北极熊：一个夏天的奥德赛（2012）

没有争斗，他学着保存能量
and, rather than fight,
he’s learned to conserve his energy.
也学着忍♥耐，虽然他已在饥饿边缘
And to be patient,
though he’s on the verge of starvation.
过了几周的等待
终于换他吃了
For lce Bear, after weeks of waiting,
it’s time to eat.
母熊还未放下哺乳的担子
Mum isn’t yet free of her burden to nurse.
现在，她有了另一个问题
And now she’s got another problem.
这只北极熊将到处跟着她
The ice bear is going to
follow her everywhere.
对他而言，这可能是生与死的差别
For him, that could make the difference
between life and death.
九月
September.
(SQUAWKlNG)
秋天，动物开始迁徒
With the fall, animals are on the move.
但有一只熊正适应着，准备长途迁徒
But one is settling in for the long haul.
现在，每只游上岸的北极熊已经到来
By now, every polar bear
that’s coming ashore has arrived.
(GRUNTS)
在冰面上，他们会分开生活
On the ice, they would’ve led lives apart.
在高纬度的北方
北极熊很少正面交锋
Polar bears in the high north
seldom cross paths.
哈德逊湾的北极熊不同
The Hudson Bay bears are different.
(GROWLlNG)
每年此时
他们被迫挤在狭长的海岸
This time of year, they’re forced
into a narrow corridor of shoreline.
(GROWLlNG)
他们会社交
They socialise.
冰熊也能学习更多
And lce Bear gets to learn all the more.
公熊会斗争以赢得配偶
这二只只是在对打练习
Males fight to win a mate.
These two are just sparring for practice.
(GROWLlNG CONTlNUES)
对幼熊而言，这是一项观赏性运动
For the cubs, it’s a spectator sport.
社交活动有它的优点
Being social has its advantages.
你练习得越多
The more practice you get,
你在真正的争斗中获胜机会越大
the better your chances
when it’s time for the real fight.
但当他们觉得太拥挤时
Though, when they feel crowded,
大公熊会攻击幼熊
big males are known to attack cubs.
哺乳让幼熊不会四处游荡
并惹上麻烦
Nursing keeps Mother’s young
from wandering off and getting into trouble.
除非麻烦自动上门
Unless trouble follows them.
冰熊已经跟随母熊好几周
lce Bear has been tailing the mother
for weeks.
(GRUNTlNG)
要他离开会耗费能量
Challenging him to leave would take energy.
但保护幼熊也会
But so does corralling her cubs.
(GRUNTS)
然后，出现转折
Then, a milestone.
公幼熊渐渐离开
Boy cub draws away.
独♥立♥是成熟的过程
lndependence is a rite of passage.
但冰熊可能会变凶猛
But lce Bear may turn aggressive.
母熊发出警告
Mother levels a warning.
(GROWLlNG)
但公幼熊尝到难以抗拒的滋味
But boy cub has tasted
something irresistible.
(PANTlNG)
猫捉老鼠的游戏要付出不少代价
lt’s a costly game of cat and mouse.
公幼熊所燃烧的热量来自母熊的奶
The calories the cubs are burning
come from Mum’s milk.
不能再这样下去
This has got to stop.
(GROWLlNG)
有些青年熊是坏榜样
这只更糟
Some teenagers are a bad influence.
This one is worse.
(BlRDS SCREECHlNG)
他使母熊分心
使她没注意到致命的访客
A distraction that’s blinded Mum
to a deadly visitor.
野狼
A wolf.
出现一只狼，后面可能就有一群狼
Where there’s one wolf,
there could be a pack.
(GROWLlNG)
冰熊只能靠自己
lce Bear is on his own.
幸运的是，狼只有一只
They’re lucky the wolf is as well.
在混乱中
冰熊失去其他熊的踪迹
But, in the confusion,
lce Bear loses track of the others,
失去食物及家庭的命脉
his lifeline to food and family.
母熊的旅途还没结束
Mother’s journey isn’t over.
在岸边，她们暴露在威胁中
Here, on the coast,
they’re exposed to threats.
或许在森林的防护下会比较安全
Perhaps there’ll be safety
in the cover of the forest.
(SCREECHlNG)
她们的放逐
让她们深入一个更陌生的世界
Their exile is taking them deeper still
into a world even stranger to them.
(PANTlNG)
没人知道母熊和幼熊
Nobody knows much about the time
躲藏在森林中多少时间
mothers and cubs spend
hidden in the woods.
这情况即将改变
That is about to change.
(lNAUDlBLE)
他们不是猎人，是生物学家
These aren’t hunters. They’re biologists.
他们的弹♥药♥只是镇定剂
And their ammo is just a tranquiliser.
他们认为哈德逊湾北极熊
They believe the Hudson Bay bears
可能是北极熊
在暖化下首先开疆辟土的一群
could be a bellwether for the entire species,
pioneers of the warming world.
(PANTlNG)
这些北极熊已经在陆上待那么久
These bears spend so much time
on land already.
如果他们无法适应变长的夏季
其他族群就更不可能了
lf they can’t adapt to the longer summers,
other populations don’t stand a chance.
他们为母熊装上摄影机
They fit Mum with a video camera.
当她醒来
一段独特的家庭电影就放映了
As she wakes up,
a unique home movie begins rolling.
二周后，摄影机将脱落
ln two weeks, the camera will pop off
研究人员就能一窥
and the researchers can
get their first glimpse
北极熊的世界观
from a polar bear’s point of view.
这将揭露意想不到的真♥相♥
lt offers a remarkable revelation.
北极熊喜欢吃甜甜的莓果
The bears have a sweet tooth for berries.
这毫无道理
lt makes no sense.
莓果不含脂肪
对它们没有显著的营养价值
Berries have no fat,
no apparent nutritional value for them.
而且觅食会耗费许多能量
And foraging takes a lot of energy.
或许是返祖现象
Maybe it’s a throwback.
陆地熊，如灰熊，也喜欢吃莓果
Terrestrial bears, like grizzlies,
are big on berries.
陆上生活可能使北极熊
恢复到它们的进化根源
Living on land may be driving the polar bears
to revert to their evolutionary roots.
这是孤注一掷的对策
A desperate strategy.
十一月
November.
上个世代以前
哈德逊湾现在早已被冻结
Just a generation ago, Hudson Bay
would have been frozen by now.
冰熊的第一个孤独夏季应已结束
lce Bear’s first summer alone should be over,
但他被困在陆上，前途未卜
but he’s trapped on land in limbo.
凭着直觉，他走向西北
Following his instincts, he heads northwest,
那里的海比较早结冰
where the sea freezes earliest.
沿路上的雪花只是逗弄
The snow along his way is just a tease.
(GRUNTS)
(DlSTANT GROWLlNG)
(GRUNTlNG)
他不是孤单的
He’s not alone.
(ROARlNG)
在冬季的这时刻
By this point in the season,
对打的伙伴常常进行模拟争斗
sparring partners have squared off
many times in mock battles.
它们已经知道谁能平分秋色
They’ve come to know who’s their measure,
谁会构成威胁
who’s a menace,
何时该退让
and when it’s time to walk away.
如果冰熊将来要为配偶权争斗
lf lce Bear is going to someday
compete for a mate,
他得找同样体型的伙伴来比试
he’s got to find someone his own size
to spar with.
(GROWLS WEARlLY)
他找着食物、避风港、同伴
He’s searched for food, for haven,
for company,
都徒然无功
in vain.
现在，这季节为他带来厄运
Now the season delivers the ultimate insult.
他所循的路线早在几千年前就规划好
The route he follows was blazed
thousands of years ago.
在有游客之前
Before tourists,
在有照相机之前
before cameras,