評論
打印
As the spring sunshine strengthens, the broken pack ice off the coast of Greenland becomes a nursery.
當春天的陽光變得炙熱，格陵蘭海岸的破碎浮冰成為育嬰室。
A harp seal pup... Born just a week ago.
一只剛出生一周的菱紋海豹寶寶。
He has little fat.
它幾乎沒有脂肪。
His thick fur is his only protection from the arctic chill.
它的厚重皮毛是抵御北極寒冷的唯一保護。
In between dozes, he waits for his mother to return.
在打盹之間，它等待母親歸來。
She has only one pup a year.
它一年只會生一只海豹。
And will produce milk for only 12 days, one of the shortest nursing periods in nature.
而且僅僅只會分泌12天的奶水，大自然之中最短的哺乳期之一。
That is just long enough for him to develop a thick layer of blubber.
這已足夠讓它長出一層肥厚的油脂。
Thanks to his mother's milk, which is 50% fat.
這是因為它母親的奶水含有50%脂肪。
And his mother stays alongside while he learns an important survival skill for any seal... How to swim.
母親在旁陪伴的同時，它也學會海豹的重要求生技能...也就是游泳。
He may not be keen to take the plunge.
它可能不太愿意跳進水里。
The salt water is minus two degrees celsius, after all.
畢竟海水只有攝氏零下兩度。
Pups start with a doggy paddle.
海豹寶寶從狗爬式開始。
Mum stays reassuringly close.
媽媽保持令它安心的近距離。
Still developing his insulating blubber, a pup is at risk of hypothermia, so needs to rest and warm up.
在還沒長出御寒油脂之前，海豹寶寶會有失溫風險，所以需要休息和取暖。
Each day, he puts on another two kilos.
它每天會增加兩公斤。
And practises swimming for just a little longer.
并慢慢延長練習游泳的時間。
Since birth, this pup has tripled in weight, and he is now at ease at this curious other world, 12 days gone by.
這個海豹寶寶從出生至今，體重已成為原本的三倍，如今它自由地在這個奇妙的世外桃源探索，12天過去了。
A mother's work is done.
母親的任務已經完成。
In producing milk, she's lost a third of her body weight.
因為制造奶水，它失去了三分之一的體重。
Now she must return to her feeding grounds.
現在它必須回到它的覓食地區。
She will never see her pup again.
它將與它的寶寶永別。
The next four weeks he spends alone, sticking close to the ice platform.
接下來的四周它會獨自生活，待在靠近海冰平臺的地方。
Surviving on his fat reserves, as his downy fleece is replaced by a sleek coat more suited to swimming.
靠著它保存的脂肪生存，身上的絨毛被適合游泳的光滑外衣取代。
But temperatures in the arctic are now rising faster than ever before.
但北極的溫度前所未有地急遽上升。
Creating storms that break up the ice floes earlier each spring.
制造的風暴令浮冰在每年春天都更早裂開。
Harp seal pups are being tipped into freezing waters before they're ready to endure long periods at sea.
海豹寶寶在尚未具備長期待在海中的耐力之前，就被迫進入冰凍的水里。
In some pupping areas, almost none survive.
在某些海豹的育兒地區，幾乎沒有一只能存活下來。
