在非洲 金钱豹的数量
Leopard numbers in Africa
在过去25年中减少了30%以上
have dropped by over 30% in the last 25 years.
但通过充分利用这种新的 封锁期不限♥量♥自助餐
But by taking full advantage of this new all-you-can-eat lockdown buffet,
这只金钱豹过得十分惬意
this leopard is thriving.
这里几乎成了它的旅馆 它的私有王国
This pretty much has become his lodge. His private kingdom.
从病毒大流行开始已经过了六个月
It’s six months since the pandemic began.
（六个月）
到9月份 40多个国家仍在实施禁令
By September, over 40 countries still have restrictions in place…
超过三十亿人口的活动受到限制
limiting the activities of over 3 billion people.
大型集♥会♥
Large gatherings,
包括现场体育赛事、音乐会和节庆活动
including live sporting events, concerts and festivals,
将不会回到人们的生活当中 除非我们有了可靠的治疗方案 比如疫苗
will not be able to return until we have a reliable treatment like a vaccine.
当我们在适应新常态时
Whilst we adjust to our new normal,
大自然的复兴在继续进行
nature’s rejuvenation continues.
（印度 恒河）
印度的恒河
In India, the river Ganges
氧气含量增加了80%
shows an 80% increase in its oxygen levels.
（摩洛哥 大西洋海岸）
And on Africa’s Atlantic coast,
在非洲的大西洋海岸
海水清洁度评级从差跃升到优良
the water cleanliness rating leaps from poor to excellent.
而人类放轻的脚步已持续了足够长的时间
And our lighter tread has now been continuing for long enough
让新的一代动物获益
for a whole new generation of animals to benefit.
（南非 开普敦）
（人口 四百七十万）
Here on the South African coast,
在南非海岸
一些自豪的新手父母走在清晨通勤的路上
some proud new parents are on their morning commute.
非洲公驴企鹅
African jackass penguins.
它们就在我们身边筑起了窝
They have set up home right alongside us.
在繁殖季期间
During the breeding season,
每天早上它们去海里捕鱼
every morning they head out to sea to go fishing.
它们的雏鸟要求很高
Their chicks are very demanding.
每天需要吃掉相当于体重15%的食物
They need to eat around 15% of their body weight every day.
幸运的是 公驴企鹅是优秀的猎手
Luckily, jackass penguins are highly effective hunters…
它们能够潜到水下80米处
able to dive to depths of 80 meters
享用鱼群和甲壳动物
to feast on shoals of fish and crustaceans.
但是将猎物带给饥饿的雏鸟是个问题
But delivering the catch to their hungry chicks is a problem.
在往年 这些海滩挤满了人
In previous years, these beaches were packed with people.
当企鹅捕完鱼准备返回时
And by the time the penguins were ready to return from fishing…
会发现它们的道路被挡住了
they would find their path blocked.
所以很多企鹅在岸边海上等到日落
So many of them waited offshore until sunset…
等到人群回家
when the crowds headed home.
而今年 海滩上人迹全无
But this year, the beach is deserted.
企鹅们不再需要以往的做法
The penguins abandon their old routine
如今在海中只捕鱼几小时就回家了
and now head home after just a few hours at sea
肚子里装满了给雏鸟的鱼
with a bellyful of fish for their chicks.
而且天光尚早 它们可以再去一次海里
And with plenty of daylight still in hand, they can go out to sea once more.
现在这些雏鸟一天被喂食两次 甚至三次
These chicks are now being fed twice or even three times a day.
它们不但更健康 长得更快
They’re not only healthier and growing more rapidly,
而且很多家庭在成功哺育双胞胎 就像这一家
but more families like this one are successfully rearing twins.
还有更多的好消息
And there’s more good news.
在接下来的几周里
Over the next few weeks,
一些父母会继续成功哺育第二窝雏鸟
some parents go on to successfully raise a second clutch of chicks,
这是过去十多年来第一次看到的情景
the first time this has been seen here in over a decade.
多年来 我们想当然地认为 这里的企鹅和人类
For years, we’ve assumed that penguins and people here
能和平共处
were getting along just fine.
但实际上 我们让它们的生活变得困难
But in reality, we were making their life difficult.
鉴于南非的企鹅数量
And given that penguin numbers in South Africa
在过去30年来下降了几乎70%
have dropped by almost 70% over the last 30 years…
它们很需要我们的全力帮助
they need all the help we can give them.
不仅是栖息在城市中的 动物幼崽在茁壮成长
It’s not just the young of city-dwelling animals that are thriving.
目前 今年封锁限制的影响
By now, the effects of this year’s restrictions
甚至在世界上最荒凉的地方也感受到了
are even being felt in the world’s wildest places.
（肯尼亚 马赛马拉 每年游客人数 三十多万）
Transforming one big cat’s ability to protect its young.
改变了一种大型猫科动物 保护其幼崽的能力
那就是猎豹
Cheetah.
地球上速度最快的短跑能手
The fastest sprinter on Earth.
但它们有一个弱点
But they have a weakness.
它们较小的体型意味着 它们缺乏其他掠食动物的力量
Their slight build means they lack the strength of rival predators…
比如狮子和鬣狗
like lions and hyenas.
它们会很乐意偷走猎豹的食物
They will happily steal a cheetah’s meal
而且会毫不犹豫地杀死猎豹幼崽
and won’t hesitate to kill a cub.
猎豹试图保持低调
Cheetahs try to keep a low profile.
但是因为有两只幼崽需要喂养
But with two cubs to feed,
这只母猎豹需要每隔两、三天 就捕获一只猎物
this mother needs to make a kill every two or three days.
在它捕猎的时候
While she hunts,
它六个月大的幼崽藏在高高的草丛中
her six-month-old cubs stay hidden in the long grass.
但一旦它捕到猎物 就会面临一个两难选择
But as soon as she’s made her kill, she faces a dilemma.
它距离幼崽有几百米远
She is hundreds of meters away from them,
而猎物太大 无法拖回去
with a carcass too large to drag back.
如果它离开猎物 又会面临猎物被食腐动物偷走的风险
And if she leaves it, she will risk it being stolen by scavengers.
它的解决办法是用一种轻柔的啾鸣声
Her solution is to use a soft chirruping call…
告诉幼崽来跟它会合
to tell her cubs to join her.
它必须很小心
She must be careful.
如果它叫得太大声或太频繁
If she calls too loudly or too often,
会让敌人发现它无力自卫的幼崽
she will alert her enemies to her defenseless cubs.
正是这个时刻
And it’s at this very moment
猎豹发现自己的叫声最难被听到
that cheetah here have found it hardest to be heard.
在封锁之前的年份
In the years before lockdown,
目睹猎豹捕猎
seeing a cheetah hunt was the top of the wish list
是马赛马拉游客的最大愿望
for the Maasai Mara’s tourists.
但在母猎豹杀死猎物后 围在周围的人群造成了一个问题
But the crowds that surrounded the mother after her kill posed a problem.
有很多嘈杂的声音 汽车开来开去
There’s a lot of commotion. Vehicles driving up and down.
（猎豹研究者 萨利姆曼德拉）
导游在无线电上讲话、人们在交谈
Guides talking on radio, people talking to each other.
喧闹淹没了
The hubbub drowned the calls
母猎豹向幼崽发出的召唤声
of mother cheetahs calling to their cubs.
那些噪音
All that noise
掩盖了猎豹赖以生存的自然信♥号♥♥
masks the natural cues that cheetahs rely on to survive.
它们被迫持续召唤 因此面临吸引敌人的风险
Forced to keep on calling, they risked attracting rivals.
而今年
But this year…
这位母亲几乎没有经历任何人类的干扰
this mother is experiencing almost no human disruption.
在几声召唤传过空旷的稀树草原后
After just a few calls across the empty savanna…
它的幼崽听到了召唤
her cubs hear her…
来到母亲的身旁
and join their mother.
我们发现母猎豹的召唤次数减少了
We find that mothers make fewer calls.
一、两次之后 幼崽会立刻回应
One or two times, and cubs respond immediately.
没有人类在周围
Without people around,
研究人员已经看到小猎豹们长势更好
researchers are already seeing cheetah cubs doing better.
在新冠疫情之前 只有三分之一的幼崽能生存下来
In pre-COVID times, you’ll find one out of three cubs will survive.
而目前我们见到了
But currently we are coming across
更多三个月以上的幼崽
more cubs that are more than three months old,
这让我们乐观地相信
which makes us optimistic
这次我们会有更多幼崽生存下来
that this time around we are going to have more cubs surviving,
这意味着更多的猎豹
which means more cheetahs.
鉴于在非洲仅剩下大约七千只成年猎豹
With only around 7,000 adult cheetahs left in Africa…
每一只幼崽都无比珍贵
every cub is precious.
虽然今年继续为我们人类带来挑战
While the year continues to be challenging for us…
（乌干达 布温迪国家公园）
…more and more endangered animals
却有越来越多的濒危动物
生存机会得到了极大提升
are enjoying a boost to their chances of survival.
在2020年 随着干扰减少
With less disturbance during 2020,
这里的山地大猩猩
mountain gorillas here
生育的幼崽数量是以往的两倍
gave birth to twice the usual number of babies.
在英格兰的南海岸
On England’s south coast,
（英格兰 多塞特）
rare spiny seahorses appear in numbers not seen for at least ten years
罕见的刺海马数量之多 是至少十年来所未见过的
这是因为它们的海草家园 从到访船只造成的破坏中逐渐恢复
as their seagrass home recovers from damage caused by visiting boats.
（肯尼亚 莱基皮亚）
And in Kenya, no rhinos were killed for their horns
在肯尼亚 没有犀牛因为它们的角被杀
这是自1999年来的第一次
for the first time since 1999.
从封锁开始已经过了一整年
It’s a whole year since the start of lockdown.
（12个月）
这一年我们很多人在大自然中找到了慰藉
A year in which many of us have found comfort in the natural world.
这一年世界发生了惊人的改变
A year in which that world has changed in extraordinary ways.
全球年度二氧化碳排放量