The history of the world according to cats - Eva-Maria Geigl

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

On May 27th, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank in a fierce firefight,

Dana 27. maja 1941. god. u žestokoj borbi je potopljen nemački ratni brod Bizmark,

leaving only 118 of her 2,200 crew members alive.

ostavljajući svega 118 od 2 200 članova posade u životu.

But when a British destroyer came to collect the prisoners,

Međutim, kada je britanski razarač stigao da pokupi zatvorenike,

they found an unexpected survivor -

zatekli su u životu neočekivanog putnika -

a black and white cat clinging to a floating plank.

crno-belu mačku koja se čvrsto držala za plutajuću dasku.

For the next several months this cat hunted rats and raised British morale -

U narednih nekoliko meseci ova mačka je lovila pacove

i podizala moral Britanaca -

until a sudden torpedo strike shattered the hull and sank the ship.

sve dok iznenadni udar torpeda nije razorio trup broda i potopio ga.

But, miraculously, not the cat.

Međutim, nekim čudom, ne i mačku.

Nicknamed Unsinkable Sam,

S nadimkom Nepotopivi Sem,

he rode to Gibraltar with the rescued crew

otplovio je na Gibraltar zajedno sa izbavljenom posadom

and served as a ship cat on three more vessels –

i služio je kao brodska mačka na još tri broda -

one of which also sank - before retiring to the Belfast Home for Sailors.

od kojih je jedan takođe potonuo -

pre nego što je penzionisan u belfastskom domu za mornare.

Many may not think of cats as serviceable sailors,

Mnogi ne razmišljaju o mačkama kao o uslužnim mornarima

or cooperative companions of any kind.

ili kooperativnom pratnjom bilo koje vrste.

But cats have been working alongside humans for thousands of years -

Međutim, mačke sarađuju s ljudima hiljadama godina -

helping us just as often as we help them.

često nam pomažući koliko i mi njima.

So how did these solitary creatures go from wild predator to naval officer

Dakle, kako su ova usamljena bića prešla od divljih grabljivica i morskih oficira

to sofa sidekick?

do kućnih lenjivaca?

The domestication of the modern house cat

Pripitomljavanje savremene kućne mačke

can be traced back to more than 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent,

može da se prati više od 1 000 godina unazad do Plodnog polumeseca,

at the start of the Neolithic era.

sa početka neolitske ere.

People were learning to bend nature to their will,

Ljudi su učili kako da podrede prirodu svojoj volji,

producing much more food than farmers could eat at one time.

proizvodeći mnogo više hrane nego što su seljaci mogli da pojedu odjednom.

These Neolithic farmers stored their excess grain in large pits and short, clay silos.

Ovi neolitski zemljoradnici su skladištili višak žitarica u ogromne rupe

i plitke, glinene silose.

But these stores of food attracted hordes of rodents,

Međutim, ova skladišta hrane su privlačila horde glodara,

as well as their predator, Felis silvestris lybica -

kao i njihovu grabljivicu: Felis silvestris Lybicu -

the wildcat found across North Africa and Southwest Asia.

divlju mačku koja je živela širom Severne Afrike i Jugozapadne Azije.

These wildcats were fast, fierce, carnivorous hunters.

Ove divlje mačke su bile brzi, svirepi lovci mesojedi.

And they were remarkably similar in size and appearance to today’s domestic cats.

I bile su iznenađujuće slične po veličini i izgledu današnjoj pitomoj mački.

The main differences being that ancient wildcats were more muscular,

Glavna razlika je ta što su drevne divlje mačke bile mišićavije,

had striped coats, and were less social towards other cats and humans.

imale su krzna na pruge i bile su manje društvene sa drugim mačkama i ljudima.

The abundance of prey in rodent-infested granaries

Obilje plena u žitnicama preplavljenim glodarima

drew in these typically solitary animals.

je privlačilo ove tipično usamljene životinje.

And as the wildcats learned to tolerate the presence of humans

I kako su divlje mačke učile da tolerišu prisustvo ljudi

and other cats during mealtime,

i drugih mačaka za vreme hranjenja,

we think that farmers likewise tolerated the cats in exchange for free pest control.

smatra se da su i zemljoradnici tolerisali mačke

u zamenu za besplatno suzbijanje štetočina.

The relationship was so beneficial that the cats migrated with Neolithic farmers

Odnos je bio toliko plodan da su mačke migrirale sa neolitskim zemljoradnicima

from Anatolia into Europe and the Mediterranean.

iz Anadolije u Evropu i Mediteran.

Vermin were a major scourge of the seven seas.

Glodari si bili velika pošast na moru.

They ate provisions and gnawed at lines of rope,

Jeli su zalihe i glodali niti od konopaca,

so cats had long since become essential sailing companions.

pa su mačke dugo bile glavni pratioci na brodu.

Around the same time these Anatolian globe trotting cats set sail,

Otprilike u vreme kad su ove anadolijske mačke svetski putnici zaplovile,

the Egyptians domesticated their own local cats.

Egipćani su pripitomili sopstvene lokalne mačke.

Revered for their ability to dispatch venomous snakes, catch birds, and kill rats,

Cenjene zbog sposobnosti odstranjivanja zmija otrovnica,

hvatanja ptica i ubijanja pacova,

domestic cats became important to Egyptian religious culture.

pitome mačke su postale važne za egipatsku religijsku kulturu.

They gained immortality in frescos, hieroglyphs, statues, and even tombs,

Ovekovečene su na freskama, hijeroglifima, kipovima, pa čak i grobnicama,

mummified alongside their owners.

gde su mumificirane pored svojih vlasnika.

Egyptian ship cats cruised the Nile,

Egipatske brodske mačke su krstarile Nilom,

holding poisonous river snakes at bay.

držeći podalje rečne zmije otrovnice.

And after graduating to larger vessels,

A nakon što su unapređene na veća plovila,

they too began to migrate from port to port.

i one su počele da migriraju od luke do luke.

During the time of the Roman Empire, ships traveling between India and Egypt

Tokom perioda Rimskog carstva, brodovi koji su putovali između Indije i Egipta

carried the lineage of the central Asian wildcat F. s. ornata.

nosili su potomke centralnoazijske divlje mačke F. s. ornata.

Centuries later, in the Middle Ages, Egyptian cats voyaged up to the Baltic Sea

Vekovima kasnije, u srednjem veku, egipatske mačke su putovale Baltikom

on the ships of Viking seafarers.

na brodovima vikinških pomoraca.

And both the Near Eastern and North African wildcats

A i bliskoistočne i severnoafričke divlje mačke,

– probably tamed at this point -- continued to travel across Europe,

tada verovatno već pripitomljene, nastavile su da putuju širom Evrope,

eventually setting sail for Australia and the Americas.

naposletku zaplovivši u Australiju i Amerike.

Today, most house cats have descended

Mnoge današnje kućne mačke vode poreklo

from either the Near Eastern or the Egyptian lineage of F.s.lybica.

od bliskoistočne ili egipaptske loze F. s. lybice.

But close analysis of the genomes and coat patterns of modern cats

Međutim, detaljna analiza genoma i šara na krznu savremenih mačaka

tells us that unlike dogs,

nam govri da nasuprot psima,

which have undergone centuries of selective breeding,

koji su pretrpeli vekove selektivnog uzgoja,

modern cats are genetically very similar to ancient cats.

savremene mačke su genetski veoma slične drevnim mačkama.

And apart from making them more social and docile,

A pored toga što smo ih učinili društvenijim i pitomijim,

we’ve done little to alter their natural behaviors.

nismo mnogo uradili da izmenimo njihovo prirodno ponašanje.

In other words, cats today are more or less as they’ve always been: Wild animals.

Drugim rečima, današnje mačke su više-manje kakve su oduvek bile:

divlje životinje, svirepi lovci.

Fierce hunters. Creatures that don’t see us as their keepers.

Bića koja ne gledaju na nas kao na njihove vlasnike.

And given our long history together, they might not be wrong.

A s obzirom na našu zajedničku istoriju, sasvim je moguće da su u pravu.