The history of the world according to rats - Max G. Levy

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

On a grey London day in 1851,

Tmurnog londonskog dana 1851,

a captivated crowd gathered around a makeshift stage.

pažnju gomile je privukla sklepana pozornica.

At the center stood a man adorned in a top hat,

U središtu je stajao čovek zakićen cilindrom,

leather sash, and a swarm of rats.

kožnim pojasom i hrpom pacova.

This showman, Jack Black, had risen to fame

Ovaj se zabavljač, Džek Blek, proslavio

claiming to be Queen Victoria’s authorized rat catcher.

tvrdeći da ga je Kraljica Viktorija ovlastila za ličnog lovca na pacove.

And between tricks, he lectured the crowd on his poisons

A između trikova je podučavao gomilu o svojim otrovima

and unique ability to capture hundreds of vermin with just his bare hands.

i jedinstvenoj sposobnosti da uhvati na stotine gamadi golim rukama.

This is just one of many junctures in the long entangled history

Ovo je tek jedno od brojnih čvorišta u dugoj zamršenoj istoriji

of human and rat.

ljudi i pacova.

The two most common species of rat, brown and black,

Dve najzastupljenije vrste pacova, smeđi i crni,

both scurried onto the scene roughly 1 to 3 million years ago in Asia.

obe su se sjurile na scenu u Aziji pre oko jednog do tri miliona godina.

There, they craftily survived Earth’s most recent ice age,

Tu su spretno preživeli skorašnje Zemljino ledeno doba

and eventually, began living around and with humans.

i vremenom su počeli da žive sa i oko ljudi.

Their constant presence even earned them a spot in the Chinese zodiac,

Njihovo stalno prisustvo im je zavredilo mesto u kineskom horoskopu,

where they symbolize new beginnings.

gde simbolizuju nove početke.

Brown and black rats are generalists—

Smeđi i crni pacovi su generalisti —

a biological badge ascribed to species who can brave diverse climates and diets.

tako označavamo vrste koje su sposobne da se izbore

sa raznim tipovima klime i ishrane.

So when trade routes opened between East Asia and the West,

Stoga, kada su se otvorile trgovinske rute između istočne Azije i Zapada,

rats naturally tagged along.

pacovi su se prirodno prišlepali.

Black rats were the first to venture out,

Crni pacovi su se prvi odvažili,

sneaking aboard ships from India to Egypt an estimated 5,000 years ago.

ušunjavajući se na brodove iz Indije za Egipat pre otprilike 5 000 godina.

Some believe that this rodent influx into Egypt

Neki veruju da je ovaj priliv glodara u Egipat

fueled their ancient spiritual reverence of cats.

pokrenuo drevno duhovno obožavanje mačaka.

After all, they were top-of-the-line rat catchers.

Naposletku, one su bile nenadmašni lovci na pacove.

Trade between Egypt and the Romans brought black rats to Europe.

Trgovina između Egipta i Rimljana je dovela crne pacove u Evropu.

And by 300 CE,

I do 300 n.e.,

these stowaways claimed lands as far as the Anglo-Celtic Isles—

ovi slepi putnici su zauzeli zemlje skroz do anglokeltskih ostrva —

earning notoriety along the way.

usput dolazeći na zao glas.

Beyond pilfering and reproducing like there's no tomorrow,

Pored pohara i razmnožavanja kao da sutra ne postoji,

black rats brought bacterial and viral infections,

crni pacovi su sa sobom doneli bakterijske i virusne infekcije,

which they spread to humans through their droppings and urine.

koje su prenosili na ljude kroz izmet i urin.

In the late 1340s, history's most infamous plague, the Black Death,

Kasnih 1340-ih, najozloglašenija kuga u istoriji, crna smrt,

killed tens of millions of people, or around half of Europe’s population.

ubila je destine miliona ljudi, tj. oko polovinu evropske populacije.

To this day, many lay the blame on rats.

I dan-danas, mnogi krive pacove za nju.

However, the real story is more complicated.

Međutim, stvarna priča je složenija.

Black rats don’t directly spread the plague to humans;

Crni pacovi ne prenose kugu direktno na ljude;

though they can carry the fleas that transmit the bacterium responsible.

iako mogu da nose buve koje prenose bakteriju odgovornu za kugu.

And brown rats, which hadn't yet set foot in Europe,

A smeđi pacovi, koji još uvek nisu bili zakoračili u Evropu,

don't have any blood on their paws.

uopšte nemaju krvi na šapama.

Back in Japan, these brown rats were receiving a warmer welcome

Nazad u Japanu, ovi smeđi pacovi su imali topliju dobrodošlicu

as pet rats grew in popularity.

kako su pacovi ljubimci sticali popularnost.

250-year-old guidebooks detail tips on rodent domestication,

Vodiči stari 250 godina daju pojedinosti za pripitomljavanje glodara

and how to breed the most affectionate rats

kao i kako uzgojiti najumiljatije pacove

in various coat colors and patterns.

raznih boja i šara na krznu.

Wild brown rats finally entered Europe

Divlji smeđi pacovi su konačno ušli u Evropu

sometime between the 13th and 18th century,

negde između XIII i XVIII veka,

by ship and perhaps, sometimes, by treading water.

na brodovima i možda, ponekad, plivajući.

Some say a particularly violent earthquake in 1727 led hordes of brown rats

Neki tvrde da je naročito jak zemljotres 1727.

naterao horde smeđih pacova da preplivaju reku Volgu

to swim across the Volga River into Russia.

i uđu u Rusiju.

Eventually, the larger and more adaptable brown rats displaced the black rats

Vremenom su krupniji i prilagodljiviji smeđi pacovi izmestili crne

in homes and cities across Europe and North America

u domovima i gradovima širom Evrope i Severne Amerike

by outcompeting them for resources.

tako što su ih pobedili u borbi za resurse.

The Industrial Revolution only bolstered the lives of industrious brown rats.

Industrijska revolucija je dodatno ojačala živote snalažljivih smeđih pacova.

As cities expanded,

Kako su se gradovi širili,

rats thrived by making homes of our sewers and buffets of our trash.

pacovi su bujali pretvarajući naše kanalizacije u domove i smeće u bifee.

They even evolved resistance to our poisons,

Čak su razvili otpornost na naše otrove,

to the dismay of exterminators who inherited Jack Black’s mission.

na užas istrebljivača koji su nasledili misiju Džeka Bleka.

But the human-rat race took a monumental turn in 1906,

Međutim, trka između ljudi i pacova je imala monumentalan preokret 1906,

when the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia bred the first standard rat strain

kada je Institut Vistar u Filadelfiji uzgojio prvu standardnu lozu pacova

for scientific research.

za naučna istraživanja.

Rats are unrivaled lab animals.

Pacovi su laboratorijske životinje bez konkurencije.

Their bodies function and respond to disease similarly to humans,

Njihova tela funkcionišu i reaguju na bolesti slično ljudskim,

and we share much of the same genome.

i delimo gotovo identičan genom.

Plus, they’re smart, which has made them indispensable to neuroscience

Osim toga, pametni su, zbog čega su nezamenjivi u neuronaučnim

and psychology research.

i psihološkim istraživanjima.

In the 1960s, for example,

Tokom 1960-ih, na primer,

scientists observed that rats raised with toys and companions

naučnici su primetili da pacovi koji su podignuti uz igračke i društvo

had thicker cortical brain tissue than those who didn’t.

imaju deblje kortikalno moždano tkivo od onih koji nisu tako podizani.

This helped establish the concept of neuroplasticity,

Na osnovu ovoga je ustanovljen koncept neuroplastičnosti,

which explains how our environments and learning shape our minds.

koja objašnjava kako naše okruženje i učenje oblikuju naše umove.

Today, rats are often regarded as the most successful invasive species

Trenutno se pacovi smatraju najuspešnijom invazivnom vrstom

in the world.

na svetu.

And this comes at a price—

A to ima svoju cenu —

they often live at the mercy of human priorities.

često žive u nemilosti ljudskih prioriteta.

In cities like New York, they’re reviled enough to warrant

U gradovima poput Njujorka su toliko izvikani da obezbeđuju

multi-million-dollar extermination efforts.

napore istrebljenja vredne više miliona dolara.

But if history is any indication,

Međutim, ako je suditi po istoriji,

no amount of money, nor skill of rat catcher,

nema tog novca ni toliko spretnog lovca na pacove

will ever fully rid us of our rodent shadows.

koji će nas u potpunosti osloboditi naših glodarskih uhoda.