Today, there is a group of larger visitors here, too. A herd of mastodons led by the matriarch have just returned from their annual migration hundreds of miles to the north.
如今,这里同样迎来了另一批大型来访者。这是一群乳齿象,它们由雌性头目带领着,刚刚从北部几百英里远的地方迁徙回来,它们每年都会迁徙一次。
Now the winter drought is over and the spring water has been topped up by recent rains.
现在,冬天的干旱已经过去。泉水池也被近日的雨水填满。
Another group has also set up camp nearby, hunters, descendants of the first human settlers that entered the continent in the far north. Compared to the harsh conditions their ancestors faced, this place is paradise. Targets for the hunters' spears are plentiful.
另一批来访者也在附近扎了营,而他们是猎人,他们的祖先是第一批来到这片大陆北部偏远地区的人类。相对于他们祖先所面临的恶劣条件,这片区域对他们来说简直是一片天堂。这里能充当他们猎物的动物数不胜数。
Around the spring, lush vegetation attracts the giant ground sloth, too. Both mastodons and sloths are browsers. But the mastodons roam far and wide to find the kind of plants they need. The giant ground sloth isn't built to travel far, but it makes up for that by having a reach of a giraffe.
在泉水附近,绿色的植被也同样吸引了巨型地懒。乳齿象和巨型地懒都是食草动物。但乳齿象为了找到他们需要的植物,会四处游荡。而巨型地懒天生便不适合长途迁徙,但是它们高大的身躯却弥补了这一缺点。
Its huge claws may also be used for self-defence, although even the most powerful predator would think twice before tackling so large a prey.
它们巨大的爪子同样也可能用于自卫,即使是最强大的捕猎者在攻击这么大的动物前也会三思。
In any case, this female jaguar is little threat right now. Once she's quenched her thirst, she will find a shady place to doze in the heat of the day.
无论如何,这只雌性美洲虎现在都有一丝威胁。一旦它解了渴,便会找一处阴凉的地方打打盹来逃避炎热的天气。
英文文本来自普特英语,译文属可可原创,仅供学习交流使用,未经许可不得转载。