摘要：She stops swimming and appears to start blowing bubbles, which merge to create an air pocket, just big enough to allow the pup to

There is no air hole in sight.

看不到任何气孔。

Now, the mother does something remarkable.

现在，这位母亲做了一件了不起的事情。

She stops swimming.

她停止了游泳。

Here beneath snow and ice, lives an animal that is found nowhere else.

在雪和冰下，生活着一种在其他地方找不到的动物。

Baikal seals give birth to their pups in hidden dens.

贝加尔湖海豹在隐蔽的巢穴中生下幼崽。

Its mother is away, hunting for food.

它的母亲外出觅食。

The world above is no place for a newborn pup.

上面的世界对新生的幼崽来说不是一个合适的地方。

The pup is stranded, alone.

幼崽被困住了，孤零零的。

Its calls travel across the lake.

它的叫声传遍了湖面。

Mothers recognize the cries of their young.

母亲能认出自己幼崽的叫声。

She must help it to swim away from its birthplace to the edge of the ice sheet.

她必须帮助它游离出生地，游到冰层的边缘。

And that could be over a mile away.

而那可能在一英里之外。

Adult seals can stay under the ice for half an hour.

成年海豹可以在冰下待半小时。

But pups can only hold their breath for a matter of minutes.

但幼崽只能屏住呼吸几分钟。

看不到任何气孔。

She stops swimming and appears to start blowing bubbles, which merge to create an air pocket, just big enough to allow the pup to take a breath.

她停止游泳，似乎开始吹泡泡，这些泡泡合并形成一个空气袋，刚好足够让幼崽呼吸。

It may be that it enables the pups, with their tiny lungs, to swim between air holes and so reach part of the lake that is ice-free.

这可能使得幼崽，凭借它们的小肺，能够在空气孔之间游动，从而到达湖中无冰的部分。

As far as is known, this astonishing behavior only occurs here in Baikal.

据所知，这种惊人的行为仅在贝加尔湖发生。

来源：英语东