A mother has returned after a month at sea, collecting food for her hungry chick.
一位母亲在出海一个月后返回,为它饥饿的幼鸟收集食物。
At ten months old, chicks are the size of a human toddler, and covered in no more than a downy fleece.
幼鸟在十个月大时的体型,如同人类幼儿,身上只有薄薄一层绒毛。
Until they get their waterproof feathers, they themselves cannot go to sea.
在长出防水羽毛前,它们无法自行下海。
So they have to rely totally on their parents to bring them food.
因此完全要仰赖父母带回食物。
Their time together is brief -- just long enough to disgorge her crop of fish and squid.
它们的相处时间短暂,只够让它吐出捕获的鱼和乌贼。
All too soon, parents have to return to sea to collect more.
时间飞逝,父母又得回到海中继续采集。
But getting back there can take several hours.
可是回到海上需要好几个小时。
Hundreds of parents make the commute together.
数百对父母结伴往返。
A beak can be used as an ice-pick to negotiate the steeper parts of their trek.
鸟喙也能当作冰凿使用,以越过途中较陡的路段。
This mile-long snow-covered trudge is unique to this colony, and has never been seen before.
这段白雪覆盖的漫漫长路对这个族群来说绝无仅有,而且前所未见。
At last, the sea.
终于来到了大海。
After several days on land, their feathers need washing to be ready for the long days of swimming that lie ahead.
在陆上停留数日后,它们的羽毛需要清洗,准备好展开接下来多日的游泳。
But this is a dangerous place to loiter.
可是此地不宜久留。
Leopard seals.
豹斑海豹。
Three metres long, more than three times the size of a king penguin, these fearsome hunters are usually solitary.
身长三米,体型是帝企鹅的至少三倍大,这些可怕的猎人通常独来独往。
But at this time of the year, in this bay, there are as many as 30 of them.
但每年这个时节,在这处海湾,会出现多达三十只。
If these penguins think that they're safe on land... they are mistaken.
假使这些企鹅以为上岸就能安全,那它们就错了。
Any one of these huge seals can take as many as ten penguins a day.
随便一只大海豹,一天就能抓到多达十只企鹅。
Their best chance... is to stay with the crowd.
它们聚在一起的生存机会最大。
There's safety in numbers. Made it.
数量多才安全。成功了。
Only to return in a month's time... and once again face death head-on.
一个月后却又要返回,再次与死亡正面交手。
This is surely one of the greatest challenges faced by any parent.
这着实是身为父母者所要面对的最大挑战。