The survival of the sea turtle

The Survival of the Sea Turtle

翻译人员: Yoshinari Fukuzawa 校对人员: Cissy Yun

Sea turtles are miraculous.

海龟是奇迹般的动物

First, they've been around since the late Jurassic,

第一，它们自侏罗纪末就出现在这个世界

roughly 150 million years ago.

大约 1 亿 5000 万年前

Cohorts of the dinosaurs,

身为恐龙的同伴，海龟幸存下来， 并存活了长达亿年

sea turtles have survived through the challenges of eons,

existing still today,

where many others have ended their evolutionary run.

存活至今日，反观它的同伴却结束了演化的旅程

Second, throughout the centuries and up till today,

第二，在过去几个世纪直到今天

every living adult sea turtle has overcome the odds,

每只成功存活的成年海龟都克服了难关

existing as a consequence of chance,

它们的存活总归机运、技能、及能力

skill, and capability.

The gauntlet each sea turtle faces in the course of its lifetime goes thus:

每只海龟在它一生中面临的挑战有：

First, deposited as a clutch of leathery, ping-pong ball-sized eggs

首先，海龟妈妈于海滩高处挖出的窝里

产下一窝革质、乒乓球大小的蛋

into a nesting pit dug by its mother high on the beach,

of the 50 to 200 eggs laid,

一窝 50-200 蛋中

roughly 20 percent will never hatch.

大约 20%不会孵化

Roughly a month and a half after having been laid,

產卵後過了一個半月

the surviving eggs hatch,

还存活的蛋孵化

and the young turtles, each small enough to fit in the palm of your hand,

成为小海龟，每只比你的手掌要来得小

squirm to the surface, emerging from the sand en masse,

一群新生命爬上地表

然后开始猛烈地冲向海洋

and making their desperate dash for the sea.

Along the way, debris, pitfalls, crabs,

一路走来，碎片、 坑洞、 螃蟹、

gulls, raccoons, and other threats

海鸥、 浣熊和其他威胁

will claim roughly 50 percent of those who rose from the sand.

会夺走大约50% 从沙里爬出的小海龟的生命

For those that actually reach the surf,

对于那些成功抵达浪潮的

they trade one set of threats for another,

它们将面临新的威胁

as they first face the repelling force of the waves,

它们第一次面对海浪的冲击

and then find a whole new host of predators awaiting them:

然后发现新的猎食者正等待着他们

Various fish, dolphins, sharks, and sea birds,

各种鱼类、 海豚、 鲨鱼

还有当他们浮出水面呼吸所遇上的海鸟

as the young turtles come to the surface for air.

For their first few days of life,

它们生命的前几天

should they count themselves amongst the living,

若它们侥幸活存

脆弱的海龟会疯狂地向前游

the vulnerable turtles swim frantically forward.

Ultimately, they will often look to settle in a patch of flotsam,

最后，它们往往会在一团漂浮物下定居

preferably a patch of floating seaweed.

最好是在浮在水面的海草

Now for the next several months,

接下来几个月，它们会设法避开天敌

they will seek to avoid those that would eat them,

find that which they might eat themselves,

寻找猎物

并不被恶劣的天气或海洋的乱流所击倒

and not fall to the pressures of challenging weather

or unfortunate currents.

In this phase, roughly 50 percent of those who reach the surf

在此阶段，大约50% 进入海洋的海龟会死亡

will perish.

Ultimately, with the passage of years,

最后，经过了几年

the survivors will increase in size,

存活下来的海龟将会慢慢长大

from that of a dinner plate at year one

to that of a dinner table,

体型从第一年的盘子大小，变成餐桌大小

in the case of one species at least, the leatherback,

举棱皮龟为例，过程可能需要十年以上

a decade or so later.

With size comes some measure of protection.

体型变大会带来一些保​​护的功用

The only truly worrisome predators now are some of the larger shark species--

现在唯一令它担忧的掠食者是一些较大的鲨鱼：

bulls, tigers, and whites --

牛鲨、 虎鲨、大白鲨

and the occasional killer whale.

和偶尔碰到的杀人鲸

At approximately two decades of age,

到了约二十岁时

the survivors will be old enough themselves to breed,

存活下来的海龟将成熟到有繁殖能力

and continue the cycle which their very existence heralds.

繁衍下一代，见证生命周期的循环

Of those that began as eggs on a distant beach,

在那些沙滩上的龟卵之中

now less than 10 percent remain,

能活到繁殖年龄的不到一成

at least, those were the odds prior to significant human interference.

至少那是于人类破坏之前的机率

Over the past century, and in particular in the last several decades,

在过去这世纪，特别是在过去的几十年里

human endeavors, from beach development

人类的活动，如开发海滩

to plastic refuse to poaching, long lines, nets,

塑胶垃圾、盗猎、延绳钓、网捕、

and even noxious chemicals, including oil,

甚至有毒化学品（包括石油）

have upped the ante for sea turtles,

让海龟存活下来的困难性增加

causing their survival rate to drop to around one percent or less,

导致每一代新生海龟的存活率下降到

百分之一左右或更少

from each nesting cycle.

It is this added human pressure which has pushed

人类所施加的生存压力让世界上的八种海龟

each of the eight sea turtle species

into either a threatened or endangered state.

都处于受威胁甚至濒临绝种的状态

For while they have evolved to overcome a host of obstacles,

虽然演化天择使它们能够克服种种障碍

the most recent has arisen so quickly

但最近的障碍急速增加

and at such scale that the species find themselves overwhelmed.

速度如此之​​快让海龟无法应变

So let's quickly recap this cycle of odds.

现在，让我们快速回顾海龟在一生中存活的机率

Using a hypothetical nesting season,

我们利用一个产卵季节来计算

for females may nest multiple times in a single year,

因为母龟可以在一年中多次产卵

of 1,000 eggs, for sake of ease.

为了方便假设它一次产下 1,000 颗卵

1000 eggs laid.

1,000 颗卵之中

800 hatch.

800 颗会孵化

400 make it to the water.

400 只成功进入海洋

200 progress toward adulthood.

200 只逐步长大至成年

20 survive to breeding age --

20 只活到繁殖年龄──这是没有人为干预的结果

that is, without human interference.

Two survive to breeding age with human interference.

在人为干扰下，只有两只会活到繁殖年龄

So a breeding adult sea turtle is the very embodiment of a long shot.

所以成年海龟是一系列

不可能事件的化身

It is the exception, not the rule.

它是个例外，不是常态

A jackpot.

就像头奖一样，它真的是一个奇迹

It is, in a very real sense,

a miracle.