Sloths! The strange life of the world's slowest mammal | Lucy Cooke

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

Hello.

Zdravo.

Well, I'm here to talk to you about my animal muse:

Ovde sam da bih vam govorila o mojoj životinjskoj muzi:

the sloth.

lenjivcu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I've been documenting the strange lives of the world's slowest mammal

Beležim čudesne živote najsporijeg sisara na svetu

for the last 10 years.

poslednjih 10 godina.

I still remember the first time I saw one.

Još uvek se sećam kad sam ga prvi put ugledala.

I was fascinated by their freaky biology.

Bila sam fascinirana njihovom uvrnutom biologijom.

I mean, what's not to love about an animal that's born

Mislim, kako da ne volite životinju koja je rođena

with a fixed grin on its face?

sa osmehom na licu?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And the need to hug.

I potrebom da grli.

Audience: Awww.

Publika: Aaaa.

But sloths are massively misunderstood.

Međutim, lenjivci su krajnje neshvaćeni.

They've been saddled with a name that speaks of sin

Opterećeni su imenom koje govori o grehu

and damned for their languorous lifestyle,

i proklinjani zbog njihovog tromog stila života,

which people seem to think has no place amongst the fittest

za koji, kako se čini, ljudi smatraju da nema mesta među najpodobnijim

in the fast-paced race for survival.

u žustroj trci za opstanak.

Well, I'm here to tell you that we've got this animal all wrong --

Pa, ovde sam da vam kažem da smo skroz pogrešno shvatili ovu životinju -

and how understanding the truth about the sloth

i da nam razumevanje istine o lenjivcu

may help save us and this planet we both call home.

može da pomogne da spasimo sebe i ovu planetu koju nazivamo domom.

I traced sloth-based slander

Pratila sam klevetanje lenjivaca

back to a Spanish conquistador called Valdés,

skroz do španskog osvajača po imenu Valdes,

who gave the first description of a sloth in his encyclopedia of the New World.

koji je prvi dao opis lenjivca u svojoj enciklopediji o Novom svetu.

He said the sloth was

Rekao je da je lenjivac

"the stupidest animal that can be found in the world ...

„najgluplja životinja koja postoji na svetu...

I have never seen such an ugly animal or one that is more useless."

Nikad nisam video životinju koja je toliko ružna i beskorisna.”

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Tell us what you really think, Valdés.

Samo bez ustručavanja, Valdes.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I'd like to have a word about Valdés's drawing skills.

Želela bih da porazgovaram o Valdesovom umeću crtanja.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I mean, what is that?

Mislim, šta je to?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I've never seen an illustration of a sloth that's more useless.

Nikad nisam videla beskorisniju ilustraciju lenjivca.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But I mean, on the plus side,

Ali mislim, s pozitivne strane,

he has given the sloth a remarkably humanlike face,

podario je lenjivcu iznenađujuće ljudsko lice,

and sloths do have remarkably humanlike faces.

a lenjivci zaista imaju iznenađujuće ljudsko lice.

This sloth I photographed in Costa Rica, I think looks a lot like Ringo Starr.

Ovaj lenjivac koga sam fotografisala u Kostariki mislim da liči na Ringa Stara.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But then, sloths do bear an uncanny resemblance to the The Beatles.

Ali opet, lenjivci imaju neobičnu sličnost s Bitlsima.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Particularly pleased with Paul, actually, on there.

Naročito sam, pak, zadovoljna Polom tamo gore.

But like The Beatles, sloths are also extremely successful.

Međutim, poput Bitlsa, i lenjivci su izuzetno uspešni.

They come from an ancient line of mammals, and there were once dozens of species

Potiču iz drevne loze sisara i nekada ih je bilo na desetine vrsta,

including the giant ground sloth, which was the size of a small elephant

uključujući džinovskog zemaljskog lenjivca veličine omanjeg slona,

and one of the only animals big enough to eat avocado pits whole

jedne od retkih životinja dovoljno velikih da pojedu koštice avokada

and disperse them.

i da ih rasprše.

So ... (Laughter)

Dakle... (Smeh)

Some of you have worked it out already.

Neki od vas su već ukapirali.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

That means that without sloths,

Znači da bez lenjivaca

there might be no avocado on toast today,

danas ne biste imali avokado na tostu,

leaving hipsters everywhere totally bereft at breakfast.

ostavljajući hipstere svuda skroz ucveljene za vreme doručka.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Today, there are six surviving species, and they fall into two groups.

Danas imamo šest preživelih vrsta i one su razvrstane u dve grupe.

You've got your Bradypus three-toed sloths,

Imate bradipus lenjivce sa tri prsta,

they're the ones with the Beatles haircuts and the Mona Lisa smiles.

to su oni sa frizurama kao Bitlsi i osmesima Mona Lize.

Then, there are the two-toed sloths.

Potom imamo lenjivce sa dva prsta.

They look a little bit more like a cross between a Wookiee and a pig.

Oni više liče na mešanca Vukija i svinje.

They live in the jungles of Central and South America,

Žive u džunglama Centralne i Južne Amerike

and they're extremely prolific.

i izuzetno su brojni.

There was a survey that was done in the 1970s

Tokom 1970-ih je urađeno ispitivanje

in a Panamanian tropical forest

u kišnoj šumi Paname

that found that sloths were the most numerically abundant large animal.

koje je otkrilo da su lenjivci najbrojnija velika životinja.

They took up one quarter of the mammalian biomass.

Zauzimali su četvrtinu biomase sisara.

Now, that's an awful lot of sloths

Sad, to je užasno mnogo lenjivaca

and suggests they're doing something very right indeed.

i to nam nagoveštava da lenjivci uistinu rade nešto ispravno.

So what if, rather than deriding the sloth for being different,

Dakle, šta ako bismo, umesto što im se rugamo jer su različiti,

we tried to learn from it instead?

pokušali da učimo od njih?

We humans are obsessed with speed.

Mi ljudi smo opsednuti brzinom.

Busyness is a badge of honor,

Zauzetost je orden časti,

and convenience trumps quality in our quest for quick.

a pogodnost pobeđuje kvalitet u našem pohodu na hitrost.

Our addiction to the express life is choking us and the planet.

Naša zavisnost od instant života guši i nas i planetu.

We idolize animals like the cheetah, the "Ferrari of the animal kingdom,"

Idealizujemo životinje poput geparda, „ferarija u životinjskom carstvu”,

capable of doing naught to 60 in three seconds flat.

koji je u stanju da dosegne 96 km/h za ravno tri sekunde.

Well, so what?

Pa šta s tim?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So what?

Pa šta?

The sloth, on the other hand,

Lenjivac, s druge strane,

can reach a leisurely 17 feet a minute

može nonšalantno da pređe 5 metara za minut

with the wind behind it.

s vetrom u leđa.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But being fast is costly.

Međutim, brzina je skupa.

The cheetah is speedy, but at the expense of strength.

Gepard je brz, ali na račun snage.

They can't risk getting in a fight,

Ne mogu da rizikuju sukobljavanje,

so they lose one in nine kills to tougher predators like hyenas.

te izgube jedan plen od devet od jačih grabljivica poput hijena.

No wonder they're laughing.

Nije ni čudo što se smeju.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The sloth, on the other hand,

Lenjivac, s druge strane,

has taken a more stealthy approach to dinner.

ima diskretniji pristup večeri.

They survive by capturing and consuming

Preživljavaju loveći i konzumirajući

static leaves.

statično lišće.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But you see, leaves don't want to be eaten any more than antelope do,

Međutim, vidite, lišće ne želi da ga jedu ništa više od antilope,

so they're loaded full of toxins and very hard to digest.

te je ispunjeno otrovima i veoma ga je teško svariti.

So in order to consume them,

Pa, kako bi ga konzumirali,

the sloth has also had to become an athlete --

lenjivci takođe moraju da postanu atlete -

a digesting athlete.

atlete u varenju hrane.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The sloth's secret weapon is a four-chambered stomach

Tajno oružje lenjivca je želudac sa četiri komore

and plenty of time.

i obilje vremena.

They have the slowest digestion rate of any mammal.

Imaju najsporiju stopu varenja hrane od svih sisara.

And it can take up to a month to process a single leaf,

A može da potraje i čitav mesec dok svare jedan jedini list,

which gives their liver plenty of time to process those toxins.

što obezbeđuje njihovoj jetri obilje vremena da preradi otrove.

So, sloths aren't lazy.

Dakle, lenjivci nisu lenji.

No, they're busy.

Ne, oni su zauzeti.

Digesting.

Varenjem hrane.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Yeah, really busy.

Da, istinski zauzeti.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Hard at work, that sloth, very hard at work.

Taj lenjivac vredno radi, veoma vredno radi.

And of course, leaves have little calorific value,

I naravno, lišće ima nisku kalorijsku vrednost,

so sloths have evolved to spend as little energy as possible.

pa su lenjivci evoluirali da troše što je moguće manje energije.

They do about 10 percent of the work of a similar-sized mammal

Obavljaju oko 10 procenata posla sisara slične veličine

and survive on as little as 100 calories a day,

i preživljavaju na svega sto kalorija dnevno,

thanks to some ingenious adaptations.

zahvaljujući nekim ingenioznim adaptacijama.

The Bradypus, three-toed sloths,

Bradipus, lenjivci s tri prsta,

they've got more neck bones than any other mammal,

imaju više vratnih kostiju od bilo kog drugog sisara,

even a giraffe.

čak i žirafe.

Which means they can turn their head through 270 degrees

Što znači da mogu da okrenu glavu za 270 stepeni

and graze all around them,

i da brste svuda oko sebe,

without having to actually bother with the effort of moving their body.

a da zapravo ne moraju da se muče i pokreću svoje telo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It also means that they are surprisingly good swimmers.

To takođe znači i da su iznenađujuće dobri plivači.

Sloths can bob along in water

Lenjivci mogu da plove vodom

three times faster than they can move on land,

tri puta brže nego što mogu da se kreću na kopnu,

kept afloat by ...

a plutaju zahvaljujući...

trapped wind.

zarobljenim gasovima.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So --

Dakle -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

sloths are the only mammal that we know of that don't do flatulence.

lenjivci su jedini poznati sisar koji se ne nadima.

When they need to expel gas,

Kada moraju da izbace gas,

it's actually reabsorbed into their bloodstream

njega zapravo apsorbuje njihov krvotok

and expelled orally as a sort of mouth fart.

i izbacuje se na usta poput nekakvog usnog prdeža.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Turning their lives upside down saves further energy.

Izokretanje života naglavačke takođe štedi dodatnu energiju.

They have about half the skeletal muscle of a terrestrial mammal.

Imaju otprilike polovinu skeletne muskulature suvozemnog sisara.

They don't really have so many of the extensor muscles

Nemaju zaista mnogo ekstenzornih mišića,

that are the weight-bearing muscles;

a to su mišići za nošenje tereta;

instead, they rely on retractor muscles to pull themselves along.

umesto toga, oslanjaju se na retraktorne mišiće kojima se penju.

They have long, hooked claws and a high fatigue resistance,

Imaju duge, zakrivljene kandže i visoku otpornost na oštećenja,

so they can literally hook on and hang like a happy, hairy hammock

pa mogu da se bukvalno zakače i vise, poput srećnih, dlakavih ljuljaški

for hours on end.

satima bez prekida.

And sloths can do almost anything in this inverted position.

A lenjivci mogu da rade skoro sve u tom izvrnutom položaju.

They sleep, eat and even give birth.

Spavaju, jedu, pa čak mogu tako i da se porode.

Their throat and blood vessels are uniquely adapted

Njihova grla i krvni sudovi su se naročito adaptirali

to pump blood and to swallow food against the force of gravity.

da pumpaju krv i gutaju hranu nasuprot sili gravitacije.

They have sticky bits on their ribs

Imaju lepljive delove na rebrima

that prevent their enormous stomach from crushing their lungs.

koji sprečavaju njihove ogromne želuce da im smrskaju pluća.

And their fur grows the opposite direction,

A njihovo krzno raste u suprotnom smeru,

so they can drip dry after a tropical drenching.

pa mogu da se ocede nakon tropskog kvašenja.

The only problem is, if you turn a sloth the other way up,

Jedini problem je što, ako izvrnete lenjivca,

gravity removes its dignity.

gravitacija mu oduzme dostojanstvo.

Audience: Awww.

Publika: Aaaa.

They can't hold themselves upright.

Ne mogu da se drže uspravno.

And so they drag their bodies along as if mountaineering on a flat surface.

Pa vuku svoja tela kao da planinare po ravnoj površini.

And I think this is why the early explorers like Valdés

Mislim da je to razlog zašto su rani istraživači poput Valdesa

thought so poorly of them,

imali loše mišljenje o njima,

because they were observing sloths the wrong way up and out of context.

jer su posmatrali lenjivce u pogrešnom položaju i van konteksta.

I've spent many happy hours mesmerized by moving sloths.

Provela sam mnoge bezbrižne sate opčinjena lenjivcima u pokretu.

Their lack of muscle hasn't impeded their strength or agility.

Nedostatak mišića nije smetnja njihovoj snazi niti okretnosti.

Nature's zen masters of mellow move like "Swan Lake" in slow mo --

Prirodni zen majstori ležernosti se kreću poput usporenog „Labudovog jezera” -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

with the core control of a tai chi master.

sa kontrolom težišta dostojnom majstora taj čia.

This one has fallen asleep mid-move, which is not uncommon.

Ovaj je zaspao usred pokreta, što nije retkost.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But you're probably wondering:

Međutim, verovatno se pitate:

How does a dangling bag of digesting leaves avoid being eaten?

kako viseća vreća koja vari lišće izbegava da je pojedu?

Good question.

Dobro pitanje.

Well, this is one of the sloth's main predators.

Ovo je jedna od glavnih lenjivčevih grabljivica.

It's the harpy eagle.

Radi se o orlu harpiji.

It can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour,

Može da leti brzinom od 80 km/h,

has talons the size of a grizzly bear's,

ima kandže veličine onih kod medveda grizli,

razor-sharp eyesight,

oštar vid,

and that ring of feathers focuses sound

a taj prsten perja usmerava zvuk

so that it can hear the slightest leaf rustle.

kako bi mogao da čuje i najmanje šuškanje lišća.

The sloth, on the other hand, has poor hearing, bad eyesight,

Lenjivac, s druge strane, ima slab sluh, loš vid,

and running from danger is clearly not an option.

a bežanje od opasnosti očito nije mogućnost.

No, they survive by wearing an invisibility cloak

Ne, oni preživljavaju tako što nose plašt nevidljivosti

worthy of Harry Potter.

dostojan Harija Potera.

Their fur has grooves that attract moisture

Njihovo krzno ima žlebove koji privlače vlagu

and act as tiny hydroponic gardens for algae,

i deluju poput sićušnih hidroponskih bašti za alge,

and they also attract a host of invertebrates.

a one takođe privlače jata beskičmenjaka.

So they are their own slow-moving, miniature ecosystem.

Dakle, oni su sopstveni sporopokretni minijaturni ekosistemi.

They become one with the trees.

Postaju jedno s drvećem.

And we think that their movements are so slow,

I smatramo da su im poketi toliko spori

they slip under the radar of the monstrous harpy

da izmiču pažnji monstruozne harpije

as it's flying about the canopy, scanning for action.

dok preleće kupolama od drveća, skenirajući kretanje.

Sloths are stealth ninjas,

Lenjivci su tihe nindže

and they rarely leave the safety of the canopy --

i retko napuštaju bezbednost krošnji -

except to defecate,

osim kad se prazne,

which they do about once a week at the base of a tree.

a to rade jednom nedeljno pri dnu drveta.

Now, this risky and energetic behavior has long been a mystery,

Sad, ovo riskantno i energično ponašanje je dugo bilo misterija

and there are lots of theories as to why they do it.

i postoji mnogo teorija o tome zašto to rade.

But I think they're leaving surreptitious scented messages for potential mates.

Međutim, smatram da ostavljaju tajne mirišljave poruke potencijalim partnerima.

Because, you see, sloths are generally silent, solitary creatures,

Jer, vidite, lenjivci su uopšteno tiha, usamljena bića,

except for when the female is in heat.

osim kada je ženka u teranju.

She will climb to the top of a tree and scream for sex.

Ona se penje na vrh drveta i vrišti da želi seks.

In D-sharp.

U De-duru.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Don't believe me?

Ne verujete mi?

(Sound of sloth scream)

(Zvuk vriska lenjivca)

D-sharp.

De-dur.

This and only this note will get the male's attention.

Ova i samo ova nota privlači pažnju mužjaka.

It mimics the sound of the kiskadee flycatcher.

Ženka oponaša zvuk ptice velike muholovke.

So the female remains covert,

Te tako ostaje prikrivena,

even when yodeling for sex at the top of her lungs.

čak i kada iz sve snage vrišti za seksom.

Her clandestine booty calls will carry for miles across the canopy,

Njeni tajni pozivi na randevu se prenose kilometrima kroz krošnje,

and males will beat a slow path towards her.

a mužjaci će sporim tempom ići ka njoj.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I think scented messages in her dung will help send Romeo up the right tree

Mislim da mirišljava poruka u izmetu ženke pomaže Romeu da se popenje na pravo drvo,

so that he doesn't waste precious energy scaling the wrong one.

kako ne bi trošio dragocenu energiju penjući se na pogrešno.

Sex, by the way, is the only thing that sloths do swiftly.

Seks je, usput, jedina stvar koju lenjivci obavljaju na brzaka.

I've seen them do it in the wild,

Videla sam kako to rade u divljini

and it's over and done with in a matter of seconds.

i sve se okonča u roku od nekoliko sekundi.

But then, why waste precious energy on it,

Međutim, opet, zašto traćiti dragocenu energiju na to,

particularly after that journey?

naročito nakon tolikog putovanja?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Unlike other mammals,

Nasuprot drugim sisarima,

sloths don't also waste time maintaining a constant warm body temperature.

lenjivci ne traće vreme održavajući stalno toplu telesnu temperaturu.

Energy from the sun is free,

Sunčeva energija je besplatna,

so they bask in the sun like lizards

pa leškare na suncu poput guštera

and wear an unusually thick coat for the tropics to keep that heat in.

i nose neobično gusto krzno za tropske predele kako bi zadržavali toplotu.

Sloths have a freakishly low metabolism.

Lenjivci imaju čudnovato spor metabolizam.

And we think that this might be one of the reasons

I smatramo da bi to mogao da bude jedan od razloga

that they can sometimes recover from injuries

zašto se ponekad oporavljaju od povreda

that would kill most animals.

koje bi ubile mnoge životinje.

This sloth recovered from a double amputation,

Ovaj lenjivac se oporavio od dvostruke amputacije,

and I've known sloths that have managed to survive

a znam lenjivce koji su uspevali da prežive

even power line electrocutions.

čak i udare struje sa dalekovoda.

And we now think that a low metabolism may well be key to surviving extinction.

I trenutno smatramo da bi spor metabolizam mogao da bude ključ za opstanak.

Researchers at Kansas University who were studying mollusks

Istraživači sa Univerziteta Kanzas koji su izučavali mekušce

found that a high metabolism predicted which species of mollusk

otkrili su da je brz metabolizam pokazatelj koja će vrsta mekušca

had gone extinct.

izumreti.

Sloths have been around on this planet in one shape or another

Lenjivci postoje na planeti u ovom ili onom obliku

for over 40 million years.

preko 40 miliona godina.

The secret to their success is their slothful nature.

Tajna njihovog uspeha je njihova lenja priroda.

They are energy-saving icons.

Oni su ikone energetske uštede.

And I founded the Sloth Appreciation Society

A ja sam osnovala Društvo poštovalaca lenjivaca

to both promote and protect their slow, steady, sustainable lives.

kako bih promovisala i zaštitila njihove spore, odmerene, održive živote.

I'm a pretty speedy character.

Ja sam žustra osoba.

I'm sure you've guessed.

Verovatno ste to pretpostavili.

And the sloths have taught me a lot about slowing down.

A lenjivci su me poprilično podučili usporavanju.

And I think that the planet would benefit

I smatram da bi planeta imala koristi

if we all took a slowly digested leaf out of their book.

kada bismo istrgli sporo svarljiv list iz njihove knjige.

How about we all embrace our inner sloth

Zašto ne bismo svi prigrlili lenjivca u sebi

by slowing down,

usporavajući,

being more mindful,

postajući obazriviji,

reducing wasteful convenience,

umanjujući traćenje radi ugodnosti,

being economical with our energy,

postupajući ekonomičnije s našom energijom,

recycling creatively

kreativno reciklirajući

and reconnecting with nature.

i povezujući se sa prirodom.

Otherwise, I fear,

U suprotnom se plašim

it will be us humans that turn out to be

da će se ispostaviti da smo mi ljudi

"the stupidest animals that can be found in the world."

„najgluplja životinja koja postoji na svetu.”

Thank you very much.

Mnogo vam hvala.

May the sloth be with you!

Neka lenjivac bude s vama!

(Applause)

(Aplauz)