It's home to a living fossil
它是活化石的家园
A relict
Barely changed for over 100 million years The tuatara
在超过一亿年的时间里几乎没有什么变化
And half the world's population survive on this one island refuge
而全球半数人口,寄望于这孤岛避难所
During the reign of the dinosaurs
在恐龙统治时期,
The ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere
图拉人的祖先无处不在
They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs
它们挺过了那场恐龙灭绝的大灾难。
But then couldn't compete with the mammals and died out
然而终不敌哺乳动物,随之灭绝无踪
Everywhere except on what was then a mammalfree New Zealand
到处都是除了在没有哺乳动物的新西兰
Unlike mammals
不同于哺乳动物
Tuatara live life in the slow lane
大蜥蜴活在慢车道
Days can pass when they barely move a muscle
多日亦可纹丝不动
Sometimes taking just one breath an hour
有时候一小时只吸一口气
They feed on wetas
以沙螽为食
Beetles and other invertebrates
甲虫和其他无脊椎动物
But don't appear very good at catching them
但捕食技艺显然不佳
Even after millions of years of practice
即使经过数百万年的修行
Eyemouth coordination is not what it could be
嘴上协调性并不理想
Survival of the fittest just doesn't seem to apply here
“适者生存”在此似乎并不适用
The tuatara's survival
大蜥蜴的生存之道
First on New Zealand
首先是新西兰
Now on Stephens Island
现在在斯蒂芬斯岛
Proves a point islands are pretty safe places to be
证明岛屿确是安全之地,至少在被入侵前是如此
At least until invaded
至少在入侵之前