Two O'Clock, a hundred yards! Coming up on Jonathan Bird's Blue World, Jonathan travels to the Caribbean to swim with one of the world's largest animals...the Humpback whale!
两点钟的位置,一百码远!接下来请收看乔纳森·伯德的蓝色世界,乔纳森前往加勒比海,与世界上最大的动物座头鲸一起游泳。
Hi, I'm Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
大家好,我是乔纳森·伯德,欢迎来到我的世界!
Whales are the largest animals on Earth. Yet ironically they are one of the most difficult animals to see and film.
鲸鱼是地球上最大的动物,但很难看见并拍摄它们。
Normally Humpbacks are found in the cool and rich waters of the temperate seas.
座头鲸通常生活在温带海洋凉爽又富饶的水域中。
But every year for a short period of time, Humpback whales from the North Atlantic migrate to the warm and clear waters of the Caribbean to mate and give birth.
但每年有很短一段时间,来自北大西洋的座头鲸都会迁移到加勒比海温暖清澈的水域中交配生子。
And one of the largest gathering places in the world is the Silver Banks, in the Dominican Republic.
它们在世界上最大的聚集地是多米尼加共和国的银岸。
The Dominican Republic occupies half the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean sea. Just north of the island is a shallow area called the Silver Banks—that's where the whales are found.
多米尼加共和国占据加勒比海伊斯帕尼奥拉岛一半的面积,岛屿北面有个叫做银岸的浅水区,这里就能看到鲸鱼。
During the summer, Humpbacks live in the cool, murky waters of the North Atlantic where there are huge schools of small fish to eat.
夏季,座头鲸生活在北大西洋凉爽、阴暗的水域中,那里有大量的小鱼可供食用。
They migrate two thousand miles down to the Silver Banks in the winter so they can have their calves in warm, calm, protected tropical water.
它们在冬天迁徙两千英里来到银岸,小座头鲸可以在温暖、平静、受保护的热带水域里生活。
This is the best place to film them underwater because the ocean is so clear.
这是在水下拍摄它们的最佳地点,因为这里海洋极其清澈。
I will be working for the week aboard the Turks and Caicos Aggressor, a live aboard dive boat that spends about two months a year here in the Dominican Republic.
我将在特克斯和凯科斯侵略者号上工作一周,这是一艘潜水船,每年在多米尼加共和国度过约两个月的时光。
I board the boat and meet Captain Amanda Bryan. For most of my expeditions I need a lot of dive gear, but for this expedition, all I need is my mask, fins and snorkel.
我上船去见阿曼达·布莱恩船长。我出海探险时,很多时候都要用到大量潜水装备,但这次我只需要面具、脚蹼和通气管。
Soon we depart from the marina and begin a 90 mile trip north over the open Caribbean Sea, under a beautiful blue sky. Our journey takes about 6 hours.
很快我们就离开码头,在美丽的蓝天下,开始在加勒比海上向北穿越90英里。行程大约需要6个小时。
When we reach the Silver Banks, I can see why this area is popular with the whales. Isolated coral reefs dot the entire area like a minefield.
到达银岸时,就能明白为什么鲸鱼超喜欢这个地方。一个个珊瑚礁像雷阵一样点缀其间。
They provide protection from waves, but the water between the reefs is still 80-100 feet deep, providing the depth that large animals like whales need.
这些珊瑚礁有防波浪的功效,但珊瑚礁之间的海水仍有80-100英尺深,足够鲸鱼等大型动物活动。
This is just one of many shipwrecks that have accidentally hit one of the reefs in the Silver Banks.
很多船在银岸意外触礁沉没,这只是其中一艘沉船。
In fact, the bank gets its name from the large number of galleons carrying silver and treasure that supposedly sank here.
事实上,这个海岸就是因为有大量在此沉没的装载银子和宝藏的大帆船而得名。
Captain Amanda carefully moves the boat around the coral heads to a mooring where our floating home-away-from-home will stay all week.
阿曼达船长小心翼翼地驾船绕过珊瑚礁,驶向我们将停留一周的海上停泊处。
So I need at least 300 feet of line out at this point.
现在放出至少300英尺的绳索。
Soon, it's time to launch the Zodiacs. We will use these smaller boats to attempt getting close to the whales on the surface.
该让黄道带号下水啦,我们将开着这种小船试着在海面接近鲸鱼。
While the Zodiacs are going into the water, Humpbacks surface right around our boat! I can hardly wait to get in the water with them!!
黄道带号下水时,座头鲸在船边浮出水面!我迫不及待想下海和它们一起玩!!
The next morning, my team and I board the Zodiac for a day on the water. Now it's a matter of patience and persistence.
第二天早上,我和队员登上黄道带号,我们要在海上待一天。现在需要是耐心和坚持。
While Captain Dennis is driving the boat slowly in search of whales, I'll be watching the horizon for hours, looking for whale spouts.
丹尼斯船长缓慢地驾驶着小船寻找鲸鱼,我则要一直观察地平线,寻找鲸鱼喷出的水柱。
Before we find any whales, some dolphins find us! Our dive master Mario is on the bow with a keen eye for whales in the distance.
在我们找到鲸鱼前,一些海豚却发现了我们!我们的潜水长马里奥站在船头,用敏锐的目光盯着远处寻找鲸鱼的踪迹。
Finally, a whale that looks approachable. Two o'clock, a hundred yards! The whale is just hanging out, not moving very fast, and doesn't seem afraid of our Zodiac as we float nearby.
终于发现了一头貌似能够接近的鲸鱼。两点钟的位置,一百码远!鲸鱼在闲逛,移动得很慢。当我们接近时,它似乎并不害怕黄道带号。
It's time for me to attempt getting close to the whale in the water. I put on my snorkeling gear and lower myself very quietly into the water.
现在我该下海试着接近鲸鱼了。我穿上浮潜装备,静静潜入水中。
Once I have my camera, I float silently in the water to see if the whale will come over to check me out.
我拿到摄像机后,就静静地漂浮在水里,看鲸鱼是否会过来找我。
The whale is hovering down below, looking up at me. She might be curious, but not that curious.
鲸鱼在我下面盘旋,抬头看看我。它可能感到好奇,但兴趣不太大。
I wait a bit longer to see if she will come up and investigate. After a few minutes, the whale starts to surface. Either I have piqued her interest, or she just needs a breath of air.
我等了一会儿,看看它是否会上来找我。几分钟后,鲸鱼开始浮出水面。要么是我激起了它的兴趣,要么是因为它需要换气了。
Humpbacks can go nearly an hour on a single breath if they need to, but resting animals like this one usually breathe every 20 minutes or so.
在必要时,座头鲸一次呼吸可以坚持将近一个小时。但它们在休息时,通常每20分钟左右呼吸一次。
Soon, it appears that the whale is just getting a breath, and has no interest in me.
很快我发现,鲸鱼只是需要换气,对我压根没兴趣。
But she turns around for a quick look anyway. If she would just come a little closer!
但它还是转过身来快速地看了一眼。如果它能再靠近一点就好了!
No such luck. She turns and swims away. Her massive tail, called a fluke, is as wide as two cars parked next to each other!
可惜我没这么好的运气,它转身游走了。它大尾巴的宽度像两辆挨着停靠的汽车!
I watch her swim away. Chasing after her would be no use. Even when they are barely swimming, whales swim much faster than snorkelers.
我眼睁睁地看着它游走了,追它一点用也没有。即使鲸鱼不怎么游动的时候,也比浮潜者的速度快得多。
So frustrating! The whales are just really skittish. They don't want us near them. We're actually frightening them. It's hard to believe that an animal that big could be scared of us!
真让人沮丧啊!鲸鱼太容易受惊了。它们不想让我们靠近,我们吓到它们了。这么大的动物竟然会害怕我们,太难以置信了!
So, we head off looking for some different whales. What we need to find is a mother and calf. Sometimes, the calves are more curious than their mom.
我们开始寻找不同的鲸鱼。我们需要找到一头母鲸和它的幼鲸。有时,幼鲸比母鲸的好奇心强。
Okay, two o'clock whales! Mario finds another whale, and decides to see if it will let him get close.
两点钟的位置发现鲸鱼!马里奥又找到一头鲸鱼,我们决定看看这头鲸鱼是否会让他靠近。
He puts on his gear and slips into the water. I'm waiting to see what happens.
他穿好装备,潜入水中。我要看看接下来会发生什么。