It seems that nearly every nation had their own idea about what the bunyip actually was, though.

似乎几乎每个国家都有自己对邦尼普真实身份看法。

In the majority of legends, though, the bunyip was a lot more straightforward.

然而，在大多数传说中，布尼皮普形象要简单得多。

In his journals, he claimed to have seen a bunyip at least 6 times.

在他日记中，他声称少见过6次布尼普。

Slowly but surely, the bunyip lost its edge.

渐渐地，布尼皮失去了慑力。

No one claimed to have found physical proof of the bunyip's existence until 1845.

直到1845年，才有人声称发现了水怪存在实物证据。

In Southeastern Australia, bunyips are even part of their creation story, they have always been part of native mythology there, a spirit that balances nature and keeps young children from swimming alone.

在澳大利亚东南部，布尼普（Bunyip）甚融入了他们创世故事，一直是当地原住民神话一部分，是一种平衡自然并防止自游泳灵体。

In 1847, the South Australian newspaper announced that, and I quotes, a bunyip or an immense platypus was seen sunning itself on the banks of the Yarra River.

1847年，南澳大利亚州一家报纸宣布，我引用原文，“一只水怪或一只巨大鸭嘴兽”在雅拉河畔晒太阳。

As early as 1801, French colonists said that they heard the bunyip's roars echo across the water.

早在1801年，法国殖民者就声称他们听到布尼皮吼声在水面上传来。

Instead, the bunyip had become watered down into a family friendly river monster, one that would play with children, not eat them.

相反，布尼普被淡化成了一种适合家庭观看河怪，会和孩子们玩耍，而不是吃掉他们。

It was, in a sense, the final blow from the colonists, a century after they first started to look for it, they finally took away the bunyip's identity, killing it more thoroughly than a bullet ever could.

从某种意义上说，这是殖民者给予最后致命一击。在他们最初开始寻找一个世纪后，他们终于剥夺了“班尼普”身份，将其彻底抹杀，其彻底程度远超子弹所能达到。

Plenty of them claim to have seen the bunyip or to have heard it bellow.

不少人声称见过布尼皮，或听过吼叫。

If you put the ecosystem at risk, they say, the bunyip will get you.

如果你破坏了生态系统，他们说，沼鬼就会来找你。

The common thread across all the first people stories about the bunyip was that it wasn't just a flesh and blood creature.

所有原住民关于布尼皮传说中，共同一点是，不仅仅是一种血肉之躯生物。