next on Jonathan Birds blue world
接下来是乔纳森·伯德蓝色世界
Jonathan goes into the ocean with the world's largest shark
乔纳森和世界上最大的鲨鱼一起徜徉在这片海域
hi I'm Jonathan bird and welcome to my world
大家好，我是乔纳森·伯德，欢迎来到我的世界
I've journeyed to the warm and shallow waters of tiny Holbox island in the Gulf of Mexico
我在墨西哥湾霍尔布什岛已经有过在温暖浅水带
to find and film the world's largest fish
寻找并拍摄世界上最大鱼类的经历
Holbox is barely more than a sandy speck on the map at the northern end of the Yucatan
地图上，尤卡坦半岛北端的霍尔布什岛不过沙点那么大
it's not your typical tourist destination until recently
直至最近，这座寂静的岛屿不仅仅是座渔村
this sleepy island wasn't much more than a fishing village
还是具有代表性的旅游目的地
there are no paved roads and everyone gets around in golf carts or other non-conventional transportation
这里没有铺路，每个人都乘坐高尔夫球车或其他非传统交通工具出行
the highway here is a stretch of beach
公路在这里取而代之的是一片海滩
where you can hit maybe 20 miles an hour if you have a fast card
如果你有一张便捷卡的话，时速也许能达到每小时20英里
downtown this island has the charm of a place not yet discovered by throngs of tourists
这座岛的市中心有一个迷人之地，集结而来的游客至今尚未发现这个好去处
but everywhere there are signs
但所到之处都很具有标志性
something special has been discovered here
在这儿，你会发现某些特别的东西
offshore in the cool waters of the Gulf of Mexico a giant lurks
墨西哥湾凉爽的海面上潜伏着一个巨物
I get up early to meet the boats to take me and a few other intrepid snorkelers on the adventure of a lifetime
我早早起床乘船，和其他勇敢的浮潜者们一起踏上这冒险之旅
right find some whale sharks
对的，寻找鲸鲨
instead of catching fish
而不是捕鱼
these former fishermen are now making their living taking tourists to swim with a fish, a really big fish
曾经的渔民现在靠带领游客和鱼共泳来谋生，是大鱼哦

using a GPS receiver to help him navigate the captain takes us about an hour offshore
他们利用GPS接收器导航离岸大约需要一个小时
our guide Andreia swatches the water with a carefully trained eye on the horizon
我们的向导安德烈娅以他训练有素的眼光，观察着海面
soon we pass a pot of dolphins
不久，我们就遇到一群海豚
they circle the boat a few times to check us out then vanish
海豚绕船转了几圈，看看我们，然后消失了
then we come across a group of Eagle race frolicking at the calm surface
接着，我们遇到了一群在平静的海面上嬉戏的鹰鳐
I've never seen eagle rays doing this before
之前我从没见过这样的鹰鳐
I'm not even sure what they're up to
我甚至不确定它们在做什么
but after a few minutes we have to move on
但几分钟后，我们不得不继续前进
we put the boat back in gear and keep looking
我们把船放回起落架，继续寻找鲸鲨
a ripple up ahead catches Andreia is's keen eye
安德烈娅目光敏锐，注意到前面的水纹
as we approach we find a giant manta ray feeding right at the surface mouth wide open
我们走近发现一只巨大的蝠鲼在水面正张嘴进食
mantas can reach 20 feet across
蝠鲼可以达到20英尺宽
but this is just a small one only about the size of a car
但见到的这只算小的，大概汽车那么大
finally Andreia spots what we're looking for
最后，安德烈娅找到了我们要找的鲸鲨
the huge head of a whale sharks sticking up out of the water
鲸鲨把它巨大的头部探出水面
as we pull the boat up alongside the shark
当我们把船停到鲨鱼旁边时
I can see its massive mouth open and funneling water in like a gigantic storm drain
我能看到它那张开的大嘴像巨大的暴雨排水沟一样将水灌进肚里
the shark is feeding but what could it be eating
鲨鱼在吃东西，但它会吃什么呢
it's more than 30 feet long
鲸鲨长度超过30英尺
what could feed such an enormous animal
什么东西能养活这么大只动物
to find out I dawn my snorkel gear and hop over the side
为了找到答案，我穿上潜水服，从船的一侧跳了下去
the whale shark passes right in front of me
鲸鲨正好从我面前经过
the water is not very clear and this is where I get my first clue what is going on here
水不是很清，但我在这儿找到第一个线索
the Sharks have come to this section of the ocean because it's filled with plankton
鲨鱼之所以来到这片海域，是因为这里到处漂浮着浮游生物
whale sharks might be the biggest fish in the sea
鲸鲨可能是海里最大的鱼
but they eat only plankton and small fish
但是它们只吃浮游生物和小鱼
the word plankton comes from a Greek word meaning drifter
“浮游生物”这个词来源于希腊语，意思是“漂流者”
so plankton are drifting organisms like these tiny copepods
所以浮游生物是漂流的生物体，就像这些微小的桡足动物