奇妙島嶼 12

Seeing an opportunity,
只要看到機會
the bats pounced.
這些蝙蝠就撲上去
After all,
畢竟
why waste energy hawking for insects in the sky,
為什麼還要浪費體力到天空中捕捉昆蟲
when there is such a feast on the forest floor?
當在森林的地面上有這樣的美食盛宴
New Zealands night-time creepy- crawlies are at the mercy of these bats.
在新西蘭的夜晚這些爬行昆蟲是任蝙蝠宰割的
Some try to put up a fight
有些昆蟲試圖挑起和蝙蝠的鬥爭
but theyre no match for this army of predators.
不過他們敵不過那一大隊捕食者
These bats have special sheaths that protect their wings,
這些蝙蝠有著特殊的保護鞘保護著他們的翅膀
all the better to burrow through the leaves.
好到足以讓它們在樹葉中穿梭
So even worms arent safe.
所以即使是蠕蟲也不能倖免
The very first bat evolved from a mouse-like mammal many millions of years ago.
起初蝙蝠大約是在幾百萬年前由一種類似鼠類的哺乳動物進化而來的
Here on New Zealand,
在新西蘭這兒
it seems evolution has gone into reverse.
似乎進化正沿著反方向進行
And if New Zealands bats have turned to mice,
如果新西蘭的蝙蝠變成了老鼠
what on earth has happened to the birds?
那麼鳥類究竟發生了什麼情況
In these forests lives a bird that
在這片森林裡生活著一種鳥
is about as un-bird-like as it is possible for a bird to be.
不大像鳥類的鳥
Its nocturnal,
它是夜行性的動物
though it sometimes wakes up before sunset .
雖然它有時在日落之前起來
It has whiskers so it can feel its way in the dark.
它有一種可以幫助其在黑暗中探路的腮須