很久以前,在非洲的心脏腹地 Once upon a time,in the heart of Africa,
有一个火山湖 there was a lake of fire.
湖水的颜色像燃烧的火焰 The lake's water burned with color,
呈鲜红和深红色 scarlet and crimson,
平静的时候,与天空的倒影连成一片 and in its stillness,held heaven's reflection.
数月无雨,旱季来临了 After months without rain,there came a season of drought.
而湖泊也渐渐干涸,转而变成白色灰 And the lake dried and turned white as ash.
但荒凉的旱季中也有新的希望 But in the desolation came the promise of another season.
旱季的色彩和生命也悄悄萌芽 A season of color and life,a season of beginning.
红色翅膀
在坦桑尼亚北部,纳特龙湖 Lake Natron,in northern Tanzania,
座落在东非大裂谷的中心 lies at the very center of East Africa's Great Rift Valley.
这是一片原始,不曾开发的的土地 This is a raw and unfinished land.
伦盖伊火山耸立在纳特龙湖南边 Ol Doinyo Lengai rises from the lake's southern shore,
它是一座活火山,永远躁动不安 a living volcano,restless and impatient.
隐藏在地下深处的 Hidden deep in its dark core,
是炙热岩浆形成的原始能量 a chamber of magma burns with primeval energy.
对于当地的马赛人来说 For the local Masai tribe,
伦盖伊火山就是他们的生命之神 Lengai is simply where God lives.
浅水湖充斥着无尽的天然碳酸钠 Natron is a vast, shallow lake,
4英里长,超过6英尺深的湖水 40 miles long and no more than six feet deep
尽是苏打、盐等有毒物质,几乎没有什么生物可以生活在水中 and so toxic with soda salt that almost nothing can live in its water.
但每年,总有几个星期 But each year,For only a few weeks,
当雨水降临纳特龙湖...... rain comes to Natron...
......它会创造一次壮观的盛会 ...and a grand act of creation takes place,
一个非洲最大的不解之谜 one of Africa's last great mysteries.
火烈鸟伴着雨水而来 And with the rain come the flamingos.
不知为何,它们知道返回纳特龙湖的时间 Somehow, they know the time has come to return to Natron.
它们放弃了其他的大裂谷周边的湖泊 they have abandoned a dozen other lakes along the Rift Valley
并飞行数百甚至数千英里来到这里 and flown hundreds, even thousands, of miles to be here.
每只鸟都有属于自己的故事 Each bird has its own story,
那是关于它们生存的秘密 its own secret life.
而每一个故事都是随着雨水 And each story is one that began here at Natron,
从纳特龙湖开始的 with the rain.
雨水引发藻类的茁壮成长 The rain triggers the growth of algae in the water.
当火烈鸟开始吃这些藻类的时候,也开始色彩的转换 When the flamingos eat the algae, they transform.
它们的羽毛,眼睛跟腿都变成了深红色 Their feathers, eyes and legs flush with crimson.
它们觉得最鲜艳的那一个就是最有吸引力的 It is their color they find most attractive about each other.
也许,它们来纳特龙湖的原因 After all, this is why they have come to Natron,
就是找一个伴侣 to find a mate.
慢慢的,它们很委婉的开始了 Slowly, almost politely, they begin.
一举一动 都是求偶的一个环节 Every movement, part of a courtship.
跳舞 A choreography.
充满欲望的疯狂之舞 A growing dervish of desire.
一只接一只,直到找到伴侣 One by one, the flamingos find each other.
上一个旱季它们也是一对 A pairing to last the season.
关系从这一瞬间开始确立 A pairing that begins with a moment.
一个马赛神话说是 There is a myth told by the Masai
火烈鸟是水中的盐变化而来 that the flamingos are made from the water's salt.
它们是湖的孩子 That they are the children Of the lake.
事情真相和传说一样不同凡响 But the truth is no less extraordinary,
有些事情仅仅在纳特龙湖这里发生 and something that only happens here at Natron.
一个秘密的岛屿在湖中间形成 A secret island emerges from the middle of the lake.
随着雨季的结束 As the rainy season ends
熔炉般的太阳重新支配了天空 and the furnace sun resumes its rule,
湖水蒸发的很快 只剩下盐层残留在 Water evaporates so quickly that a residue of salt
水面之上 forms on the surface.
每天,在阳光的灼射下 Each day, the sun bears down
盐层越来越厚 and the salt thickens into sheets,
在季风的推动下 盐层像冰块一样互相摩擦挤压 like plates of salt ice that shift and grind in the wind.
盐层大片的漂移 The sheets drift,
在它们互相挤压的地方形成一个个小岛 blending into a series of small islands as they go.
季风推动这些小岛向湖中央移动 The wind pushes the islands towards the center of the lake.
在几周强烈的蒸发后 After several weeks of intense evaporation,
湖中央的水仅仅剩几英寸深 the water in the center of the lake is only a few inches deep.
这些移动的盐岛搁浅在这新形成的泥沼地带 The floating salt islands run aground on the emerging mud
很快积累成一个孤立小岛 and soon accumulate into a single island of salt,
它约有10英里宽 ten miles wide.
剩余的水在这里形成一个硫磺含量极高的水池 Here, remnant water congeals into sulfurous pools,
平均温度达到130度 and the temperature regularly rises above 130 degrees.
没有陆地生物能在这里生存 No land animal could travel Or survive here.
但对于火烈鸟来说 这个奇异的新世界是上天 But to the flamingos, this strange, new world
恩赐的礼物 is a gift.
在东非有200万只小火烈鸟 There are two million lesser flamingos in East Africa,
每一只都诞生在纳特龙湖这个神秘的盐岛上 and every one of them is born here on Natron's secret salt island.
火烈鸟夫妇把它们的巢穴建在这里 The expectant parents build their nests from the salty lake mud.
尽管盐岛很大 Even though the salt island is vast,
作为群居性鸟类 火烈鸟喜欢团体合作 as social birds, the flamingos prefer to group closely together
它们会选择和确定自己的巢位的位置 and define the boundaries of their chosen nest sites.
这些巢穴有差不多一英尺高 The nests are almost a foot high,
确保了巢穴干燥并且相对凉爽 Drier and a few degrees cooler than the floor of the salt island.
经过烘烤,漂白的盐固化后变成了一个摇篮 The salt bakes, bleaches and hardens into a cradle.
蛋就藏在这些巢穴后面 After the nest, comes the egg.
现在 除了等待它们没有任何事情可做... And then, there is nothing to do but wait...
...漫长,酷热的一个月 ...for one, long, hot month.
终于,有了一个细微却重大的开始 Finally, a small but determined beginning.
一个新生命在这一天诞生 A new life, one that will start today,
或许 如果它够幸运 能生存40年 and might, if she's lucky, last for 40 years.
一个全新的故事 A whole new story.
它的第一次鸣叫非常独特 Her very first cries are unique.
这是它自己的声音,因此它和它的父母 This is her own voice, and how she and her parents
随时都可以正确的辨别彼此 will always be able to recognize each other.
几小时之内,剧烈的阳光能将它晒干 Within a few hours, Her down dries in the hot sun,
所以它尝试站起来 and she tries to stand.
她会学会的,只需要多一点点练习 Something that will take only a little more practice.
到了该吃东西的时候了 Then it's time for food,
一些由湖泊里的藻类转化来的高热量流体食物 a high-energy liquid made from the lake's algae,
而且还含有它父母的少量血液 but also containing traces of her parent's own blood.
在她出生最开始的几天里 For these first days, she has the constant presence
它父母总有一方陪在她身边 of one or other of her parents.
这是一段用来互相熟悉建立感情的时间 This is a time of bonding and intimacy.
它躲在母亲中空的翅膀下 The dark hollow Under her mother's wing
一个可以躲避毒辣的阳光的地方 is a favorite place to hide from the fierce sun.
它还太小 只能待在她父母的影子下 While still small, the chicks stay in their parent's shadows
或者小土堆里 Or on their nest mounds.
任何能够带来凉爽的地方 Anything to stay cool.
大概一个星期后 它的腿变得足够强壮 At about a week old, her legs are strong enough,
作为一个小小的奖励 and, with a little encouragement,
它决定离开巢穴 she decides to leave the nest.
通过这些蹒跚的脚步 它的世界变大了 Her world expands, one unsteady step at a time.
现在它能走路了 它和它的父母的关系 Now that she can walk, Her relationship with her parents
将会有越来越多的离别 will become more and more about separation.
像其他的小鸟一样 Like every other chick,
它喜欢和其他同类待在一起 Her inclination is to be with others.
安逸的熟悉自己的种群 The comfort and familiarity of her kind.
在火烈鸟的一生中 群体生活要远远多余 For a life that is not so much about the individual,
独自漂泊 but a collective.
多达50万只的火烈鸟和幼鸟 Up to half a million adults and chicks
生活在这个吵闹的托儿所里 live in this season's noisy and boisterous nursery.
但这是一个残酷且充满挑战的岛屿 But the island can also be harsh and unkind.
一个火热且由盐构成的临时栖息地 An impermanent place of salt and extreme heat.
当幼鸟走过小水坑,盐水 When the chicks walk through the puddles of thick, salty water
依附在脚上 在它们的足踝上有时会有稀薄的盐块形成 that are all around, a thin band of salt sometimes forms on their ankles.
碰上这事貌似运气很差 lf it does or not seems a matter of luck.
但有些鸟会涉步到水更深的地方 But the more these chicks wade into the water,
脚上的盐越积越多且固化得像水泥一样 the more the salt accumulates and hardens into a cement shackle
无法去掉 that cannot be broken.
在栖息地的上空有鹳出现在眼前 High above the colonies,the marabou storks appear,
就像童话里盘旋的女巫 circling like storybook witches.
这些鸟从离湖很远的地方 They have come from far beyond the lake
用它们神秘的感知力来到纳特龙湖 with their own mysterious knowledge of what happens at Natron.
很快...... Very quickly...
......它们的目的昭然若揭 ...their intentions become clear.
它们很贪婪 几只鹳 Almost insatiable, a few marabous
就能杀死数百只小火烈鸟 can kill hundreds of chicks,
它们驱散并恐吓成鸟离开 scattering and scaring off the parents.
火烈鸟身出名门,有弯曲的鸟喙 With their gentle, curved beaks,
但它们无法与鹳匹敌 the flamingos are no match for the marabous.
但有些时候 But every once in a while,
成鸟也会救下幼鸟 a parent wins a reprieve for her chick.
这一天 小火烈鸟已经受够了 One day, the chicks have had enough.
或许本能告诉它们有一个更好的去处 Perhaps some instinct tells them of a better place.
盐水以外的某个地方 Somewhere beyond the salt.
突然间,成千上万只火烈鸟 Suddenly, in their hundreds of thousands,
放弃了托儿所 they abandon their nursery.
父母们带领有鸟离开 Guardian birds lead them away
队伍纵贯盐岛一英里之长 and out across the miles of the salt island,
也许在还是幼鸟时它们有自己的路要走 perhaps on routes they took themselves when they were chicks.
但有一些会留下 But there are those who are left behind,
也就是途中较虚弱或受伤的幼鸟 too weak or too injured to make the journey.
它们的故事没有开始 Stories that barely began.
每天,幸存的幼鸟们在火热的土地上前行 Each day, the surviving chicks continue on across the burning miles.
虽然每天晚上父母都会和它们团聚跟喂食 Though they are reunited each evening with their parents for rest and food,
父母们在白天必须带领它们急行军 it is the guardian birds who lead this
并且要确保即使是最小的幼鸟也要安全跟上 and make sure even the smallest find their way.
这么大的群体不能等待任何一个 But the group can't wait for everyone.
小火烈鸟脚上的盐块像枷锁一样 The chicks burdened with salt shackles
它走得很慢 和队伍越拉越远 fall further and further behind.
虽然途中有数百只幼鸟会死去 But, for the hundreds of chicks who die,
但其他数千只幼鸟一定会成功 thousands will make it.
它们已经走了很远 How far they've come.
两支队伍在这里回合,并停止前进 The groups merge and gather momentum
最后,它们终于意识到目的地已到达 as if, at last,they sense the destination.
它们已经抵达盐岛的边缘 And, reaching the edge Of the salt island,
找到清凉蓝色的湖水 find the lake with its cool, blue water.
它也成功到达 And she has made it, too.
最开始,很小心的... Cautiously at first...
...但是,然后... ...but then...
...向前... ...up ahead...
...还有其他幼鸟 ...there are the others.
陆续离开盐岛 Leaving the salt island,
幼鸟们来到这个更广阔的湖 the chicks enter the wider kingdom of the lake.
这里有完全不一样的世界等这它们 Here, a very different world awaits them.
一个生命天堂 A living landscape,
生意盎然 complex and animate.
悬崖屹立在离湖一千英尺高的地方 The Rift's escarpment rises a thousand feet above the lake,
深邃的峡谷将大山劈开两边 a rock wall severed by deep canyons.
就在这悬崖峭壁的中间 Here, amid the shadows and the swifts,
泉水从数以千计的泉眼里冒出来 Water gushes out from hundreds of underground springs.
水里含有大量纯碱 The water is rich in sodium carbonate,
一个含有多种矿物质的咸水湖 a mineral that creates the salty chemistry of the lake.
很多的泉水和小溪汇聚成一片沼泽 Dozens of springs and rivers feed into a series of marshes
差不多所有纳特龙湖的动物都聚集在湖的附近 that border the lake. Almost all of Natron's life
绿色王国的繁盛与否取决于淡水的多少 depends upon the relatively fresh water of this abundant green maze.
在接下来的几个月里 对小鸟也一样 And, for the next few months,so too will the chicks.
每天早晨,父母们便离开幼鸟 Each morning, the parents leave their chicks
去岸边的泥泞沼泽里觅食 on the muddy shore below the marsh.
它们几乎整天都无人保护 They spend the day almost completely unsupervised.
它们必须学会独立 They learn to feed themselves.
火烈鸟的嘴发展出像过滤器一样的功效 Their beaks are developing the filters and distinctive shape
用来把沼泽里的藻类和淤泥 that will allow them to separate the algae they need from the mud and silt
分开 Of the marsh.
它们非常柔软的绒毛可以很好的 Her super soft down is the perfect insulation
抵挡阳光的曝晒 against the strong sun.
但需要经常梳理 But it requires frequent grooming,
这不仅有利于健康 也有利于羽毛的生长 not only to keep it healthy, but to encourage the growth of adult feathers.
没有羽毛的时候 它飞不起来 Without those feathers, she can't fly.
不管它多么努力的尝试 No matter how hard she tries.
它们需要飞行避开一些掠食者 There are plenty of things to want to fly away from.
例如,生活在沼泽的猫鼬 The mongoose that lives in the marsh, for instance.
跟生活在沼泽地的幼鸟一样 As the chicks change and grow,
要生存就必须改变和成长 life in the marsh goes on.
生存游戏,平凡而惊奇 Routine, yet quietly full of wonder.
在3个月大的时候 At three months old,
它已经对自己以及在沼泽地 she has grown more sure of herself
生活下去充满信心 and her place in the marsh.
现在 它的绒毛开始变成了幼羽 Now, her down has transformed into a juvenile plumage.
一根接一根 And one by one,
它的羽翼开始丰满起来 Her wing feathers have fledged.
有一天 当它发现它的翅膀足够强壮 The day comes when she discovers Her wings are strong enough,
也许突然会有一种 and a whole new way of being
全新的生活方式 is suddenly possible.
第一次飞行 只限于沼泽和湖泊附近 A flight that at first stays close to the lake and the marsh,
它生命中最熟悉的地方 the familiar places of her life.
但首次飞行它很快就跌落在地面上 But a flight that will soon release her
等它飞得高于一切之时它就会了解飞行的魔力 above the earth, above everything she has known.
不再是一只雏鸟了 No longer a chick,
翅膀给了这只年轻的火烈鸟俯瞰 but a young bird whose wings have given her
整个大裂谷的机会 the whole Rift Valley.
每过30年 伦盖伊火山就会喷发一次 Every 30 years, Lengai erupts.
在火山熔岩深处 Deep in the volcano's molten core,
熔岩被巨大的压力研成粉末 lava is pulverized by pressure
变成火山灰并喷射到空中 into ash and thrown upward into the air.
火山灰含有纯碱 The ash contains sodium carbonate,
这些矿物质散落在湖水中和地面 the exact mineral in the lake's water and soil.
这是因为每个湖泊的景观都有 It is as if each aspect of the lake's landscape
不同的形成方式 is simply a different form.
就像一个基本元素有不同的形态一样 A different incarnation Of the same basic element.
纳特龙湖就是这样一个地方 Natron is one place,
水,土地,空气 water, earth and air.
和在湖中盐岛上出生的火烈鸟 And the flamingos born on the lake's salt island,
都因为盐水而改变 transformed by its salt water,
形成了纳特龙湖与众不同的生命形态 embody Natron in a living form.
众多的火烈鸟在大裂谷的湖泊之间不懈的迁移 The flamingo's ceaseless journeys among the many lakes of the Rift Valley
它们是游牧者,并不是真正的候鸟 are nomadic rather than migratory.
火烈鸟在各地之间迁移 For the flamingos move of their own accord.
纳特龙湖、堡高利亚湖、恩巴卡湖 Natron, Bogoria, Embakai.
玛格迪湖、纳古鲁湖、马亚拉湖 Magadi, Nakuru, Manyara.
它们在想去的各个地方迁移 They come and go as they want.
它们的出现,突然而彻底的占据整个湖泊 Their presence, the sudden and complete possession of a lake.
但每个湖都有着关于女巫的故事 But every lake has its storybook witches.
这一次,它将继续它的故事 This time, she keeps her story.
继续它神秘的的生活 She keeps her secret life.
正如它们来到纳特龙湖 Just as they arrived at Natron,
就像魔术表演,火烈鸟又突然消失了 like a magic act, the flamingos suddenly disappear.
从盐中诞生,但它们拥有天空 Born of salt, they possess the sky,
它们吸收了水的颜色 they absorb the color of the water
它们光鲜的深红羽毛就像长生鸟一样 and their feathers burnish crimson as the phoenix.
它们的生活在不断变化着 Their lives are continual transformation.
即使死后 它们形体也会转变成其他东西 And even in death, their forms shift to something other.
它们的羽毛、骨头、色彩 Their feathers, bones, color,
它们的生命之力有返还了湖泊 their life force returned to the lake.
随着季节的变化,微观生命在水中绽放 As the seasons change, microscopic life in the water blooms.
纳特龙湖变成了一个火湖 Natron becomes a lake of fire.
六个月没有无一次降雨 After six months without a single drop of rain,
颜色慢慢褪去变成白色 the color fades and bleaches.
火山灰混合着 The ash of the volcano blends
湖里的盐和地面的灰尘 with the salt of the lake and the dust of the earth,
散落在永不静止的燥热季风之中 scattering in the restless dry season wind.
纳特龙湖的形态 Natron's elements shape-shift,
变成了另外一个样子 one into the other.
火山灰,灰尘和盐组成的世界 Ash, dust and salt.
但即使这样寂静的季节也会过去 But even this season of silence will pass.
这个鸟的故事是了我们的一个希望 The story of the bird is a promise to us.
纳特龙湖证明 Nature's affirmation.
不管在衰退或者死亡 In winter or in death,
还是在荒凉的季节 雨水会再次来临的 in times of desolation, the rain will arrive.
那时将再次听到火烈鸟的鸣叫 The call of the birds will be heard.
而一切的一切都将重新开始 And everything, everything can begin again.
就像雷鸟 Lightning bird.
火鸟、长生鸟一样 Fire bird. Phoenix.
它们会变回深红色的翅膀 She will return on crimson wings
并化作巢中的灰烬 and make a nest among the ashes.
而湖的孩子将会获得新生 And the children of the lakewill be reborn.
很久很久以前,在非洲的心脏腹地 Once upon a time, in the heart of Africa,
有一个火山湖 there was a lake of fire.
红色翅膀：神秘火烈鸟 The Crimson Wing:Mystery of the Flamingos