land.
但北极熊生长在冰面上,而非陆地
But then polar bears are built to last on ice,
not land.
对他而言,生存仍是漫长考验
For lce Bear, survival might be a long shot.
冰熊是由陆地熊演化而来
例如灰熊
lce Bear actually evolved from a land bear,
like the grizzly.
如今,他被迫回到自己的根来适应
Now he’s forced to revisit his roots,
and adapt.
(BlRDS CHlRPlNG)
(GROWLS)
他没有能力来追捕这个陌生猎物
He’s not equipped to hunt this strange prey.
这些在陆上而不是冰面下的动物
Animals of the earth, not the ice.
(GRUNTS)
(lNSECT BUZZlNG)
他天生不耐热
And he’s not designed for the heat.
现在温度是摄氏28度
lt’s 28 degrees Celsius.
(HONKlNG)
悲惨
Misery.
(lNSECTS BUZZlNG)
(GROWLlNG)
(BUZZlNG)
至少虫子有得吃
At least the bugs get to eat.
(GROWLS)
怎样都无法舒适躺着
There’s no way to get comfortable.
另一只年长公熊待得够久,他知道
Another older male has been here
long enough to know.
要浸湿
Get wet.
(ROARlNG)
冰熊还要学着点
lce Bear has got to learn the ropes.
这是他前进的原因
北极熊就像求知若渴的学生
That’s one thing he’s got going for him.
Polar bears are eager students.
他必须知道的生存课题
是如何避免挨饿
One life lesson he needs now
is how to keep from starving.
事实上,吞下这些零食是个错误
ln fact, scarfing down snacks is a mistake.
老熊知道
进食会打乱他现在的生理状态
The veteran knows that eating
would throw off the altered state he’s in.
老熊会禁食整个夏天
以灭缓他的新陈代谢
To get his metabolism to slow down,
the older male is fasting the whole summer.
这个状态有如行尸走肉
叫做“步行式冬眠”
lt’s a zombie-like state
called “walking hibernation.”
他会依靠他的脂肪
以半清醒状态走着
He’ll live off his fat reserves
and spend his waking hours half-awake.
但这只北极熊做不到
But the ice bear can’t swing it.
他太年轻,无法改变代谢
He’s too young to make
the metabolic change.
在饥饿来袭前
他能撑完一个标准的夏季长度
He can last the length of a typical summer
before starvation sets in.
问题是,夏季变长了
The problem is summer has gotten longer.
这只母熊已濒临鬼门关
This female is already at death’s door.
在融冰前,她没有捕食足够的海豹
She didn’t eat enough seals
before the ice broke up.
(BREATHlNG HEAVlLY)
喝水是绝望的迹象
Drinking is a sign of desperation.
如果她还健康
她会代谢自己的脂肪得到水分
lf she were healthy, she’d get hydrated
by metabolising her own fat.
但她已经没有脂肪
But she has no fat.
这是残酷的命运
lt’s a cruel fate.
游了那么远,在遥远的彼岸上受苦
To come so far
just to suffer on a distant shore.
(lNSECTS BUZZlNG)
(EXHALES)
(SCREECHlNG)
并非所有的哈德逊湾北极熊
都信任陆地
Not all Hudson Bay bears
put their trust in the land.
八月了,一只走散的熊还在漂流
lt’s August, and a straggler is still adrift.
他有一个策略让他整季都待在水里
He’s got a strategy to stay here
the whole season long.
他学会沿途猎捕
He’s learned to hunt along the way
目标是海象
and take on a walrus.
在水中,他不是海象的对手
ln the water,
the straggler is no match for a walrus.
但最终
But, eventually,
海象需要休息
the herd needs to rest.
(BARKlNG)
这是突袭的完美机会
The perfect opportunity for an ambush.
它们捕食蛤蜊,狂吃了四天
They’ve been out on a four-day binge,
foraging for clams.
现在精疲力竭
Now they’re exhausted.
(GROWLlNG)
抓到一只
One catch, and the straggler
就足够让他维持许多天
will have enough to last him for days.
幼海象的身体有三分之一是脂肪
A calf’s body is one-third fat.
但他们都被成年海象包围着
But the young are all surrounded by adults.
庞大又危险的动物
Big, dangerous animals.
它们焦躁不安,警戒却未松懈
While they’re restless, their guard is up.
(GRUNTS)
不会只有一只海象发痒
There’s no such thing as one itchy walrus.
海象群会一起脱皮,一起发痒
The herd that moults together,
itches together.
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
终于
Finally.
大部分的熊不敢冒险
Most bears wouldn’t risk it.
这只饥饿的熊毫不考虑
The hungry straggler isn’t thinking twice.
(GROWLlNG)
他从下风处接近以防被察觉
The straggler approaches downwind
to avoid detection.
(BARKlNG)
母海象照顾幼海象的强大本能
A mother’s instinct to care for her young
is a powerful drive.
只有另一种本能可以胜过
There’s only one that can be stronger.
饥饿
Hunger.
(GROWLlNG)
整个夏季,这只熊会一直跟着海象群
轻松地捕食幼海象
The straggler will follow the herd all summer,
picking off calves with ease.
今年,他不需要迁徒到陆地
He won’t need to bother
migrating to land this year.
有些失散者就没那么幸运
Some castaways aren’t so lucky.
在这不属于北极熊的远方
死亡成了命运
Here, far from where the bears belong,
death is a fact of life.
(BUZZlNG)
他可能死于受伤
He may have died from an injury.
或因为游了数百公里来到这里
Or from swimming those
hundreds of kilometres to get here.
但他的不幸
可能是这只饥饿母熊的救赎
But his misfortune may be
the starving female’s salvation.
北极熊之间的同类相食很罕见
Cannibalism is rare among polar bears.
被迫在陆上生存改变了一切
Being forced to live on land
changes everything.
在冰面上,她是高贵的掠食者
On the ice, she’s a noble hunter.
现在她降格去清除同类的血肉
Now she’s reduced to scavenging
the flesh of her own kind.
16年来,西哈德逊湾的北极熊
ln 16 years,
the Western Hudson Bay polar bears
已经急遽灭少了两成二
have dwindled by a staggering 22%.
这只母熊
This female
可能活不过夏季了
probably won’t survive the season.
母熊和幼熊的旅途终于结束
For mother and cubs,
the journey is finally over.
但旅途让她付出相当大的代价
But the odyssey has taken a toll on her.
漫长的旅途中,她必须哺乳
Through the long journey here,
she’s had to nurse them.
当成年公熊可以步行式冬眠
While adult males withdraw
into walking hibernation,
幼熊的依赖使她保持清醒
her cubs depend on her being awake.
哺乳需求迫在眉睫
The demands of nursing can be dire.
不管如何,她都要找到食物
Somehow, she’s got to find food.
这只北极熊抓到了机会
The ice bear seizes an opportunity,
注意着母熊
takes the mother’s cue,
并跟随她
and follows her.
记忆引导她
She’s guided by memory
疲累地走了三天
来到她曾经发现食物的小海湾
of an exhausting three-day walk to a cove
where she’s found food before.
(WlND WHlSTLlNG)
这里,白海豚磨蹭岩石来脱皮
Here, beluga whales rub against the rocks
and moult their skin.
(SlNGlNG)
退潮后,有些被冲上岸
When the tide goes out, a few get beached.
母熊和幼熊先享用
Mother and cubs feed first.
公幼熊和母幼熊刚开始断奶
Cub boy and cub girl are
beginning to get weaned,
有什么比这个更诱惑呢?
and what better inducement?
冰熊知道与这家庭保持距离
lce Bear knows to give the family wide berth.
(BlRD SCREECHlNG)
一些剩菜就能让他渡过难关
Some scraps tide him over

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