A group of male beluga whales approaches.
它们是世界最南端的白鲸
They are the world’s southern-most belugas.
它的这些近亲可能是它的救星
His closest cousins could be his saviors.
一角鲸和白鲸
Narwhals and belugas
组成了它们自己的鲸鱼族谱分支
make up their own branch of the whale family tree. . .
但它们之间通常没有互动
but they don’t usually interact.
这些白鲸可能要破一次例
These white whales may make an exception.
它可能是它们见过的第一头一角鲸
He’s likely the first narwhal they’ve ever seen.
圣劳伦斯河
在一万年前 最后一个冰河时代之后
This family’s ancestors remained here near Quebec
这个家族的祖先留在魁北克附近
after the last ice age, 10, 000 years ago.
它们跟这头一角鲸外表并不相像 语言也不一样
They don’t look like this narwhal, or speak his language,
但白鲸有可能听得懂 这位异族表亲的语言
but it’s possible the belugas can understand their alien cousin.
至少能听个大概
At least the basics.
它孤孤单单的 心里很害怕
He’s alone, he’s scared. . .
它是某种鲸鱼
and he’s some kind of whale.
但并非只有它们留意到这头一角鲸
They aren’t the only ones taking notes.
罗伯特·米肖德一直在研究 圣劳伦斯河的白鲸
Robert Michaud has studied the beluga whales of the Saint Lawrence
已超过35年
for more than 35 years.
但他从未见过这样的场面
But he’s never seen anything quite like this.
我们第一次看到一角鲸时 就会好奇
The very first time we saw the narwhal, we just wondered,
“哇 我们见到的是 哪种奇怪的白鲸？”
“Whoa, what kind of weird beluga have we seen? ”
这头迷路的一角鲸处境不妙
A lost narwhal is not in a good position.
若是这群白鲸不收养它
If the belugas don’t adopt him, he won’t learn how to hunt here.
它将学不会如何在此地捕食
它肯定会在陌生的水域孤独地死去
He’s sure to die alone in strange waters.
随着冬天来临 这头一角鲸 仍然跟它们待在一起
As winter descends, the narwhal is still with them.
但这里有个看不见的敌人
But there’s an unseen enemy here.
噪音
Sound.
圣劳伦斯河 是加拿大最繁忙的水道之一
The Saint Lawrence is one of Canada’s busiest waterways.
船只的噪音让鲸鱼很难交流
Boat noise here makes it hard for whales to communicate. . .
也很难用声呐捕猎
and to hunt with their sonar.
这头一角鲸不得不适应这种噪音
The narwhal will have to adapt to the noise
并被白鲸群完全接纳
and be fully accepted by the belugas.
如果这群白鲸继续收留这头一角鲸
If the belugas keep the narwhal in their group,
这将是这种长♥期♥跨物种收养
-. . . it will be the very first time. . .
. . . this type of long-term cross-species adoption has ever been recorded.
首次被记录下来
春天来了 鲸鱼们的命运还是个未知数
Spring, and the fate of the whales is unknown.
罗伯特·米肖德返回寻找答案
Robert Michaud is back to find out.
如果那头一角鲸还活着
If the narwhal is alive, it will mean he spent the winter with the belugas. . .
则表明它跟白鲸待在一起 度过了整个冬天
已经被白鲸群所接纳
and has been accepted into their group.
我们刚接到同事的电♥话♥
We just received a call from our colleague.
他们听出大约有75头白鲸
They just heard of about 75 beluga whales.
即便它还活着 在世界上最大的河口
Even if he survived,
找到一头鲸鱼是一项无比艰巨的任务
finding a single whale in the world’s largest estuary is a monumental task.
如果看到它 我们能准确地认出来
We know exactly what we’re looking for if we see it.
一角鲸！
Narval!
一角鲸！对！
Narwhal! Yes!
Whoo!
Whoo!
这头一角鲸还活着
The narwhal is alive.
跟去年夏天一样 它跟一群雄性幼鲸待一起
And he’s with young beluga males just like last summer. . .
被接纳为这个鲸群的成员
embraced as one of the gang.
今天给了我们一些线索 来理解这种特殊的行为
Today gives us a few cues to understand this very special behavior,
这种特别的风度
this very special presence.
这头一角鲸被纳入了一个新的社群
This narwhal being included in a new society.
这种善意的跨文化接纳
This benevolent cross-cultural acceptance
引发我们思考 这些鲸鱼到底有多少秘密
points to how many secrets these whales have,
我们可以从它们身上学到多少东西
and how much we can learn from them.
在世界各地 其他鲸种也形成了群落
Throughout the world, other whale species also form societies.
并坚守着家族传统
And stay true to their family traditions.
它们的文化让它们得以前行
Their cultures keep them going.
经历顺境
Through the good. . .
和逆境
and the bad.
正是它们分享的秘密 帮助它们克服各种挑战
And it’s the secrets they share that help them prevail.
我们出色的《国家地理》团队 带着这个目标出发
Our amazing National Geographic team goes out with the goal
试图去弄清楚 我们这个系列所研究的
of trying to find these social, emotional interactions
不同鲸种的鲸鱼之间
amongst these animals,
有怎样的社交 情感互动
the different species that we studied in this series.
好了 大卫 你找到它们了
All right, David, you found them.
在这个海湾聚集的鲸鱼中间
And here at this inlet, at this gathering, we saw that joyfulness.
我们看到了那种喜悦 那种交融
那种在一起的渴望 那种交流
That mingling, that desire to be together, that communication.
白鲸语言的复杂性真是令人惊叹
It’s amazing, the complexity of the language of the beluga.
它们甚至有可能给自己起名字
It’s even possible that they’re giving themselves names.
那是可识别的语言结构
There are recognizable linguistic structures
似乎与个体是相关联的
that seem to be associated with individuals.
部分白鲸会跋涉1450公里
And some of these animals are traveling 900 miles
来参加这场盛大的 派对 聚会 重聚联欢会
to be at this big party, get-together, reunion,
无论你想管这叫什么都行
whatever you want to call it.
当然 这也是一种出生仪式
And, of course, it’s a birthing ceremony as well.
太壮观了 我没料到能看到这一幕
That’s just spectacular. I didn’t expect to see that.
我也没想到 15点
No, me neither. 15 point. . .
真正有趣的是 一个鲸群的个别成员
What’s really interesting about this is that individuals from one group
会离群走散 加入另一群落 它们会交流
will wander off with another group, and they’ll communicate
一段时间 那么它们在做什么呢？
for a period of time. So, what are they doing?
它们会迎头赶上 会聊很多八卦
They’re catching up. They’ve got a lot of gossip.
它们整整一年没见了
They haven’t seen each other for a year.
“你知道什么如何了吗？ 我来告诉你”
“You know what happened to so and so? Well, let me tell you. ”
所以你看到的是 我们认为的人类社会行为
So, you’re seeing what we would recognize as human social behavior.
就捕食策略而言 似乎没有任何策略可言
It doesn’t seem to be strategic in any way, in terms of hunting strategy.
这似乎只是纯粹的社交
It seems to be just purely social.
它们返回出生地并非本能使然
They don’t know instinctively to come back to where they were born,
而是它们选择回到出生的地方
they choose to come back to where they were born
来那里会合并交换信息
and mingle there and exchange information. That’s pretty fascinating.
真的非常有趣
