人類足跡
我們內心潛藏著一個殺手，我們的祖先在演化成為人類之前就已經狩獵。狩獵不僅是為了維生，更是我們根深蒂固的文化。隨著人口增長和科技蓬勃發展，現代人類已成為世界上最高效、無處不在的超級捕食者。
為了解人類狩獵的原因，尚恩拜訪了生物學家兼獵人懷恩・朗。當尚恩跟懷恩在其愛達荷州的家中一起屠宰懷恩狩獵回來的鹿時，尚恩發現了他以往並不知道的人類與食物的聯繫。在切薩皮克灣，鴨子獵人霖斯・羅素向尚恩展示了繁榮市場和一場可稱為「軍備競賽」的獵鴨槍械發展，如何幾乎結束了壯觀的野生動物奇觀，並催生了新的狩獵監管法律。當人類把殺戮能力帶到公海，鯨魚被推向絕種邊緣，並在過程改變海洋的化學成分。尚恩的研究顯示，人類為獲取象牙獵捕大象，因而創造出無牙雌性大象族群，改變了大象的演化。最後，即使人類努力消滅其他超級掠食者，例如美國西部的土狼，我們發現人類始終無法取代生態系統中的野生掠食者。
狩獵一直是人類故事的一部分，相信未來也會繼續如此。我們與舊石器時代的祖先之間的不同之處在於，現在我們知道自己有能力做到甚麼。掌握這種知識後，我們可以更深思熟慮地使用自己的本能，給野生掠食者留出生存空間，並為「超級掠食者」的稱號賦予新意義。
雙語廣播： 粵語/英語 (電視版 及 網上版)
播出時間： (首播) 2025年4月14日 星期一 晚上10時30分
There’s a killer inside us – our ancestors were hunters before they were even humans. And hunting isn’t just subsistence – it’s deeply ingrained in our culture. As our population has grown and our technologies flourished, modern humans have become the most efficient and ubiquitous hunters the world has ever known: the planet’s new Top Predator.
To understand why we hunt, Shane visits biologist and hunter Ryan Long. Butchering a deer at Ryan’s home in Idaho, Shane rediscovers a connection to his food that he didn’t know he was missing. In the Chesapeake Bay, duck hunter Ramsey Russell shows Shane how a thriving market and a literal arms race nearly ended an epic wildlife spectacle, spurring new laws to regulate hunting. We’ve brought our killing prowess to the high seas, driving whales to the brink of extinction – and altering the ocean’s chemistry along the way. Shane’s own research shows that we’re changing the course of evolution by targeting elephants for their ivory and creating populations where tuskless females are commonplace. Finally, by waging war on other top predators, like wolves in the American West, we’re discovering that humans can’t replace wild killers in our ecosystems.
Hunting has always been part of our story, and it probably always will be. The difference between us and our Paleolithic ancestors is that now we know what we’re capable of. Armed with that knowledge, we can channel our instincts more thoughtfully, leave room for wild hunters, and give new meaning to the title “Top Predator.”
Bilingual: Cantonese/ English (TV Version & Web Version)
Time: (First run) 2025.04.14 MON 10:30pm
