德州盛夏的另類風景 蝙蝠如暴雨般從天而降
Every night in the summer, more than 15million bats emerge from a hot, cavernous sinkhole just outside San Antonio.
夏天的每個晚上，超過1500萬隻蝙蝠都會從聖安東尼奧市區外一個熱烘烘的大地洞裏出來。
They spiral up and out of the cave’s gapingmouth like a tornado and slowly gain elevation.
它們像龍捲風一樣，從洞穴張開的大口盤旋而出，慢慢地越飛越高。
If you’re sitting nearby,you can feel the wind from their wings.
要是你坐在附近，就可以感覺到它們的翅膀扇出來的風。
Once the bats reach the treetops, they formcolumns that flow out and over the hills like plumes of smoke that appear tonever end.
這些蝙蝠一飛到樹頂便成羣結隊，像縷縷煙霧一樣，在丘陵間穿梭，彷彿永不止息。
It’s dinner time inTexas, and in the corn and cotton fields, the hairy, winged mammals will feaston moths throughout the night.
這是德克薩斯州的晚餐時間，而這些長着翅膀、毛茸茸的哺乳類動物也將在玉米地與棉田裏整晚大啖飛蛾。
This bat emergence at Bracken Cave, home tothe world’s largest bat colony, requires an appointment, but it’s just oneof many nightly shows you can catch in Central Texas in July, August andSeptember.
布蘭肯洞穴(Bracken Cave)棲居着世界上最大的蝙蝠羣落；要觀賞這裏的蝙蝠一涌而出的奇觀，需要事先預約。不過在德州中部，7、8、9月份，還有很多地方可以看到這樣的夜間表演。
You can also see them at Old Tunnel StatePark, just south of Fredericksburg, or for a more urban experience, you canhave a picnic or cocktail and watch 1.5 million bats drop down from under theCongress Avenue Bridge in Austin and take off across the river like a school offish.
你也能在弗雷德裏克斯堡南方的老隧道州立公園(Old Tunnel State Park)看到蝙蝠，或着來點都市風情，在奧斯汀來一場野餐或是品着雞尾酒，一邊觀看150萬隻蝙蝠自國會大道橋下飄落又重新飛昇，有如魚羣般橫越河面。
They do this every night, but the best timeto catch them is when it’s hot and dry and they’re hungry, because that’s when they’ll head outearly.
它們每晚都會這麼做，不過最佳觀賞時機是天氣又熱又幹、蝙蝠餓了的時候，因爲它們在這種情況下會比較早出發。
The hotter and more uncomfortable you are,the better the bat flight, said Mylea Bayless, an ecologist for BatConservation International.
天氣越熱、人覺得越不舒服的時候，蝙蝠就飛得越好看，國際蝙蝠保育組織(Bat Conservation International)的生態學家麥莉亞‧貝萊斯(Mylea Bayless)說。
As the saying goes, everything’s bigger inTexas, and the caves and bridges that these Mexican free-tailed bats call theirsummer home are no exception.
就像俗話說的，德州什麼東西都比較大；這些墨西哥遊離尾蝠(Mexican free-tailed bats)夏季棲身的山洞與橋樑也不例外。
The dome ceilings of large caverns —natural orconstructed —trap heat, making them the perfect temperature for females to roostand to raise their young.
不論是自然形成或人工建造，大型洞穴的圓拱頂部能留住熱氣，對想要找個棲息地、哺育幼獸的雌蝙蝠來說，這樣的溫度正好。
Warm, stable roosts like Bracken Cave are essentialbecause baby bats are born hairless and have only a few months to developbefore migrating to Mexico and Central and South America in the fall.
像布蘭肯洞穴這類溫暖又穩定的棲息地十分重要，因爲蝙蝠寶寶出生的時候沒有毛，它們在秋季遷往墨西哥與中南美洲之前，也只有短短數月時間生長髮育。
These bat pups spend their energy ongrowth, not thermoregulation.
這些小傢伙得把能量用來長身體，而不是拿來調節體溫。
The millions of bats you see take off atonce in Texas are all females and babies.
在德州，你看到的那些同時起飛的百萬蝙蝠大軍，全都是雌獸與幼獸。
The males are around, but they’re scatteredabout in smaller caves or parking garages.
當地也有雄蝙蝠，不過它們分散在比較小的洞穴或車庫裏。
If it’s not the big Texancaverns, it’s the migrating corn earworm moths that bring the bats here everysummer.
除了德州的大山洞，遷徙的玉米穗夜蛾也是每年夏天吸引蝙蝠成羣而至的原因。
A mother bat will consume about two-thirdsof her body weight in insects at night to meet her energy demands.
一隻蝙蝠媽媽爲了滿足能量需求，會在夜間捕食大約相當於自己體重三分之二的昆蟲。
Economists estimate that bats save Texasmore than $1 billion on pesticides annually.
經濟學家估計，蝙蝠每年爲德州省下了超過10億美元的殺蟲劑費用。
The feeding frenzy can last for hours, butas day breaks, the bats return to their roosts.
饕餮盛宴會持續好幾個小時，不過一到破曉時分，它們就會返回棲息地。
If you’re up for a 5 a.m. bat shower, you should head back out.
要是想在清晨5點體驗一次蝙蝠浴，你應該到戶外去了。
