Charles Anderson discovers dragonflies that cross oceans

Traducător: Diana Breaban Corector: Laszlo Kereszturi

Actually, I come from Britain,

De fapt, sunt originar din Marea Britanie,

but I've been living in Maldives for 26 years now.

dar locuiesc in Insulele Maldive de 26 de ani.

So, that's home really.

Asa ca Maldivele sunt adevarata casa.

The Maldives, as I'm sure you're aware, are a chain of islands

Maldivele, dupa cum sunt sigur ca stiti, sunt o serie de insule

off the southwest coast of India here.

in apropierea coastei de sud-vest a Indiei.

Capital, Malé, where I live.

Capitala, Male, unde locuiesc.

Actually, sitting here today in Mysore,

De fapt, aici in Mysore unde suntem astazi,

we're closer to Malé than we are to Delhi, for example.

suntem mai aproape de Male decat de Delhi, de exemplu.

If you're in IT, India, obviously, is the place to be at the moment.

Daca lucrati in domeniul IT, India, in mod evident, este locul ideal in momentul de fata.

But if you're a marine biologist, Maldives is not such a bad place to be.

Dar daca esti biolog marin, Maldivele nu sunt chiar un loc nepotrivit.

And it has been my home these years.

Si au fost casa mea in acesti ani.

For those of you who've been there, fantastic coral reefs,

Pentru aceia dintre voi care au fost acolo, recifuri de corali fantastice,

fantastic diving, fantastic snorkeling.

scufundari fantastice, snorkeling fantastic.

I spend as much of my time as possible

Petrec cat mai mult timp posibil

investigating the marine life.

investigand viata marina.

I study fish,

Studiez pestii,

also the bigger things, whales and dolphins.

dar si lucrurile mai mari, balenele si delfinii.

This is a blue whale. We have blue whales

Aceasta este o balena albastra. Avem balene albastre

in the waters around here, off Maldives,

in apele din jurul Maldivelor,

around the waters of India. You can see them off Kerala.

in preajma apelor Indiei. Le puteti vedea in zona Kerala.

And, in fact, we're very lucky in this region.

Si, in realitate, suntem foarte norocosi in aceasta regiune.

One of the best places in the world to see blue whales

Unul dintre cele mai bune locuri din lume pentru a vedea balenele albastre

is here in this region.

este aici in aceasta regiune.

In Sri Lanka, if you go down to the south coast of Sri Lanka,

In Sri Lanka, daca mergeti pana la coasta de sud a Sri Lanka,

during the northeast monsoon season,

in timpul sezonului musonului de nord-est,

you can see blue whales very, very easily.

puteti vedea balenele albastre foarte, foarte usor.

It's probably the best place in the world to see them.

Este probabil cel mai bun loc din lume pentru a le vedea.

Now, when I talk about the northeast monsoon season,

Acum, cand mentionez sezonul musonului de nord-est

I'm sure many of you here know exactly what I mean,

sunt sigur ca multi dintre voi stiu exact la ce ma refer,

but perhaps some of you are not quite so sure.

dar poate unii dintre voi nu sunt atat de siguri.

I need to explain a little bit about monsoons.

Trebuie sa va explic putin despre musoni.

Now, monsoon, the root of the word "monsoon"

Musonul, baza cuvantului "muson"

comes from the word "season."

provine din cuvantul "anotimp".

So, it's just a season. And there are two seasons in most of South Asia.

Asadar, este doar un anotimp. Si exista doua anotimpuri in majoritatea zonei Asiei de Sud.

And in the summer India heats up, gets very hot.

Iar in timpul verii India se incalzeste, devine foarte calda.

Hot air rises, and air is drawn in off the sea to replace it.

Aerul cald se ridica iar aerul dinspre mare este absorbit pentru a-l inlocui.

And the way it works is, it comes from the southwest.

Iar modul in care acest lucru se intampla este urmatorul: provine din sud-vest.

It comes off the ocean here and is drawn up towards India.

Vine dinspre ocean aici si este atras spre India.

So it comes from the southwest. It's a southwest monsoon.

Deci vine din sud-vest. Este un muson sud-vestic.

Picks up moisture as it crosses the ocean.

Atrage umezeala pe masura ce strabate oceanul.

That's what brings the monsoon rain.

Acest lucru aduce ploaia musonica.

And then in the winter things cool down.

Apoi iarna temperaturile scad.

High pressure builds over India.

Deasupra Indiei creste presiunea.

And the whole system goes into reverse.

Si intreg sistemul incepe sa mearga in sens invers.

So, the wind is now coming from the northeast

Asadar, vantul vine acum din nord-est

out of India, across the Indian Ocean,

in afara Indiei, de-a lungul Oceanului Indian,

this way towards Africa.

in aceasta directie, spre Africa.

Keep that in mind.

Tineti minte acest aspect.

Now, I'm a marine biologist, but I'm actually

Eu sunt un biolog marin. Dar in realitate

a bit of an old fashioned naturalist, I suppose.

sunt un naturalist de moda veche, presupun.

I'm interested in all sorts of things, almost everything that moves,

Sunt interesat de tot felul de lucruri, aproape tot ce misca,

including dragonflies. And I'm actually

inclusiv libelule. Si, de fapt,

going to talk, this afternoon, about dragonflies.

voi vorbi in aceasta dupa-amiaza despre libelule.

This is a very beautiful species, it's called the Oriental Scarlet.

Aceasta este o specie foarte frumoasa, numita "Oriental Scarlet".

And one thing you need to know about dragonflies,

Si unul dintre lucrurile pe care trebuie sa le stiti despre libelule,

one important thing,

un lucru foarte important,

is that they lay their eggs in fresh water.

este ca isi depun ouale in apa proaspata.

They need fresh water to breed.

Au nevoie de apa proaspata pentru a se inmulti.

They lay the eggs into fresh water.

Isi depun ouale in apa proaspata.

Little larvae hatch out in fresh water.

Larve micute eclozeaza in apa proaspata.

They feed on other little things. They feed on mosquito larvae.

Ele se hranesc cu alte lucruri mici. Se hranesc cu larve de tantari.

So, they're very important.

Asadar sunt foarte importante.

They control mosquito larvae, among other things.

Ele controleaza numarul larvelor de tantari, printre altele.

And they grow and grow by stages. And they climb out

Si cresc in etape. Si ies

of the water, burst out, as the adult which we see.

din apa, devenind adultul pe care il vedeti.

And typically, there is a lot of variation,

Si in mod tipic, exista multa variatie,

but if you have a dragonfly with, say, a one year life cycle,

dar daca avem o libelula cu, sa spunem, un ciclu de viata de un an,

which is quite typical, the larva, living in the fresh water,

ceea ce este destul de tipic, larva, traind in apa proaspata,

lives for 10 or 11 months.

traieste timp de 10 sau 11 luni.

And then the adult, which comes after, lives for one or two months.

Iar apoi adultul, care vine dupa, traieste timp de 1-2 luni.

So it's essentially a freshwater animal.

Asadar este prin definitie un animal de apa proaspata.

It really does need fresh water.

Chiar are nevoie de apa proaspata.

Now, the particular species of dragonfly

Specia de libelule

I want to talk about is this one,

despre care vreau sa vorbesc este aceasta,

because most dragonflies, like the one we've just seen,

deoarece majoritatea libelulelor, precum cea pe care tocmai am vazut-o,

when the adult is there for its brief one or two months of life,

cand ajung la etapa adulta pentru perioada scurta de o luna sau doua de viata,

it doesn't go very far. It can't travel very far.

nu calatoreste prea departe. Nu poate calatori prea departe.

A few kilometers, maybe, is quite typical.

Cativa kilometri, poate, este o distanta tipica.

They are very good fliers, but they don't go too far.

Sunt zburatoare excelente, dar nu merg prea departe.

But this guy is an exception.

Dar aceasta specie este o exceptie.

And this is called the Globe Skimmer,

Si este numita "Globe Skimmer" ("Hidroavionul Globului"),

or Wandering Glider.

sau "Wandering Glider" ("Hidroglisorul ratacitor").

And, as the name might suggest, it is found pretty much around the world.

Si, asa cum sugereaza poate si numele, poate fi gasita oriunde in lume.

It lives throughout the tropics, the Americas,

Traieste de-a lungul tropicelor, in Americi,

Africa, Asia, Australia, into the Pacific.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific.

And it wanders far and wide. We know that much about it.

Si calatoreste in lung si-n lat. Acest lucru in stim cu certitudine.

But it really hasn't been studied very much.

Dar aceasta specie nu a fost studiata foarte mult.

It's a rather mediocre looking dragonfly.

Este o libelula cu un aspect oarecum mediocru.

If you're going to study dragonflies, you want to study those really bright beautiful ones,

Daca studiezi libelulele, vrei sa le studiezi pe cele frumos colorate,

like that red one. Or the really rare ones, the endemic endangered ones.

precum cea rosie. Sau pe cele foarte rare, sau pe cale de disparitie.

This is, it seems a bit dull you know.

Specia aceasta este putin neinteresanta.

It's sort of dull-colored. And it's fairly common.

Este mediocru colorata. Si este destul de comuna.

And it occurs everywhere -- you know, why bother?

Si o gasesti peste tot - asa ca de ce sa ne deranjam?

But if you take that attitude, you're actually missing something rather special.

Dar daca avem aceasta atitudine, pierdem ceva cu adevarat special.

Because this dragonfly has a rather amazing story to tell.

Pentru ca aceasta libelula are o poveste minunata de spus.

And I feel very privileged to have stumbled across it

Si ma simt foarte privilegiat sa ma fi impiedicat de ea

living in the Maldives.

traind in Maldive.

When I first went to the Maldives,

Cand am venit pentru prima data in Maldive,

dead keen on diving, spent as much of my time

foarte pasionat de scufundari, mi-am petrecut cat mai mult timp

as I could in and under the water.

in si sub apa.

Didn't notice any dragonflies; maybe they were there, maybe they weren't.

Nu am observat libelulele; poate erau acolo, poate nu.

Didn't notice them.

Nu le-am observat.

But after some time, after some months, one day

Dar dupa un timp, dupa cateva luni,

as I was going out and about,

intr-o zi cand ma plimbam afara

suddenly I noticed hundreds of dragonflies, hundreds of dragonflies.

brusc am observat sute de libelule, sute de libelule.

Something like this, these are all this species Globe Skimmer.

Ceva de genul acesta, acestea sunt toate specii de "Globe Skimmer".

I didn't know at the time, but I know now,

Nu stiam atunci, dar stiu acum,

they're Globe Skimmers, hundreds of them.

sunt "Globe Skimmers", sute.

And they were there for some time. And then they were gone.

Si erau acolo pentru ceva timp. Apoi au disparut.

And I didn't think anything more of it until

Si nu m-am mai gandit la asta pana

the following year, when it happened again,

anul viitor, cand s-a intamplat din nou,

and then the year after that, and then the year after that.

si apoi anul urmator, si urmatorul.

And I was a bit slow, I didn't really take too much notice.

Iar eu am fost putin cam lent, nu am prea observat.

But I asked some Maldivian friends and colleagues, and yes they come every year.

Dar am intrebat unii prieteni si colegi din Maldive si, da, vin in fiecare an.

And I asked people about them and yes,

Si i-am intrebat pe oameni despre ele si da,

they knew, but they didn't know anything,

stiau, dar nu stiau nimic despre

where they came from, or anything.

locul de unde veneau sau orice altceva.

And again I didn't think too much of it.

Si din nou nu m-am gandit prea mult la asta.

But slowly it began to dawn on me that something

Dar incet-incet am inceput sa-mi dau seama ca ceva

rather special was happening.

special se intampla.

Because dragonflies need fresh water to breed.

Pentru ca libelulele au nevoie de apa proaspata pentru a se inmulti.

And the Maldives, and I'm sure some of you have been there --

Si Maldivele, sunt sigur ca unii dintre voi au fost acolo --

so here is home.

Deci aici este casa.

So, Maldives, beautiful place.

Asadar, Maldivele, superb loc.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

It's built entirely of coral reefs.

Este construit in totalitate din recifuri de coral.

And on top of the coral reefs are sand banks.

Si in varful recifurilor de coral sunt bancuri de nisip.

Average height, about that much above sea level.

Altitudine medie, cam cu atat deasupra nivelului marii.

So, global warming, sea level rise, it's a real serious issue.

Asadar, incalzirea globala, cresterea nivelului apei, este o problema cu adevarat serioasa.

But I'm not going to talk about that.

Dar nu voi vorbi despre asta.

Another important point of these sand banks

Un alt aspect important al acestor bancuri de nisip

is that when it rains,

este ca atunci cand ploua

the rainwater soaks down into the soil. So, it's gone.

apa de ploaie se scurge in sol. Deci dispare.

So, it stays under the soil.

Asadar, ramane sub sol.

The trees can put their roots into it.

Copacii isi pot infige radacinile.

Humans can dig holes and make a well.

Oamenii pot sapa gauri si construi o fantana.

But dragonflies -- a bit tricky.

Dar libelulele -- putin mai dificil.

There is no surface fresh water.

Nu exista apa proaspata la suprafata.

There are no ponds, streams, rivers, lakes,

Nu exista iazuri, rauri, lacuri,

nothing like that.

nimic de genul asta.

So, why is it that every year

Deci de ce in fiecare an

millions of dragonflies, millions,

milioane de libelule, milioane,

millions of dragonflies turn up?

milioane de libelule isi fac aparitia.

I got a little bit curious. In fact I'll stop here,

Am devenit putin curios. De fapt ma voi opri aici,

because I want to ask, and there is a lot of people who,

pentru ca vreau sa intreb, si exista multi oameni care,

from India of course, people who grew up spending your childhood here.

din India, desigur, oameni care au crescut petrecandu-si copilaria aici.

Those of you who are Indian or spent your childhood here,

Aceia dintre voi care sunteti din India sau v-ati petrecut copilaria aici,

let me have a show of hands, who of you --

ridicati mana, care dintre voi --

not yet, not yet!

nu inca, nu inca!

You're too keen. You're too keen. No. Hang on. Hang on.

Sunteti prea dornici. Sunteti prea dornici. Nu. Stati putin. Stati putin.

Wait for the go. I'll say go.

Asteptati semnalul meu. Va spun eu cand.

Those of you who grew up in India,

Aceia dintre voi care au crescut in India,

do you remember in your childhood, dragonflies,

va mai amintiti din copilaria voastra libelulele,

swarms of dragonflies? Maybe at school,

roiuri de libelule? Poate la scoala,

maybe tying little bits of string onto them?

poate legand bucati de sfoara in jurul lor?

Maybe pulling bits off? I'm not asking about that.

Poate smulgand parti din ele? Nu despre asta intreb.

You've only got to say, do you remember seeing lots of dragonflies.

Trebuie doar sa spuneti daca va amintiti ca ati vazut multe libelule.

Any hands? Any hands? Yes. Thank you. Thank you.

Ridica cineva mana? Da. Multumesc. Multumesc.

It's a widespread phenomenon

Este un fenoment foarte raspandit

throughout South Asia, including the Maldives.

in toata Asia de Sud, inclusiv Maldive.

And I got a bit curious about it.

Si mi-a starnit curiozitatea.

In the Maldives -- now, in India there is plenty of water,

In Maldive, acum in India exista multa apa,

so, dragonflies, yeah, of course. Why not?

asadar, libelule, da, sigur. De ce nu?

But in Maldives, no fresh water. So, what on Earth is going on?

Dar in Maldive nu este apa proaspata. Asa ca ce se intampla?

And the first thing I did was started recording

Si primul lucru pe care l-am facut a fost sa incep sa notez

when they turned up in the Maldives.

cand soseau in Maldive.

And there is the answer, 21st of October.

Si iata raspunsul, 21 Octombrie.

Not every year, that's the average date.

Nu in fiecare an, este o data medie.

So, I've been writing it down for 15 years now.

Deci am luat notite timp de 15 ani deja.

You'd think they're coming from India. It's the closest place.

Ati crede ca vin din India. Este cel mai apropiat loc.

But in October, remember, we're still in southwest monsoon,

Dar in Octombrie, tineti minte, suntem inca in sezonul musonului de sud-vest,

Maldives is still in the southwest monsoon.

Maldivele sunt inca in sezonul musonului de sud-vest.

But wind is, invariably, every time, is from the west.

Dar vantul bate, invariabil, de ficare data, din vest.

It's going towards India, not from India.

Bate spre India, nu dinspre India.

So, are these things, how are these things getting here?

Asadar, cum ajung aceste creaturi aici?

Are they coming from India against the wind?

Vin din India impotriva vantului?

Seemed a bit unlikely.

Parea putin probabil.

So, next thing I did is I got on the phone.

Asa ca urmatorul lucru pe care l-am facut a fost sa dau telefoane.

Maldives is a long archipelago.

Maldivele sunt un arhipelag lung.

It stretches about 500 miles, of course it's India here.

Se intinde pe o distanta de 500 de mile, desigur ca aici este India.

I got on the phone and emailed to friends and colleagues.

Am inceput sa dau telefoane si sa trimit mailuri catre prieteni si colegii.

When do you see the dragonflies appear?

Cand vedeti libelulele sosind?

And pretty soon, a picture started emerging.

Si, foarte curand, a inceput sa se contureze imaginea.

In Bangalore, a colleague there sent me

In Bangalore, un coleg mi-a trimis

information for three years, average,

informatia culeasa timp de 3 ani, in medie,

24th of September, so late September.

24 Septembrie, deci sfarsitul lunii Septembrie.

Down in Trivandrum, a bit later.

Jos in Trivandrum, putin mai tarziu.

Far north of Maldives, a bit later.

In nordul indepartat al Maldivelor, putin mai tarziu.

Then Malé, then further south.

Apoi Male, apoi mai in sud.

And then the southernmost Maldives.

Apoi in punctul cel mai sudic al Maldivelor.

It's pretty obvious, they're coming from India.

Este destul de evident faptul ca vin din India.

But they are coming 400 miles across the ocean, against the wind.

Dar vin 400 de mile peste ocean, impotriva vantului.

How on Earth are they doing that?

Cum fac acest lucru?

I didn't know.

Nu stiam.

The next thing I did was I started counting dragonflies.

Urmatorul lucru pe care l-am facut a fost sa incep sa numar libelulele.

I wanted to know about their seasonality,

Voiam sa stiu despre sezonalitatea lor,

what time of year, this is when they first arrive,

in ce perioada a anului, asta este cand ajung prima data,

but how long are they around for? Does that give any clues?

dar pentru cat timp stau prin zona? Acest lucru ne ofera vreun indiciu?

So, I started a very rigorous scientific process.

Asa ca am inceput un proces stiintific foarte riguros.

I had a rigorous scientific transect.

Am tinut un jurnal stiintific foarte riguros.

I got on my bicycle,

M-am urcat pe bicicleta,

and I cycled around the island of Malé.

si am mers in jurul insulei Male.

It's about five kilometers around,

Are o circumferinta de 5 kilometri,

counting the dragonflies as I go,

numarand libelulele pe drum,

trying not to bump into people as I'm looking in the trees.

incercand sa nu dau peste oameni in timp ce ma uitam in copaci.

And they're here for a very short time,

Si am descoperit ca sunt aici pentru foarte putin timp,

October, November, December. That's it.

octombrie, noiembrie, decembrie. Atat.

And then they tail off, there's a few, but that's it.

Apoi isi iau zborul, mai raman cateva, dar atat.

October, November, December. That is not the northeast monsoon season.

Octombrie, noiembrie, decembrie. Si nu este sezonul musonului de nord-est.

That's not the southwest season.

Nu este sezonul musonului de sud-vest.

That's the inter-monsoon,

Este sezonul inter-musonic,

the time when the monsoon changes.

perioada in care musonul se schimba.

Now, what I said was, you get the southwest monsoon going one way,

Acum, ce am spus este ca musonul de sud-vest merge intr-o directie,

and then it changes and you get the northeast monsoon going the other way.

si apoi isi schimba directia si avem musonul de nord-est care merge in cealalta directie.

And that sort of gives the impression you've got one air mass

Si asta iti da impresia ca avem o masa de aer

going up and down, up and down. It doesn't work like that.

care circula in sus si in jos. Nu asa functioneaza.

What happens, actually, is there is two air masses.

Ce se intampla, in realitate, este ca exista doua mase de aer.

And there is a front between them, and the front moves.

Si exista un front intre ele, iar frontul se misca.

So, if you've got India here,

Asa ca daca avem India aici,

when the front is up above India you're into the southwest monsoon.

cand frontul este deasupra Indiei suntem in sezonul musonului de sud-vest.

Then the front moves into the northeast monsoon.

Apoi frontul se misca in musonul de nord-est.

And that front in the middle is not vertical,

Iar frontul din mijloc nu este vertical,

it's at an angle.

ci sub un unghi.

So, as it comes over towards Malé

Asa ca atunci cand ajunge inspre Male

I'm standing in Malé underneath the front.

stau in Male sub front.

I can be in the southwest monsoon.

Pot fi in musonul de sud-vest.

But the wind above is from the northeast monsoon.

Dar vantul de deasupra este din musonul de nord-est.

So, the dragonflies are actually coming from India on the northeast monsoon,

Deci libelulele vin de fapt din India cu musonul de nord-est.

but at an altitude at 1,000 to 2,000 meters up in the air. Incredible.

Dar la o altitudine de 1,000 - 2,000 de metri in aer. Incredibil.

These little insects, it's the same ones we see out here [in India],

Aceste micute insecte, aceleasi pe care le vedem aici [in India],

two inches long, five centimeters long,

de 2 inchi lungime, 5 centimetri,

flying in their millions, 400 miles across the ocean,

zburand cu milioanele, 400 de mile deasupra oceanului,

at 2,000 meters up. Quite incredible.

la 2,000 de metri altitudine. Incredibil.

So, I was quite pleased with myself. I thought wow, I've tracked this one,

Asa ca am fost foarte multumit de mine insumi. M-am gandit, wow, i-am dat de capat,

I know how they come here. Then I scratched my head a bit,

stiu cum vin aici. Apoi m-am scarpinat in cap putin,

and that's okay,

si e in regula,

I know how they come here, but why do they come here?

stiu cum vin aici, dar de ce vin aici?

What are millions of dragonflies doing, flying out over the ocean every year

Ce cauta milioane de libelule, care zboara pe deasupra oceanului in fiecare an

to their apparent doom?

catre ceea ce pare sfarsitul lor?

It doesn't make sense. There is nothing for them in Maldives.

Nu are logica. Nu e nimic pentru ele in Maldive.

What on Earth are they doing?

Ce cauta?

Well, to cut a long story short,

Ei bine, pentru a scurta povestea,

they're actually flying right across the ocean.

ele zboara exact deasupra oceanului.

They're making it all the way across to East Africa.

Zboara pana in Africa de Est.

I know that because I have friends who work on fisheries' research vessels

Stiu acest lucru pentru ca am prieteni care lucreaza pe vase de cercetare a vietii marine

who have sent to me reports from boats out in the ocean.

care mi-au trimis rapoarte din vapoare aflate in mijlocul oceanului.

I know because we have reports from Seychelles,

Stiu pentru ca am rapoarte din Seychelles,

which fit in as well, down here.

ceea ce se potriveste la fel de bine, aici jos.

And I know because

Si stiu pentru ca

when you look at the rainfall,

atunci cand te uiti la ploi,

these particular insects, these Globe Skimmers

aceste inecte, aceste Globe Skimmers

breed in temporary rain water pools.

se inmultesc in balti temporare produse de ploaie.

Okay, they lay their eggs where the seasonal rains are,

OK, isi depun ouale unde sunt ploile sezoniere,

the monsoon rains.

ploile musonice.

The larvae have to develop very quickly.

Larvele trebuie sa se dezvolte foarte rapid.

They only take six weeks. Instead of 11 months, they're six weeks.

Le ia doar 6 saptamani. In loc de 11 luni le ajung 6 saptamani,

They're up, and they're off.

se maturizeaza si isi iau zborul.

Now, here we have, in case you can't read at the back,

Acum, aici avem, in caz ca nu puteti citi din ultimul rand al salii,

the top is rainfall for India.

valoarea maxima este ploaia din India.

And we're starting in June. So this is the monsoon rain.

Si incepem in iunie. Deci aceasta este ploaia musonica.

By September, October, it's drying out.

Pana in septembrie - octombrie se usuca.

Nothing for these dragonflies. There is no more seasonal rain.

Nimic pentru aceste libelule. Nu mai e ploaie sezoniera.

They've got to go hunting for seasonal rain.

Trebuie sa se duca la vanatoare de ploaie sezoniera.

And they fly south. As the monsoon withdraws to the south

Si zboara in sud. Pe masura ce musonul se retrage spre sud

they come down through Karnataka, into Kerala.

ele coboara prin Karnataka, in Kerala.

And then they run out of land.

Si apoi se termina continentul.

But they are incredibly good fliers. This particular species,

Dar ele sunt zburatoare incredibil de bune. Aceasta specie

it can fly for thousands of kilometers.

poate zbura mii de kilometri.

And it just keeps going. And the wind, the northeast wind

Si continua sa zboare. Iar vantul de nord-est

swooshes it around and carries it off across the ocean to Africa,

le poarta peste ocean in Africa,

where it's raining.

unde ploua.

And they are breeding in the rains of Africa.

Si se inmultesc in ploile din Africa.

Now, this is southeast Africa. It makes it look like there are sort of

Aceasta este Africa de sud-est. Se pare ca sunt

two breeding periods here. It's slightly more complicated than that.

doua perioade de inmultire aici. Este putin mai complicat decat atat.

What's happening is they are breeding in the monsoon rains here.

Ce se intampla este ca se inmultesc in ploile musonice de aici.

And the dragonflies you can see today

Iar libelulele pe care le vedeti azi

outside here, on the campus,

aici afara, in campus,

are the young of this generation.

sunt generatia tanara.

They hatched out in India.

Au eclozat in India.

They're looking for somewhere to breed. If it rains here they'll breed.

Cauta un loc unde sa se inmulteasca. Daca ploua aici se vor inmulti.

But most of them are going to carry on. And next stop,

Dar multe dintre ele isi vor continua drumul. Iar urmatoarea oprire,

perhaps only four or five days away is going to be East Africa.

poate peste numai 4 sau 5 zile va fi Africa de Est.

The wind will swoosh them out across here.

Vantul le va purta aici.

If they pass the Maldives they might go and have a look,

Daca trec de Maldive se pot opri sa arunce o privire,

nothing there, they'll carry on.

nimic aici, vor continua drumul.

Here, here, Kenya, East Africa,

Aici, aici, Kenya, Africa de Est

they've actually just come out of a long drought.

tocmai au iesit dintr-o seceta lunga.

Just last week the rains broke. The short rains broke

Saptamana trecuta ploile deja au rabufnit. Ploile scurte au inceput

and it's raining there now.

si acum ploua acolo.

And the dragonflies are there. I have reports from my various contacts.

Iar libelulele sunt acolo. Am informatii de la diferitele mele contacte.

The dragonflies are here now. They're breeding there.

Libelulele sunt aici acum. Se inmultesc acolo.

When those guys, they'll lay their eggs now.

Isi vor depune ouale acum.

They'll hatch out in six weeks. By that time

Vor ecloza in 6 saptamani. Pana la acea data

the seasonal rains have moved on. It's not there, it's down here.

ploile sezoniere se vor deplasa. Nu mai sunt acolo, sunt aici.

They'll fly down here. And the clever thing is

Vor zbura aici. Iar lucrul inteligent este

the wind is always converging to where the rain is.

ca vantul bate intotdeauna inspre locul unde ploua.

The rain occurs, these are summer rains.

Ploaia apare, acestea sunt ploi de vara.

This is a summer monsoon.

Acesta este un muson de vara.

The sun is overhead there. Summer rains in southern Africa.

Soarele este aici. Ploi de vara in Africa de Sud.

The sun is overhead, maximum heating,

Soarele este aici, caldura maxima,

maximum evaporation, maximum clouds,

evaporare maxima, nori maximi,

maximum rainfall,

ploaia maxima,

maximum opportunities for reproduction.

oportunitati maxime de reproducere.

Not only that, because you have this convection,

Nu doar asta, dar datorita acestei miscari de aer,

you have this rising of the air

avem aceasta miscare de ridicare a aerului

where it's hot, air is drawn in.

unde este cald, iar aerul rece este atras dedesubt.

There's a convergence. So, wherever the rain is falling,

Este o convergenta. Asadar, de fiecare data cand ploua

the air is drawn towards it to replace the air that's rising.

aerul este atras inspre acea zona pentru a inlocui aerul care se ridica.

So, the little fellow that hatches out here,

Deci micutul care eclozeaza aici,

he gets up into the air, he is automatically carried

se ridica in aer si este automat dus de vant

to where the rain is falling.

in zonele unde ploua.

Lay their eggs, next generation, they come up,

Isi depun ouala, iar urmatoarea generatie, cum apare,

automatically carried to where the rain is falling.

este automat dusa de vant in zonele unde ploua.

It's now back there. They come out, it's time to come back.

Acum este aici. Ies din oua, este timpul sa se intoarca.

So, in four generations, one, two, three,

Deci, in patru generatii, unu, doi, trei,

four and then back.

patru si apoi inapoi.

A complete circuit of the Indian Ocean.

Un circuit complet al Oceanului Indian.

This is a circuit of about 16,000 kilometers.

Este un circuit de aproape 16,000 de kilometri.

16,000 kilometers, four generations, mind you,

16,000 kilometri, 4 generatii,

for a two inch long insect. It's quite incredible.

pentru o insecta de 5 cm. Este incredibil.

Those of you from North America

Aceia dintre voi care sunteti din America de Nord

will be familiar with the Monarch butterfly.

sunteti familiari cu fluturele Monarh.

Which, up until now has had the longest known insect migration.

Care, pana acum, a fost insecta cu cea mai lunga migratie.

It's only half the length of this one.

Dar este doar jumatate din lungimea calatoriei libelulei.

And this crossing here, of the ocean,

Iar aceasta traversare a oceanului

is the only truly regular transoceanic crossing

este singura traversare adevarata a oceanului

of any insect.

din partea unei insecte.

A quite incredible feat.

O fapta incredibila.

And I only stumbled on this because I was living in Malé,

Si m-am lovit de acest lucru doar pentru ca locuiam in Male,

in Maldives for long enough

Maldive, pentru o perioada suficient de lunga

for it to percolate into my brain

pentru a-mi trece prin minte

that something rather special was going on.

ca ceva special se intampla.

But dragonflies are not the only creatures that make the crossing.

Dar libelulele nu sunt singulele creaturi care fac aceasta calatorie.

There is more to the story.

Povestea continua.

I'm also interested in birds. And I'm familiar

Sunt de asemenea interesat de pasari. Si sunt familiarizat

with this fellow. This is a rather special bird.

cu aceasta pasare. Este o pasare speciala.

It's a falcon. It's called the eastern red-footed falcon, obviously.

Este un vultur. Este numit vulturul estic cu picioare rosii, evident.

But it's also called the Amur Falcon.

Dar este numit si vulturul Amur.

And it's called the Amur Falcon

Si poarta acest nume pentru ca

because it breeds in Amurland.

se inmulteste in regiunea Amur.

Which is an area along the Amur River, which is up here.

Aceasta este o zona de-a lungul raului Amur, care se afla aici.

It's the border, much of it is the border

Cea mai mare partea a lui este granita

between China and Russia, up here in the far east.

dintre China si Rusia, aici sus, in estul indepartat.

So, Siberia, Manchuria.

Asadar, Siberia, Manciuria.

And that's where it breeds.

Si aici se inmulteste.

And if you're a falcon it's quite a nice place to be in the summer.

Si daca esti vultur, este un loc frumos unde sa fii pe durata verii.

But it's a pretty miserable place to be in the winter.

Dar este un loc mizerabil in care te poti afla pe durata iernii.

It's, well, you can imagine.

Va dati seama cum este.

So, as any sensible bird would do,

Deci, asa cum ar face orice pasare inteligenta,

he moves south. They move south. The whole population moves south.

migreaza spre sud. Se muta in sud. Intreaga populatie se muta in sud.

But then the being sensible stopped.

Dar apoi inteligenta lor inceteaza.

So, now they don't stop here, or even down here.

As ca acum nu se mai opresc aici, nici macar aici.

No, they turn across here.

Nu, traverseaza aici.

They have a little refueling stop in northeastern India.

Opresc pentru o scurta realimentare in nord-estul Indiei.

They come to the latitude of about Mumbai or Goa.

Ajung la latitudinea oraselor Mumbai sau Goa.

And then they strike out across the ocean, down to Kenya.

Apoi pornesc deasupra oceanului, pana in Kenya.

And down here, and they winter down here [in southern Africa].

Si aici, apoi petrec iarna aici jos [in Africa de sud].

Incredible. This is the most extraordinary migration

Incredibil. Este cea mai senzationala migratie

of any bird of prey. A quite incredible migration.

a oricarei pasari de prada. O migratie incredibila.

And they are not the only one that makes the crossing.

Si nu sunt singurii care fac aceasta calatorie.

They have the most incredible journey, but several make the crossing from India

Au cea mai incredibila calatorie, dar sunt altii care fac traversarea din India

to Africa. Includes this one, the hobby.

catre Africa. Inclusiv acesta, Hobby.

This fellow is a very nice bird, this is the Pied cuckoo.

Aceasta este o pasare draguta, acesta este cucul Pied.

Those of you from northern India will be familiar with this.

Aceia dintre voi din India de nord il cunosc.

It comes with the monsoons.

Vine odata cu musonul.

This time of year they cross back to Africa.

In aceasta perioada a anului se intorc in Africa.

And this guy, the roller, a rather beautiful bird.

Iar acest tip, numit Roller, este o pasare foarte frumoasa.

It's known as the Eurasian Roller. In India it occurs in the northwest,

Este cunoscut drept Roller Eurasian. In India se gaseste in nord-vest,

so it's known as the Kashmir Roller.

asa ca este cunoscut drept Kashmir Roller.

And these birds, what I've done is I've complied all the records,

Iar ce am facut cu privire la aceste pasari a fost sa compilez toate rapoartele

all the available records of these birds,

toate rapoartele existente despre aceste pasari,

put them together, and found out they migrate at exactly the same time

sa le pun cap la cap si am descoperit ca migreaza in aceeasi perioada

as the dragonflies.

cu libelulele.

They make use of exactly the same winds.

Folosesc exact aceleasi vanturi.

They travel at exactly the same time with the same winds

Calatoresc in exact aceeasi perioada si cu aceleasi vanturi

to make the crossing. I know they travel at the same altitude.

pentru a traversa oceanul. Stiu ca zboara la aceeasi altitudine.

It's known about the Amur Falcon. This guy, unfortunately,

Se stie despre vulturul Amur. Acest tip, din pacate,

one of these met an unfortunate end.

unul dintre acestia a avut un sfarsit nefericit.

He was flying off the coast of Goa,

Zbura langa coasta din Goa,

21 years ago, 1988. October, 1988.

acum 21 de ani, 1988, octombrie 1988.

An Indian Navy jet was flying off Goa,

Un avion al marinei indiene zbura din Goa,

bang! In the middle of the night. Fortunately, a two engine jet

bang, in miezul noptii, din fericire avionul cu doua motoare

got back to base, and they pulled the remains of one of these [Eurasian Rollers] out.

a reusit sa se intoarca la baza si au scos din el ramasitele acestui Eurasian Roller.

Flying at night over the Indian Ocean 2,424 meters.

Zbura noaptea peste oceanul Indian la 2,424 metri.

Same height as the dragonflies go.

Aceeasi altitudine ca si libelulele.

So, they are using the same winds.

Deci folosesc aceleasi vanturi.

And the other thing, the other important factor

Si celalalt lucru, celalalt factor important

for all these birds, all medium sized fellows,

pentru toate aceste pasari este ca toate au marime medie,

and this includes the next slide as well, which is a bee-eater.

si asta include si urmatorul slide, care este un mancator de albine (Bee-eater).

Bee-eaters eat bees. This one has a nice blue cheek.

Aceste pasari mananca albine. Aceasta are un frumos obraz albastru.

It's a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

Este un mancator de albine cu obraz albastru.

And every one of these birds that makes the crossing

Si fiecare dintre aceste pasari care traverseaza

from India to East Africa

din India catre Africa de Est

eats insects, large insects,

mananca insecte, insecte mari,

the size of dragonflies. Thank you very much.

de marimea libelulelor. Multumesc.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)