How smart are orangutans? - Lu Gao

Kako pametni so orangutani? - Lu Gao

Translator: Anja Praprotnik Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Fu Manchu was one of the most notorious escape artists

Fu Manchu je bil eden najznamenitejših umetnikov bežanja

at the Omaha Zoo in the 1960s.

živalskega vrta v Omahi v 60-ih letih 20. stoletja.

But he wasn't a performer,

Vendar ni bil umetnik,

he was an orangutan.

temveč orangutan.

Pazniki, ki so ga vsak večer zaklenili v ogrado,

The keepers who locked his enclosure every night

were baffled to find him outside the next day

so bili zbegani, ko so ga zjutraj našli izven ograde, v družbi drugih opic,

hanging out with friends in a tree,

or sunning on the roof.

ali na strehi, kjer se je sončil.

Šele, ko so namestili kamere, so ugotovili,

Only after installing cameras did they realize

Fu Manchu had been picking the lock

da je Fu Manchu odklepal ključavnico

with a metal wire that he kept hidden under his cheek pouch.

s pomočjo žice, ki jo je hranil pod vrečkami v licih.

The keepers shouldn't have been surprised at Fu Manchu's cunningness.

Paznikov Fu Manchujeva prebrisanost ne bi smela presenetiti.

Along with our other great ape cousins,

Z ostalimi človeku podobnimi opicami -

the gorillas,

gorilami, šimpanzi in bonobi -

chimps,

and bonobos,

they belong to our Hominidae family tree,

sodi orangutan v naše družinsko drevo človečnjakov,

which stretches back 14 million years.

ki obstaja že 14 milijonov let.

But it's not just their striking red hair

Orangutani med bratranci niso edinstveni zgolj zaradi svojih vpadljivih rdečih las.

that makes orangutans unique among our cousins.

As the only great apes from Asia,

Kot edina človeku podobna opica iz Azije,

orangutans have adapted to a life high in the rain forest canopies.

so se orangutani prilagodili življenju visoko v drevesnih krošnjah.

Many of the skills they learn are transmitted through the special bond

Veliko veščin, ki se jih naučijo, se prenese prek posebne vezi,

they have with their mothers,

ki jo imajo s svojimi materami,

the most extended in the animal kingdom next to humans.

najdaljšo v živalskem kraljestvu, če odštejemo človeka.

Orangutan mothers usually give birth to one baby at a time,

Orangutanke navadno skotijo enega mladiča naenkrat

waiting up to eight years before having another.

in tudi 8 let ne povržejo naslednjega.

This gives the young,

To omogoča mladičem, ki so sprva povsem odvisni od matere,

who begin as fully dependent infants,

plenty of time to learn how to climb

veliko časa za učenje plezanja

and distinguish the hundreds of plants and fruits that make up their diet.

in razlikovanja med stotinami rastlin, ki sestavljajo njihov jedilnik.

Female orangutans even stay with their mothers into their teen years

Orangutanke ostanejo s svojimi materami celo v najstniška leta,

to learn child-rearing.

da se priučijo skrbi za mladiče.

As they grow up, orangutans also develop a complex set of cooperative social skills

Ko odraščajo, prek interakcije s svojimi vrstniki in sorojenci

by interacting with their peers and siblings.

razvijejo tudi kompleksen nabor socialnih veščin.

Much like ourselves,

Kakor mi,

young orangutans involuntarily mimic the facial expressions

mladi orangutani nehote oponašajo mimiko

and emotions of their playmates,

in čustva svojih prijateljev,

with behaviors that closely parallel human smiling and laughter.

vključno z vzorci, ki močno spominjajo na človeško smehljanje in smeh.

Once they finally venture out on their own,

Ko se končno sami odpravijo v svet,

orangutans continue to develop their resourcefulness,

še naprej razvijajo svojo iznajdljivost,

putting the skills they've learned into practice.

ko uporabljajo priučene veščine.

Adults build a new nest each night by carefully weaving twigs together,

Odrasli vsak večer zgradijo gnezdo tako, da previdno prepletejo veje

topping them with soft leaves, pillows, and blankets.

ter jih prekrijejo z mehkim listjem, blazinami in odejami.

This process requires dexterity, coordination, and an eye for design.

Za to je potrebna spretnost, koordinacija in čut za oblikovanje.

Orangutans also use a variety of tools to make their lives in the jungle easier.

Uporabljajo tudi različna orodja, da si olajšajo življenje v džungli.

They turn branches into fly swatters and back scratchers,

Veje uporabijo kot lovilec muh in praskalnik za hrbet,

construct umbrellas when it rains,

ko dežuje, si izdelajo dežnike,

make gloves from leafy pads,

iz mehkih listov naredijo rokavice,

and even use leaves as bandages to dress their wounds.

ali jih uporabijo kot obveze za oskrbo ran.

But orangutan intelligence goes far beyond jungle survival.

Vendar njihova inteligenca seže mnogo dlje.

Research in controlled environments has shown that orangutans are self-aware,

Raziskave v nadzorovanih okoliščinah so pokazale, da so orangutani sposobni

being one of the few species to recognize their own reflections.

samozavedanja, saj so ena redkih vrst, ki prepozna svoj odsev v ogledalu.

They also display remarkable foresight, planning, and cognition.

Kažejo tudi izredno daljnovidnost, sposobnost načrtovanja in kognicijo.

In one experiment, researchers taught an orangutan to use a straw

V enem poskusu so orangutana naučili uporabljati slamico,

to extract his favorite fruit soup from a box.

s katero je iz embalaže spil najljubšo sadno juho.

That orangutan was later given the choice between the straw

Ta orangutan je kasneje izbiral med slamico

or a grape that could be eaten right away,

in grozdom, ki bi ga lahko takoj pojedel;

and he chose the straw just in case he was given another box of soup.

odločil se je za slamico, če bi slučajno dobil še eno škatlo juhe.

In another experiment, orangutans figured out how to reach peanuts

V drugem poskusu so orangutani ugotovili, da s pljuvanjem vode v dolge cevi,

at the bottom of long tubes by spitting water into them.

dosežejo arašide, ki so bili na dnu.

While orangutans are able to pass cognitive tests with flying colors,

Čeprav so orangutani kognitivne preizkuse opravili s petico,

there are certain problems that they need our help to solve.

določenih težav ne morejo rešiti brez naše pomoči.

Indonesia has the world's highest rate of deforestation,

Indonezija ima najvišjo stopnjo razgozdovanja na svetu.

and millions of acres of rain forest are burned annually

Letno požgejo tisoče kvadratnih kilometrov deževnega gozda

to support the logging and palm oil industries.

za vzdrževanje lesne industrije in proizvodnje palmovega olja.

Deforestation exposes the 30,000 orangutans remaining in the wild

30.000 orangutanov, ki živijo v divjini, je tako izpostavljenih divjim lovcem.

to poachers.

They kill mothers so that baby orangutans can be sold as exotic pets.

Ti ubijejo matere, da lahko mladiče prodajo za eksotične ljubljenčke.

But fortunately, the story often doesn't end here.

K sreči se zgodba ne konča vedno tako.

Sirote včasih zasežejo in jim dajo še eno priložnost.

Orphans can be confiscated and given a second chance.

At special forest schools, they recover from emotional trauma

V posebnih gozdnih šolah si opomorejo od čustvenih travm

in nadaljujejo z učenjem bistvenih življenjski veščin.

and continue to develop essential life skills.

Against all odds, these orphans demonstrate incredible resilience

Okoliščinam navkljub kažejo te sirote izjemno trdoživost

and readiness to learn.

in pripravljenost za učenje.

In Malay, the word orangutan translates literally to "the person of the forest,"

V malajščini beseda orangutan pomeni "oseba gozda,"

a reminder of our common lineage.

opomin našega skupnega porekla.

Čeprav so orangutani ena najpametnejših živali na Zemlji,

And despite orangutans being some of the smartest animals on Earth,

outsmarting their extinction requires the creativity, empathy, and foresight

bomo za preprečitev njihovega izumrtja potrebovali ustvarjalnost, sočutje

in daljnovidnost, kar nam je skupno.

that our species share.