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Rats travelled with people to every corner of the Pacific.
老鼠在太平洋每個角落都與人作伴
On Easter Island, their impact may have been catastrophic.
在復活節島 它們的影響也許是災難性的
Multiplying to plague proportions,
染疫比例大為增加
they would have devoured the wild fruits, the seabirds, even the nuts of the giant palms,
它們吃光了野生的果實 海鳥 甚至棕櫚樹的果實
so that the trees may have stopped reproducing long before the last one was felled.
所以樹木也停止了繁殖 在最后一顆樹倒下之前
Perhaps the fate of Easter Island was not sealed by the human who felled that last tree,
或許復活節島的命運是砍倒最后一顆樹的人未曾料想的
but by the rat that ate the last palm nut.
但是老鼠吃掉了最后一顆棕櫚樹的果實
Other South Pacific islands have also seen civilisations rise and fall,
其它南太平洋島嶼同樣 看到文明的升起與隕落
though none have left such dramatic reminders of their passing as the giant statues of the Rapa Nui.
雖然沒有留下什么象拉帕奴伊的巨大塑像那么讓人印象深刻的回憶
Now re-erected, they've come to symbolise how precarious life can be on an isolated island.
如今的重新豎立 它們作為在一座與世隔絕的孤島上 生命是多么的變幻無常的象征
For this island has not been abandoned.
這座孤島并沒有被放棄
A few Rapa Nui survived, and now they're thriving once more, entertaining visitors from the outside world.
有幾個拉帕奴伊人幸存下來 如今他們又再次興盛 招待來自外面世界的游客
Trees have been planted, though it's too late for the unique creatures that once lived here.
栽種了樹木 盡管對于曾經生活在這里的 珍稀動物來說有點太晚了
Elsewhere, on islands throughout the Pacific, there is still time.
遍及太平洋各處的其它島嶼仍有時間
People are working hard to remove the creatures that don't belong here
人們努力移走不屬于本地的動物
and make space once again for the curiosities, from kagus to kakapo,
再次為那些珍稀物種騰出空間 從鷺鶴到鸮鵡
that make the South Pacific such a uniquely wonderful world.
南太平洋是如此獨特而精彩的世界
