In our last episode, we got a very close look, though I suppose all of our looks are pretty close, at the various biological intimacies exchanged by tardigrades as they mate.

在上一集我們近距離觀察水熊蟲交配時多變的親密行為，雖說我們所有的觀察都是近距離的。

Multiple males contended for the heart, or at least the unfertilized eggs, of a female tardigrade by poking endlessly at her exuvia.

許多隻雄性不停戳雌性的身體，想盡辦法奪得她的芳心，或說奪得她未受精的卵。

It was really quite dramatic, and if you haven't watched it yet, you should.

非常戲劇性，如果你還沒看過，應該去看看。

It's great.

很棒哦。

There's poop.

有大便。

But now, it is time for the thrilling conclusion to all of that mating: the babies.

不過現在是時候講講扣人心弦的成果：寶寶。

This tardigrade has been lugging her future offspring in a sack made up of her exuvia, which is her shedded exoskeleton.

這隻水熊蟲正在將她的後代拖進一個囊，這個囊由她脫下的外骨骼組成。

Like a spare room that's been converted into a baby nursery, the same exuvia that started as the mother's own cuticle before it became the site of courtship, has now undergone another renovation to become a handy, portable egg nursery.

原先是媽媽皮膚表層的殼，如同一間準備好用來當嬰兒房的空房，搖身一變成為一個便攜的卵孵化室。

The ways that tardigrades deal with their eggs may look different for different species.

水熊蟲照顧卵的方式因品種各異。

While this water bear carries her exuvia at the end of her body, some species carry it more towards the front.

這一隻水熊蟲將殼帶在身體後側，有些品種的水熊蟲則會帶在前側。

Some don't lay eggs in exuvia at all, while another species has been seen depositing their eggs in the exuvia of water fleas.

有些則根本不會把卵產在殼裡，還有些會把卵放在水蚤的殼裡。

Why our species has evolved or chosen this method is unknown to us.

為何不同的品種會採用不同的方式，我們還不得而知。

Maybe it allows her to provide them protection, or perhaps she can ensure they hatch in the best possible location this way.

或許是為了提供保護，也或許是為了確保他們在最好的位置孵化。

We just don't know.

我們無從得知。

But we did very much want to observe this mother-to-be.

但我們的確很想觀察這位準媽媽。

And so for three days, we followed her, doing our best to also take good care of her.

三天以來我們追蹤她，盡可能提供她需要的照顧。

Now, the biggest concern was making sure she wouldn't get too dry, so we had to keep her away from the edges of the slide.

最重要的是保持濕度，所以要確保別讓她靠近載玻片的邊緣。

To do this we used only the most advanced techniques: we poked her with the fine hair from a brush to push her towards the more watery regions of the slide.

我們採用最先進的技術：用刷子上的一根毛戳她，把她推到載玻片上水分多的區塊。

We even set an alarm to remind us to add a drop of water to the slide every four hours.

我們甚至設了一個鬧鈴，提醒我們每四小時加一滴水到載玻片。

Yes, even at night.

是的，晚上也不例外。

That's a lot of alarms.

設了很多的鬧鈴。

Now, you might be thinking--aren't tardigrades supposed to be the hardiest creatures on Earth?

你或許在想——水熊蟲不是地球上最強的生物嗎？

Able to withstand extreme conditions, hypothetical apocalypses, and maybe even crash landings on the moon?

能夠耐受極端環境、撐過預想的世界末日，或許還能在月球上著陸？

Surely they do not require this level of helicopter parenting (or I guess it's grandparenting?).

想必他們不需要直升機父母吧？(或直升機祖父母？)

Well, we do care a lot for all of our microscopic organisms, and so it could be that this watery vigil is just an abundance of caution on our part.

我們在乎我們所有的微生物，所以如此謹慎守夜、警惕水分也是應該的。

But we've seen with our own eyes that no matter how tough tardigrades may be, the microcosmos is tougher.

我們也親眼見過，無論水熊蟲有多強悍，微生物的世界只會更強硬。

Sometimes things just... happen, and not in the way you might hope.

有時候……不如預期的事情就是發生了。

You might remember this tardigrade from a previous episode.

你或許還記得上一集的這隻水熊蟲。

We were pretty excited about her because we could see all of those eggs just ready to be hatched.

我們很興奮，這些卵都準備孵化了。

But the mother was completely still.

但是媽媽一動也不動。

She hadn't moved at all, which would usually be worrisome.

這情況令人擔憂。

But she wasn't decomposing, so we thought maybe she was still alive, just biding the time until her eggs hatched.

但她也沒被分解，所以我們想她或許還活著，只是在等卵孵化。

And so while she waited, so did we.

所以在她等待時，我們一同等待。

Gestation in tardigrades can vary quite a bit, not just by species, but with temperature and just plain old chance.

水熊蟲的妊娠期各不相同，不但出於品種，還可能因為溫度或純粹運氣。

It generally takes a few days, but it can take months.

通常耗時幾天，但也可能到幾個月。

We kept her in a humidity chamber and checked in to make sure the coverslip wasn't crushing her.

我們讓她待在一個潮濕的環境裡，偶爾檢查一下，確保蓋玻片沒壓扁她。

But the inactive tardigrade never became active again.

但這隻水熊蟲再也沒動過了。

Eventually, her body did begin to decompose, as did the eggs inside her.

最後她的身體的確開始分解，那些卵也是。

And so, this tardigrade family was not meant to be.

所以這個水熊蟲家庭註定成不了。

We don't know what killed this tardigrade, but it's hard not to feel responsible for the organisms we film.

我們不知道是什麼殺了這隻水熊蟲，但我們很難不感到愧疚。

Sure, they're unaware of our existence, but they are in our care, and like the animals and humans we come to feel connected to, it's sad to be reminded that endings can come for even the mightiest creatures among us, even if they're also among the smallest.

他們不知道我們的存在，但的確是在我們的照顧下，就好比動物和人類，我們也有了情感，難過的是如此強悍的生物也會遭逢變故，即便他們如此迷你。

That's why, when we later found the impending tardigrade mother that started this episode, we took so much care to keep her alive.

這也是為什麼我們在這集會花如此多的心力，照顧這次這位準媽媽水熊蟲。

It was nerve-wracking because we didn't want to lose another brood, hence the 4 hour alarms and the brush hair.

我們繃緊神經，不願再失去另一個家庭，所以才會有四小時一次的鬧鈴和毛刷。

So you might be able to imagine our combined excitement and relief when after 4 days of this intensive care, we saw a tardigrade cuticle that was no longer full of eggs--it was full of egg shells and baby tardigrades!

你或許能想像我們的興奮和放心，因為四天的密集照護後，水熊蟲的殼裡不再是只有卵，而是卵殼和水熊蟲寶寶！

Now unfortunately, it turned out that getting footage of the actual hatching during this moment was challenging.

可惜的是要拍到孵化的過程很難。

The eggs would roll around in the cuticle while also being dragged by the mother.

卵在殼裡翻轉，媽媽又把殼拖來拖去。

But you can see the baby tardigrades clawing their way through the mass of eggs.

但可以看到水熊蟲寶寶在卵之間爬行。

Eventually though, the mother finally completely shed her cuticle.

最後媽媽終於將殼完整脫下。

You can see it here, it almost looks like a tardigrade ghost chasing behind her.

看起來簡直像是後頭有一個水熊蟲幽靈在追她。

This moment was particularly fortuitous for us because as the tardigrade rid herself of the exuvia that had housed her future children, one unhatched egg came out as well.

巧的是當她在脫拿來裝寶寶的殼時，一個未孵化的卵掉了出來。

It's weird to look at this and realize that in a few moments, out will come a tardigrade.

想來真奇特，等等會有一隻水熊蟲從裡面出來。

Just an oval with some lines in it, a formed thing packed away.

就只是一個裡頭有線條的蛋形物，就好像打包好的完成品。

That arrow-shaped thing that's pumping away is the tardigrade's stylets, a part of their mouth that pokes out when it comes time to eat and it helps the tardigrade suction out the meatiness of the microbes that it feeds on.

在跳動的箭型物是水熊蟲的探針，是他嘴巴的一部分，在進食時會伸出，幫助水熊蟲把微生物體內的肉吸出來。

But before they can get to eating, the stylets have an important task: helping the baby tardigrade get out of their shell.

但在他們學會進食前，探針有個重要的用途：幫助水熊蟲寶寶鑽出卵。

After two hours of struggling, the stylets of the tardigrade begin to move more repetitively until finally, it's able to poke holes in the egg.

努力了兩小時後，水熊蟲的探針開始反復動作，知道最後他終於在卵上戳出一個洞。

Those holes allow water into the egg, increasing the pressure inside until the egg just pops and out comes a little moss piglet.

水流進這個洞、增加卵內的壓力，直到卵爆開，一隻小豬出來了。

And with it, a new generation is born, adding to a lineage of mighty microscopic animals stretching back hundreds of millions of years.

一個新世代誕生了，擁有幾億年歷史的強悍微生物再次得以延續。

If you heard a sigh just then, it's a sigh of relief and joy from all of us at the Microcosmos team.

如果你剛剛聽到了一聲嘆息，那是我們組員喜悅地鬆了口氣。

When we set out to track and record a tardigrade birth, we didn't know that it would lead to both heartbreak and excitement.

當我們開始追蹤、記錄水熊蟲的誕生時，我們不知道會遭遇心碎和興奮之情。

But it's all worth it for this little buddy among many.

但為了這個大家庭中的小傢伙，一切都值得了。

We hope to see them all again, perhaps creating their own brood.

我們希望能再見到他們，或許見他們各自成家。

But for now, paddle away, our little friend, the whole microcosmos awaits.

不過目前的話，游走吧小朋友，整個微觀世界都在等著你。

Thank you for coming on this journey with us as we explore the unseen world that surrounds us.

感謝你加入我們，一同探究這個圍繞在我們身旁、不被察覺的小世界。

Journey to the Microcosmos is produced by Complexly.

微觀世界奇遊由 Complexly 所製作。

If you want to keep imagining the world complexly with us, you can check out Animal Wonders, a YouTube channel hosted by Jessi Knudsen Castañeda.

如果你想繼續和我們一起奇想這個世界，可以去看看由 Jessi Knudsen Castañeda 主持的 YouTube 頻道：Animal Wonders。

Animal Wonders is an animal rescue and education facility that cares for close to 100 exotic animals and non-releasable wildlife.

Animal Wonders 是一個動物援助及教育機構，他們照顧多達一百種異國動物及尚未被野放的野生動物。

Every week on the Animal Wonders YouTube channel, Jessi features a different animal and shares what it's like to keep them happy and healthy.

每週 Animal Wonders 都會在 YouTube 介紹一種不同的動物，還有該如何讓他們快樂、健康。

Recently, Jessi and the Animal Wonders team took in Tigli the arctic fox.

最近 Jessi 和 Animal Wonders 團隊收容了意指叫做 Tigli 的北極狐。

If you'd like to learn all about Tigli's story and find out how he's getting along with the other foxes at Animal Wonders, there's a link in the description to a video all about that.

如果你想知道 Tigli 的故事，並且了解他和其他的狐狸為何會來到 Animal Wonders，我們底下描述欄有個連結。

And here is a list of all of the people who support us on Patreon.

以下則是所有在 Patreon 資助我們的人們。

Thank you so much to all of them for allowing us to go on this journey and allowing us to take so many other people along with us.

非常感謝你們，讓我們得以開啟這趟旅程，並且讓其他許多人一同加入。

You can be one of those people and get some really cool perks, just go and check out patreon.com/journeytomicro.

你也可以成為其中一員，而且還有好康的哦，點擊 patreon.com/journeytomicro 前去瞧瞧。

Thanks to our Master of Microscopes James for all of his amazing work and skill.

感謝我們的顯微鏡大師 James 驚艷的作品及技巧。

If you'd like to see more of what he does, you can check out Jam & Germs on Instagram.

如果你想深入了解他的作品，你可以去 Instagram 搜尋 Jam & Germs。

And if you'd like to see more of what we do, just go to youtube.com/microcosmos where you can find our entire first season of videos and also click on that subscribe button so you can find a new video every single week.

如果你想看更多我們的影片，在 youtube.com/microcosmos 能看到我們第一季全部的影片，也記得按下訂閱，每週收看我們最新的影片。

Ok. Bye.

好啦，掰掰！