A golden lioness and her cub bask in the warmth of a savanna sun in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. 在坦桑尼亚的塞伦吉地国家公园里，一只金色的狮子和它的孩子正沐浴在热带大草原温暖的阳光中。
On rainbow wings almost three feet (one meter)across,a fledgling scarlet macaw in the Peruvian Amazon rides the wind for the first time.Of the world’s 350parrot species 17are macaws—marked by their long tails and huge beaks. 在秘鲁的亚马逊河畔，一只翼展有3英尺长的金刚鹦鹉，展开它美丽如彩虹的翅膀滑翔着。世界上共有350种鹦鹉，其中只有17种属于金刚鹦鹉。金刚鹦鹉因其长长的尾巴和巨大的喙而得名。
As if sculpted from clay and left to dry,a breeding herd of elephant cows and their young drink from a water hole in Namibia’s Etosha National Park.It takes up to 50gallons (189liters)a day to quench the thirst of Earth’s largest land mammal,which wears cool mud like a bodysuit against its sensitive,sun-baked skin. 远远看去，这几只大象便如雕象一般，因为附在它们身上的湿泥早已干枯皲裂。作为地球上最大的陆地哺乳动物，以草为生的大象每天要消耗189升的水。而那些附在身上的泥确是保护它们皮肤不被纳米比亚炙热阳光灼伤的最佳护肤品。
A race for survival in the Serengeti pits a graceful gazelle against a sprinting cheetah,the world’s fastest land mammal—capable of topping 60miles (96kilometers)an hour.Sometimes gazelles can zig and zag out of reach and outlast their often short-winded pursuers.Not this time. 弱肉强食的游戏规则在塞伦吉地的土地上一直存在。一只瞪羚为活命而拼命奔逃，通常瞪羚用急转弯的方式逃脱捕猎者的追杀，但这一次却最终未能躲过世界上速度最快的哺乳动物的捕杀。
His wild eyes flash in desperation.His breath comes in truncated snorts.The Cape buffalo’s hoarse bellows resonate across a stretch of Africa’s Great Rift Valley.Soon his struggle will end as two hungry young lions deal the final blows.它的眼神陷入绝望，它的呼吸越发急促，这只非洲黑色大水牛嘶哑的呻吟响彻空旷的大峡谷。然而它的挣扎很快便会蜡尽油枯，因为在它身旁两只饥饿的小狮子正等着为它“送终”。
It’s all downy softness and noise in a crowded crèche of emperor penguins in Antarctica.Despite the babble,a chick finds its own parents working strictly by ear:Their unique call distinguishes kin from stranger.在南极洲的冰原上，一群呀呀学语的企鹅仔的声音虽显嘈杂却十分柔和。它们围绕在一只帝王企鹅的周围。尽管听上去没什么分别，但它们的父母却能轻而易举的从声音中分辨出自己的孩子
As if offering an avian embrace,a wandering albatross strikes a courtship pose for its mate near South Georgia island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.Photographer Frans Lanting,just inches from his subject and well-versed in its routine,joined the dance—copying the bird’s movements to avoid disrupting its ritual.在南大西洋的南乔治亚岛上，一只求爱的信天翁正试图给它的同伴一个信天翁式的拥抱。而我们的摄影师为不破坏鸟类的习性而随着拍摄主体一起起舞并拍到了宝贵的画面。
In the tender trap of her jaws,a Bengal tiger totes her cub in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park.Named Sita after a Hindu goddess,this well-loved feline and prolific breeder bolstered the local tiger population with six litters in 16years.在印度的斑德哈瓦加国家公园，一只少见的多产孟加拉虎在16年里产下了6胎。为这个珍惜动物种类添上了浓重一笔。而这个虎妈妈用捕杀猎物的嘴含起自己刚出世的孩子。
Sleek and swift,gray reef sharks cruise past a remote-control camera in the waters of the Bikini Atoll.Photographer Bill Curtsinger knew better than to get in the water for the picture:An aggressive gray attacked him years ago,leaving him scarred but wiser.圆滑的体态，矫健的身姿，在比基尼岛(太平洋中马绍尔群岛中的一个珊瑚岛)的海面下一条灰鳍鲨游过摄影师的镜头。而这条凶残的鲨鱼曾在多年前攻击过这位胆大的摄影师。
A lone bison pauses at sundown beneath the pastel sky of South Dakota’s Badlands.Nearly extinct a hundred years ago,the population has bounced back 300-fold,ensuring long-term survival of this icon of the American plains.在南达科他的一片荒地里，一只野牛形单影只，头上的天空蜡染般的美丽。在100年前，住在这里的人口也只有300多，这幅画面正是长期以来美洲平原生存写照。
Photographer Joel Sartore took a shot in the dark,firing his camera at the sounds of cracking bones and rising bubbles.Eyes aglow,a grizzly was caught devouring a salmon in Alaska’s Katmai National Park,its practiced paws and vigilant nose giving it the edge in the after-hours hunt.摄影师在阿拉斯加卡特马伊国家公园的夜色里所捕捉到的画面。在夜色中一双发亮的眼睛，一张老练的大嘴和一只警惕的鼻子很好的勾勒出灰熊在夜色中捕猎时及捕猎后的情景。
Elegant dancers in the late afternoon,rare Australian sea lions circle and glide in the clear waters of the Great Australian Bight.在大澳大利亚湾，一群稀有的澳大利亚海狮在清澈的水中优雅的翩翩起舞。
Its breeding plumage a blur,a common loon in Wyoming’s Moose Lake flaps in rapid bursts to shake water from its wings.Often returning each spring to the same lakes to breed,loons fill the air with their haunting nocturnal cries.在怀俄明州的莫斯湖，一只看似平淡无奇的潜鸟快速的摆动它的翅膀想摔干上面的水迹。它不停的叫着，编写出一支湖畔的小夜曲。
[此贴子已经被菩提于2003-1-6 18:25:08编辑过]
