它们发出的警告空中或陆地捕食者的声音
The sounds they make to warn of aerial or terrestrial predators
随着威胁越来越近而改变
change as the threat grows closer.
不断加剧
TRILLING INTENSIFIES
吠叫
BARKING
玛尔塔和她的同事们发现猫鼬
Marta and her colleagues have discovered that the meerkats
正在用一套复杂的电♥话♥说话
are speaking with a complex repertoire of calls.
它们相互传递的信息是不同的
The messages they send each other are distinct
意思很清楚
and the meaning is very clear.
给它们播放你选择的录音
Play them your choice of recording
你可以准确地预测它们的反应
and you can predict exactly how they will react.
鸣叫
CHIRPING
咆哮
GROWLING
这个声音的意思是
This sound means
“猛禽正在快速逼近。”
“bird of prey approaching fast.”
鸣叫加剧
CHIRPING INTENSIFIES
地洞里很安静
It’s quiet at the burrow.
克林奇还没有露面
Klinky has not surfaced.
很快，原因就清楚了
Soon, it’s clear why.
最后，克林奇生下了她的宝贝幼崽
At last, Klinky has given birth to her precious pups –
小毛豆和小维尼
Squirt and Weeny.
它们已经在地下呆了14天
They have been underground for 14 days.
今天，它们第一次出现在阳光下
And today, they emerge into the sunshine for the first time.
它们的眼睛才刚刚睁开
Their eyes have only just opened.
在它们面前是它们第一次看到新家
In front of them is their first view of their new home.
严酷而美丽的喀拉哈里沙漠
The harsh but beautiful Kalahari.
这个家庭在其他方面也有所成长
The family has grown in other ways too.
幼崽出生三天后，
Three days after the pups were born,
克林奇允许她被驱逐的女儿们重新加入这个团体
Klinky allowed her evicted daughters back into the group.
现在它已经有了幼崽
Now that she’s had her pups,
雌性不再是威胁
the females are no longer a threat.
恰恰相反
Quite the opposite.
它们被立即投入工作，
They’re put to work straightaway,
给小毛豆和小维尼当保姆
as babysitters to Squirt and Weeny.
这些雌性通常能够提供乳汁，
These females are often able to provide milk,
所以在保持警惕的同时，
so as well as keeping a lookout,
它们给新生的幼崽喂奶
they suckle the new pups.
作为回报，它们再次享受安全
In return, they enjoy the safety
成为一个大团体的一员
of being part of a big group once more.
它们轮班12小时
They take 12-hour shifts
而且对工作非常投入
and are so dedicated to the job
它们一分钟都不会离开幼崽，
that they won’t leave the pups for a minute,
即使它们正在挨饿
even if they are starving.
但平静很快就被打破了
But the calm is soon shattered.
克林奇发现了可疑的东西
Klinky has spotted something suspicious.
一家人迅速行动起来
The family leaps into action.
每个人都有自己的角色
Everyone has a role.
保姆们迅速行动以保护幼崽
The babysitters move quickly to protect the pups.
她的女儿们现在很有用，
Her daughters are useful now,
但它们也带来了麻烦
but they’ve brought trouble in their wake.
来自对手群体的三只雄性游弋者
Three roving males from a rival group
想和克林奇的女儿们交♥配♥
are looking to mate with Klinky’s daughters.
这些是不受欢迎的客人
These are unwelcome visitors.
如果它们闯入小组
If they break into the group,
它们甚至可以试图推♥翻♥她的搭档宁格鲁，
they could even try to overthrow her partner, Ningaloo,
破坏功夫群
and disrupt the Kung Fu.
克林奇的幼崽将任由它们摆布
Klinky’s pups would be at their mercy.
赌注不能再高了
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
克林奇在宁格鲁的支持下发起进攻
Klinky is on the offensive, backed up by Ningaloo.
其余的家族成员也跟着来了
The rest of the family follow.
雄猫鼬悄悄溜走了
The males slink away.
目前，功夫群已经解决了威胁
For now, the Kung Fu have dealt with the threat.
但游荡的雄猫鼬随时都可能回来
But the roving males could be back at any time.
猫鼬很喜欢有观察者在身边
The meerkats are so comfortable having observers around
仅仅因为身处其中，
that, simply by being amongst them,
探险队可以发现最了不起的东西
the team can discover the most remarkable things.
与雌性不同，雄性猫鼬开始离开它们的家庭
Unlike the females, male meerkats begin to leave their families
当它们三岁时——
when they are three years old –
它们不能和它们的姐妹交♥配♥
they can’t mate with their sisters.
在这个时候，它们访问其他团体
At this time, they visit other groups
蒂姆一直想知道
and Tim has always wanted to understand
这些流浪的雄性是如何生活的
how these roving males get on.
他哼哼
HE HUMS
漫游者盯上了竞争对手的一只雌性
The rover has got his eye on a female from a rival group.
这是一个有风险的行业
It’s a risky business.
它被这群雄猫鼬不断追赶
He is being chased repeatedly by the males from this group.
如果它们能抓到它
And if they can catch him,
它们有可能会杀了它
there’s a danger they’ll kill him.
漫游者靠得太近
So rovers that get too close
被对手们逮个正着
and get caught by the opposition,
被杀的情况并不少见
not uncommonly get killed.
所以它们很容易跳动
So they’re quite jumpy.
如你所见，它们……
And, as you can see, they’re…
因为怕被人看见，所以它们就走了
a bit careful about being seen, so they tend to go
爬来爬去，然后一直往外看
creepy-crawly and then, look out all the time.
但他绝对不会考虑进食，
But he’s absolutely not thinking about feeding,
他一心想着性
his mind is on sex.
四处游荡的雄猫鼬性♥欲♥旺盛，很少停下来吃东西
Roving males are so overcome with lust that they rarely stop to eat.
它们可以一次花上好几天的时间去追逐它们想要的东西
They can spend days at a time chasing the object of their desire.
但这是一个值得冒的风险
But it’s a risk worth taking.
他只会在边缘徘徊
He’ll just stay on the edge
来来回♥回♥，
and keep coming and keep going again,
它会试图接近灌木丛后面的一只雌性
and he’ll try and get access to one of the females behind a bush.
这个漫游者太过冒险了
This rover has pushed his luck too far
它惊动了一只在群体边缘觅食的雄性
and has disturbed a male foraging on the edge of the group.
他的身份暴露了
His cover is blown.
看，这群人在跳战舞，
Ah, look, here the group is in war dance,
所以这个小组现在开始认真对待这个问题了
so the group are now actually taking this seriously
而不是一只雄性追赶它，
and instead of one male chasing him,
整群人都在追他
the whole group are now chasing him.
对猫鼬来说，一群战舞是非常吓人的
To a meerkat, a whole group war dancing is extremely intimidating
不难理解他为什么要保持距离
and it’s not difficult to understand why he keeps his distance
当所有人都盯着他的时候
when the whole group have their eyes on him.
雄猫鼬繁殖后代的唯一机会
A dominant male’s only chance of breeding
是离开自己的小组加入或另找一个
is to leave his own group and either join or found another one
和不相关的雌性相好
with unrelated females.
成功的可能性很小，
The chances of success are slim,
但一只雄性猫鼬必须要成功，
but a male meerkat has to make a go of it,
如果他的基因不会灭绝的话
if his particular genetic line isn’t to die out.
雷声隆隆地
THUNDER RUMBLES
一场暴风雨带着滂沱大雨从头顶上掠过
A storm, swollen with rain, passes overhead.
这应该标志着旱季的结束
It should signal the end of the dry season
带来了今年的第一场雨
and bring the first rains of the year.
到了晚上，一场巨大的雷暴即将来临
By night, a huge electrical storm threatens.
但云并没有下雨
But the clouds haven’t let go of their rain.
随着气温上升，干旱即将来临
As the temperature rises, a drought is imminent.
功夫群的猫鼬还在等待雨水的到来
The Kung Fu are still waiting for the rains to arrive.
幼崽小毛豆和小维尼现在已经六周大，完全断奶了
Pups Squirt and Weeny are now six weeks old and fully weaned.
它们需要在这片极度干燥的沙漠中寻找固体食物
They need to find solid food somewhere in this bone-dry desert.
它们和家人一起外出觅食，
They accompany their family on foraging trips,
但它们还太小，不能自己捕捉食物
but they’re still too young to catch their own food.
它们不停地呼唤乞求，
They make endless begging calls,
但它们的父母克林奇和宁格鲁没有回应
but their parents, Klinky and Ningaloo, don’t respond.
它们用颤音
THEY TRILL
它们没有被忽视
They’re not being ignored.
它们用颤音
THEY TRILL
在新恢复的家庭里，
In the newly restored family,
还有其他25只猫鼬可以帮忙
there are 25 other meerkats available to help.
下属的帮助者泄露了秘密
The subordinate helpers give away
它们捕获的食物多达一半
up to half the food they catch.
它们照顾幼崽的需要，就像照顾自己的一样
They look after the pups’ needs as much as their own.
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