Munir Virani: Why I love vultures

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

Prevoditelj: Suzana Baric Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

I would like to talk to you about

Želio bih govoriti

a very special group of animals.

o jednoj vrlo posebnoj skupini životinja.

There are 10,000 species of birds in the world.

Na svijetu postoji 10.000 vrsta ptica.

Vultures are amongst the most threatened group of birds.

Strvinari su među najugroženijim pticama.

When you see a vulture like this, the first thing

Kad vidite ovakvog strvinara, prvo pomislite

that comes to your mind is, these are disgusting, ugly,

da su to odvratna, ružna,

greedy creatures that are just after your flesh,

proždrljiva bića koja samo žele vaše meso,

associated with politicians. (Laughter) (Applause)

poput političara. (Smijeh) (Pljesak)

I want to change that perception. I want to change

Želim promijeniti način gledanja na njih

those feelings you have for these birds, because

i osjećaje koje imate prema ovim pticama

they need our sympathy. They really do. (Laughter)

jer one trebaju našu naklonost. Zbilja je trebaju. (Smijeh)

And I'll tell you why.

Reći ću vam zašto.

First of all, why do they have such a bad press?

Kao prvo, zašto su na tako lošem glasu?

When Charles Darwin went across the Atlantic in 1832

Kad je 1832. godine Charles Darwin prešao Atlantski ocean

on the Beagle, he saw the turkey vulture,

na brodu Beagle, vidio je karipskog strvinara (Cathartes aura)

and he said, "These are disgusting birds

i rekao: "To su odvratne ptice

with bald scarlet heads that are formed to revel in putridity." (Laughter)

s ćelavim crvenim glavama, stvorene za gošćenje na truleži." (Smijeh)

You could not get a worse insult, and that from Charles Darwin. (Laughter)

Ne postoji gora uvreda, i to od samog Charlesa Darwina. (Smijeh)

You know, he changed his mind when he came back,

Ali promijenio je mišljenje kad se vratio

and I'll tell you why.

i reći ću vam zašto.

They've also be associated with Disney — (Laughter) —

Povezani su i s Disneyem -- (Smijeh) --

personified as goofy, dumb, stupid characters.

okarakterizirani su kao budalasti, glupi likovi.

More recently, if you've been following the Kenyan press

U skorije vrijeme, pratio sam kenijski tisak

— (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers) —

-- (Smijeh) (Pljesak) (Uzvici) --

these are the attributes that they associated

ovo su osobine s kojima su povezali

the Kenyan MPs with. But I want to challenge that.

kenijske zastupnike u parlamentu. Ali želim to osporiti.

I want to challenge that. Do you know why?

Želim to osporiti. Znate zašto?

Because MPs

Zato što zastupnici

do not keep the environment clean. (Laughter)

ne održavaju okoliš čistim. (Smijeh)

MPs do not help to prevent the spread of diseases.

Zastupnici ne pomažu u suzbijanju širenja bolesti.

They are hardly monogamous. (Laughter) (Applause)

Rijetko su monogamni. (Smijeh) (Pljesak)

They are far from being extinct. (Laughter)

Nisu ni blizu istrebljenja. (Smijeh)

And, my favorite is, vultures are better looking. (Applause) (Laughter)

I, meni najdraže, strvinari su zgodniji od njih. (Pljesak) (Smijeh)

So there's two types of vultures in this planet.

Na svijetu postoje dvije vrste strvinara.

There are the New World vultures that are mainly found

Postoje strvinari Novog svijeta, koji većinom žive

in the Americas, like the condors and the caracaras,

u Sjevernoj i Južnoj Americi, poput kondora i caracara,

and then the Old World vultures, where we have

te strvinari Starog svijeta, gdje spada 16 vrsta.

16 species. From these 16, 11 of them are facing

Od tih 16 vrsta, 11 ih je

a high risk of extinction.

pred velikim rizikom od istrebljenja.

So why are vultures important? First of all,

Zašto su strvinari važni? Kao prvo,

they provide vital ecological services. They clean up.

daju ključne ekološke usluge. Oni čiste.

They're our natural garbage collectors.

Oni su naši prirodni skupljači smeća.

They clean up carcasses right to the bone.

Čiste leševe sve do kosti.

They help to kill all the bacteria. They help absorb anthrax

Pomažu ubiti sve bakterije. Pomažu upiti antraks

that would otherwise spread and cause

koji bi se inače širio i prouzročio

huge livestock losses and diseases in other animals.

velike gubitke stoke te bolesti kod drugih životinja.

Recent studies have shown that in areas where there are

Novija istraživanja pokazala su da u područjima

no vultures, carcasses take up to three to four times

gdje nema strvinara leševima treba tri do četiri puta dulje

to decompose, and this has huge ramifications

da istrunu, što ima ogromne posljedice

for the spread of diseases.

na širenje bolesti.

Vultures also have tremendous historical significance.

Strvinari imaju i velik povijesni značaj.

They have been associated in ancient Egyptian culture.

Bili su simbol u staroegipatskoj kulturi.

Nekhbet was the symbol of the protector

Nekhbet je bila simbol zaštitnice

and the motherhood, and together with the cobra,

i majčinstva, a zajedno s kobrom,

symbolized the unity between Upper and Lower Egypt.

simbolizirala je jedinstvo Gornjeg i Donjeg Egipta.

In Hindu mythology, Jatayu was the vulture god,

U hinduskoj mitologiji, Jatayu je bio bog strvinar

and he risked his life in order to save the goddess Sita

i riskirao je svoj život kako bi spasio boginju Situ

from the 10-headed demon Ravana.

od Ravane, demona s 10 glava.

In Tibetan culture, they are performing very important

U tibetanskoj kulturi, izvode se vrlo važni

sky burials. In places like Tibet, there are no places

nebeski pogrebi. U mjestima poput Tibeta nema se gdje

to bury the dead, or wood to cremate them,

sahraniti mrtve, a nema ni drveta za kremaciju

so these vultures provide a natural disposal system.

pa su strvinari prirodni način odlaganja.

So what is the problem with vultures?

Koji je onda problem sa strvinarima?

We have eight species of vultures that occur in Kenya,

Postoji osam vrsta strvinara u Keniji,

of which six are highly threatened with extinction.

od kojih je šest pred istrebljenjem.

The reason is that they're getting poisoned, and the reason

To je tako jer se otruju, a razlog

that they're getting poisoned is because there's

tome je taj što postoje konflikti

human-wildlife conflicts. The pastoral communities

između ljudi i divljači. Pastirske zajednice

are using this poison to target predators,

koriste otrov zbog grabežljivaca,

and in return, the vultures are falling victim to this.

a zbog toga stradavaju strvinari.

In South Asia, in countries like India and Pakistan,

U Južnoj Aziji, u zemljama poput Indije i Pakistana,

four species of vultures are listed as critically endangered,

4 vrste strvinara vode se kao kritično ugrožene,

which means they have less than 10 or 15 years to go extinct,

što znači da imaju manje od 10 - 15 godina do istrebljenja,

and the reason is because they are falling prey

a to je tako jer ugibaju

by consuming livestock that has been treated

zbog hranjenja stokom koja je tretirana

with a painkilling drug like Diclofenac.

sredstvima protiv bolova, primjerice Diclofenacom.

This drug has now been banned for veterinary use in India,

Veterinarima u Indiji taj je lijek danas zabranjeno koristiti

and they have taken a stand.

i oni su se tome usprotivili.

Because there are no vultures, there's been a spread

Kako nema strvinara, povećao se

in the numbers of feral dogs at carcass dump sites,

broj divljih pasa na odlagalištima leševa,

and when you have feral dogs, you have a huge time bomb

a kad imate divlje pse, imate ogromnu tempiranu bombu bjesnoće.

of rabies. The number of cases of rabies

Broj slučajeva bjesnoće

has increased tremendously in India.

jako se povećao u Indiji.

Kenya is going to have one of the largest wind farms in Africa:

Kenija će imati jednu od najvećih vjetroelektrana u Africi:

353 wind turbines are going to be up at Lake Turkana.

kod jezera Turkana postavit će se 353 vjetrenjače.

I am not against wind energy, but we need to work

Nisam protiv vjetroenergije, ali moramo poraditi

with the governments, because wind turbines

s vladama zato što vjetrenjače

do this to birds. They slice them in half.

prerežu ptice na pola.

They are bird-blending machines.

To su sjeckalice za ptice.

In West Africa, there's a horrific trade

U Zapadnoj Africi odvija se zastrašujuća preprodaja

of dead vultures to serve the witchcraft and the fetish market.

mrtvih strvinara na tržištima za vračanje i fetiš.

So what's being done? Well, we're conducting research

Što se poduzima? Provodimo istraživanje

on these birds. We're putting transmitters on them.

o ovim pticama. Stavljamo odašiljače na njih.

We're trying to determine their basic ecology,

Pokušavamo odrediti njihov osnovni okoliš

and see where they go.

i saznati kuda se kreću.

We can see that they travel different countries, so

Možemo vidjeti da putuju kroz različite zemlje

if you focus on a problem locally, it's not going to help you.

pa nema koristi usredotočiti se na problem na lokalnoj razini.

We need to work with governments in regional levels.

Moramo raditi s vladama na regionalnoj razini.

We're working with local communities.

Radimo s lokalnim zajednicama.

We're talking to them about appreciating vultures,

Govorimo im da treba cijeniti strvinare,

about the need from within to appreciate these

o potrebi iznutra da se cijene

wonderful creatures and the services that they provide.

ta prekrasna bića i usluge koje ona pružaju.

How can you help? You can become active,

Kako vi možete pomoći? Možete se aktivirati

make noise. You can write a letter to your government

podići svoj glas. Možete napisati pismo svojoj vladi

and tell them that we need to focus on these very

i reći da se moramo usredotočiti

misunderstood creatures. Volunteer your time

na ova vrlo neshvaćena bića. Podarite svoje vrijeme

to spread the word. Spread the word.

da bi se proširila vijest. Proširite vijest.

When you walk out of this room, you will be informed

Kad izađete odavde, bit ćete informirani

about vultures, but speak to your families, to your children,

o strvinarima, ali razgovarajte sa svojim obiteljima, sa svojom djecom,

to your neighbors about vultures.

sa svojim susjedima o strvinarima.

They are very graceful. Charles Darwin said

Vrlo su graciozni. Charles Darwin rekao je

he changed his mind because he watched them fly

da je promijenio mišljenje zato što ih je gledao kako

effortlessly without energy in the skies.

bez ikakvog napora lete nebom.

Kenya, this world, will be much poorer

Kenija, ovaj će svijet biti mnogo siromašniji

without these wonderful species.

bez ove prekrasne vrste.

Thank you very much. (Applause)

Puno hvala. (Pljesak)