生活在剃刀岩的边缘

海豆芽译自《国家地理》2009年11月号《石林》一文

英文原文：

Living on a Razor’s Edge

Madagascar’s limestone towers are a haven for strange species.

马达加斯加的石灰岩塔林对奇异物种来说是一个避难所。

1

A city of limestone towers rises in western Madagascar.

一座石灰岩塔林城矗立在马达加斯加的西部。

2

Unexplored passages shelter some of the island's—and the world's—strangest species, from the ghostly Decken's sifaka, a lemur, to a host of reptiles, insects, and plants.

未探查过的通道里掩藏着岛上，也是世界上最奇异的物种，有幽灵似的Decken马达加斯加狐猴，这种狐猴是各种爬行类、昆虫和植物的主人。

3

Slot canyons and wet caves cut through the neighborhoods of limestone towers.

狭窄的缝隙和潮湿的岩洞切开了相邻的石灰岩塔。

4

Climbers Luke "Fumakilla" Padgett and John "Razor Sharp" Benson descend a wall of limestone in Tsingy de Bemaraha national park and reserve in western Madagascar. Sharp, steep, and brittle, the protected area's maze of sunbeaten rock has repelled all but a few explorers and scientists, leaving large parts of the region—and countless resident creatures—unknown to humans. "I've never climbed anywhere like this," Benson said. "If you fall, even a few feet, you get impaled."

登山者卢克·“福马克勒”·佩吉特和约翰·“莱哲·夏普”·本松从马达加斯加西部黥基.德.贝马拉哈自然保护区石灰岩陡墙上往下降。尖利、陡峭而又易碎的保护区里原生态岩石迷津，阻止了除少数探险家和科学家之外所有人远离这个地区的大部分区域以及无数本地生物，而不为世人所知。本松说：“我从来没有在哪里爬过这样的地方，如果你掉下去，即使是几英尺高，你也会被刺穿。”

5

Benson weaves through skin-ripping pinnacles. In Malagasy, the formations are called tsingy, meaning "where one cannot walk barefoot." The terrain resists intrusions from hunters, hungry cattle, and wildfires.

本松圩回通过锯齿似的小尖塔。在马达加斯加语里，这种地形被称为“黥基”，意思是“一个不能赤脚走的地方”。这种地形抵抗住了猎人、饥饿的家畜、以及野火的侵扰。

6

Sunlight rakes the heights of the tsingy, where any rainfall is quickly shed. The arid upper reaches favor mobile creatures such as dragonflies (here in a cooling posture).

阳光掠过黥基的顶点，这里任何雨点都会迅速流走。贫瘠的顶部却获得了象蜻蜓这样的机灵生物的青睐（这真是一种最酷的姿式）。

7

Spiny, drought-tolerant Pachypodium plants also thrive in the tsingy's top reaches.

多刺的、耐旱的棒棰树植物也在这种黥基的顶部区域旺盛生长。

8

Vertical pupils identify a seseke, or leaf-tailed gecko, as a nocturnal creature. Its camouflage works so well that the lizard doesn't hide during the day. It simply flattens itself against tree trunks while waiting for darkness and insects to eat.

小学生肯定把色色客和叶尾壁虎看成一样，以为是一种夜行动物。这种蜥蜴伪装得非常好，以致它在白天也不用隐藏。它使自己完全紧贴树干，等着天黑和吃昆虫。

9

Troops of Decken's sifakas, found only in western Madagascar, cruise the tops of the tsingy searching for food and evading predators. Like other lemurs, they probably live in small family groups.

一群仅发现于马达加斯加西部的德肯的狐猴，巡游在黥基的顶部寻找食物和躲避掠食者。象其它的狐猴一样，它们可能以小家庭群体生活。

10

Fearless acrobat, a Decken's sifaka leaps a chasm a hundred feet deep.

勇敢的杂技演员，一只德肯的狐猴飞过一道一百英尺深的裂缝。

11

Blurring through the void, the Decken's sifaka sails across the canyon. Among Madagascar's largest lemurs and one of the tsingy's signature species, sifakas regularly jump along the jagged skyline as they range between fruit trees.

这只德肯的狐猴跳过这条峡谷，尽管模糊了这空旷之地。在马达加斯加大量的狐猴即黥基的标志性物种之一中，狐猴有规律地沿着锯齿状的地平线跳跃，在果树之间漫游。

12

The leaping lemur comes to rest on a splinter of stone. Little is known about the behavior of Decken's sifakas, but evolution has equipped them with thick pads on hands and feet, helping them navigate their serrated home.

跳跃而行的狐猴在一片石尖上休息。有关德肯狐猴的习性知道的很少，但是进化让它们具有了厚厚的手掌和脚掌，使它们得以在锯齿状的家园里穿行。

13

The Milky Way sparkles above slit-topped canyons as a nocturnal gecko hunts for insects. Scientists who visit the tsingy often go on "night spots," hikes through the dark forest to look for unfamiliar creatures such as fist-size cockroaches. "In a way this area is very representative of the whole island of Madagascar," says herpetologist Hery Rakotondravony. "There are many kinds of environments here and many kinds of species. It's very rich. There's a lot to discover."

银河在裂缝顶部闪烁，夜行壁虎在捕食昆虫。调查黥基的科学家常常进行“夜间侦察”，步行穿过黑暗的森林来寻找象拳头大小的蟑螂一样的新奇物种。爬行学家海利·拉可登加维利说：“在某种程度上，这个地区是马达加斯加全岛非常有代表性的。这里有许多环境类型和许多物种，非常丰富。还有大量的东西等待去发现。”

14

An aerial view of tsingy formations reveals rows of tall limestone towers and deep, straight canyons—a landscape that resembles dense city blocks. The top of the tsingy is arid and bare, while the canyon bottoms, shielded from the desiccating sun, collect rain and soil. The city comparison isn't far off: Different animals live at different levels within the vertical habitat provided by the stone high-rises. Desert-adapted creatures command the heights while moisture-lovers prowl the damp shadows below.