Kees Moeliker: How a dead duck changed my life

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Radica Stojanović Lektor: Ivana Korom

This is the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam,

Ovo je Prirodnjački muzej u Roterdamu,

where I work as a curator.

gde radim kao kustos.

It's my job to make sure the collection stays okay,

Moj posao je da obezbedim da kolekcija bude u redu,

and that it grows,

da se uvećava,

and basically it means I collect dead animals.

a to bukvalno znači da sakupljam mrtve životinje.

Back in 1995,

1995. godine,

we got a new wing next to the museum.

dobili smo novo krilo muzeja.

It was made of glass,

Napravljeno je od stakla,

and this building really helped me to do my job good.

i ta zgrada mi je značajno olakšala posao.

The building was a true bird-killer.

Zgrada je bila pravi ubica ptica.

You may know that birds don't understand

Možda vam je poznato da ptice ne razumeju

the concept of glass. They don't see it,

koncept stakla. Ne vide ga,

so they fly into the windows and get killed.

tako da naleću na prozore i umiru.

The only thing I had to do was go out,

Jedina stvar koju bi trebalo da uradim jeste da izađem,

pick them up, and have them stuffed for the collection.

pokupim ih i dam na prepariranje za kolekciju.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And in those days,

I u tim danima,

I developed an ear to identify birds

razvio sam sluh da prepoznam ptice

just by the sound of the bangs they made against the glass.

samo po zvuku udara koji se čuje kada nalete na staklo.

And it was on June 5, 1995,

I 5. juna 1995.,

that I heard a loud bang against the glass

sam čuo jak udar u staklo

that changed my life and ended that of a duck.

koji mi je promenio život, a okončao život jedne patke.

And this is what I saw when I looked out of the window.

I evo šta sam video kada sam pogledao kroz prozor.

This is the dead duck. It flew against the window.

Ovo je mrtva patka. Naletela je na prozor.

It's laying dead on its belly.

Leži mrtva na stomaku.

But next to the dead duck is a live duck,

Ali pokraj mrtve patke je živa patka

and please pay attention.

i molim vas obratite pažnju.

Both are of the male sex.

Obe su muškog pola.

And then this happened.

I onda se desilo ovo.

The live duck mounted the dead duck,

Živa patka se popela na mrtvu patku

and started to copulate.

i započela kopulaciju.

Well, I'm a biologist. I'm an ornithologist.

Ja sam biolog. Ornitolog.

I said, "Something's wrong here."

Pomislio sam: "Ovde nešto nije u redu."

One is dead, one is alive. That must be necrophilia.

Jedna je mrtva, jedna je živa. Mora da je nekrofilija.

I look. Both are of the male sex.

Pogledao sam. Obe su muškog pola.

Homosexual necrophilia.

Homoseksulana nekrofilija.

So I -- (Laughter)

Tako sam - (Smeh)

I took my camera, I took my notebook,

uzeo svoju kameru, uzeo svesku,

took a chair, and started to observe this behavior.

stolicu i počeo da posmatram ovo ponašanje.

After 75 minutes — (Laughter) —

Posle 75 minuta - (Smeh) -

I had seen enough, and I got hungry,

video sam dovoljno i ogladneo

and I wanted to go home.

i poželeo da odem kući.

So I went out, collected the duck,

Tako sam otišao, pokupio patku

and before I put it in the freezer,

i pre nego što sam je stavio u zamrzivač,

I checked if the victim was indeed of the male sex.

proverio sam da li je žrtva zaista muškog pola.

And here's a rare picture of a duck's penis,

Ovo je retka slika pačijeg penisa,

so it was indeed of the male sex.

tako da je zaista bila muškog pola.

It's a rare picture because there are 10,000 species of birds

Retka je slika jer postoji 10 000 vrsta ptica

and only 300 possess a penis.

i samo 300 poseduje penis.

[The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves:Anatidae)]

[Prvi slučaj homoseksualne nekrofilije kod divlje patke Anas platyrhynchos (Aves:Anatiadae)]

I knew I'd seen something special,

Znao sam da sam video nešto posebno,

but it took me six years to decide to publish it.

ali trebalo mi je šest godina da odlučim da to objavim.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I mean, it's a nice topic for a birthday party

Mislim, to je zanimljiva tema za rođendansku žurku

or at the coffee machine,

ili za ispred automata za kafu,

but to share this among your peers is something different.

ali podeliti ovo sa vašim kolegama je nešto drugo.

I didn't have the framework.

Nisam imao okvir.

So after six years, my friends and colleagues urged me to publish,

Tako da sam nakon šest godina, pod pritiskom prijatelja i kolega,

so I published "The first case of homosexual necrophilia

objavio "Prvi slučaj homoseksualne nekrofilije

in the mallard."

kod divlje patke".

And here's the situation again.

I evo te situacije još jednom.

A is my office,

A je moja kancelarija,

B is the place where the duck hit the glass,

B je mesto gde je patka udarila o staklo

and C is from where I watched it.

i C je mesto odakle sam ja posmatrao.

And here are the ducks again.

I evo pataka ponovo.

As you probably know, in science,

Kao što verovatno znate, u nauci,

when you write a kind of special paper,

kada napišete neku posebnu vrstu rada,

only six or seven people read it.

svega šestoro ili sedmoro ljudi to i pročita.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But then something good happened.

Ali onda se desilo nešto dobro.

I got a phone call from a person called Marc Abrahams,

Zvao me je čovek po imenu Mark Abrahams,

and he told me, "You've won a prize with your duck paper:

i rekao mi: "Dobio si nagradu za svoj rad o patki,

the Ig Nobel Prize."

Ig Nobel nagradu."

And the Ig Nobel Prize —

A Ig Nobel nagrada -

(Laughter) (Applause) —

(Smeh) (Aplauz) -

the Ig Nobel Prize honors research

Ig Nobel nagrada se dodeljuje istraživačkim radovima

that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think,

koji prvo nateraju ljude na smeh, a potom ih nateraju da se zamisle,

with the ultimate goal to make more people

sa ciljem da navedu više ljudi

interested in science.

da se zainteresuje za nauku.

That's a good thing, so I accepted the prize.

To je dobra stvar, tako da sam prihvatio nagradu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I went -- let me remind you that Marc Abrahams

Otišao sam - da vas podsetim da me Mark Abrahams

didn't call me from Stockholm.

nije pozvao iz Stokholma.

He called me from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Zvao me je iz Kembridža, Masačusets.

So I traveled to Boston, to Cambridge,

Tako da sam otputovao u Boston, u Kembridž,

and I went to this wonderful Ig Nobel Prize ceremony

i otišao na ovu predivnu Ig Nobel ceremoniju

held at Harvard University, and this ceremony

koja se održavala na Harvard Univerzitetu

is a very nice experience.

i veoma je lepo iskustvo.

Real Nobel laureates hand you the prize.

Pravi laureati Nobelove nagrade vam dodeljuju nagradu.

That's the first thing.

To je prva stvar.

And there are nine other winners who get prizes.

I postoji još devet drugih dobitnika ove nagrade.

Here's one of my fellow winners. That's Charles Paxton

Ovo je moj kolega dobitnik, Čarls Pakston

who won the 2000 biology prize for his paper,

koji je 2000. dobio nagradu iz biologije za svoj rad,

"Courtship behavior of ostriches towards humans

"Udvaračko ponašanje nojeva prema ljudima

under farming conditions in Britain."

u poljoprivrednim uslovima u Britaniji".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And I think there are one or two more

I mislim da imamo jednog ili dvoje

Ig Nobel Prize winners in this room.

dobitnika Ig Nobel nagrade u ovoj prostoriji.

Dan, where are you? Dan Ariely?

Den, gde si? Den Arijeli?

Applause for Dan.

Aplauz za Dena.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Dan won his prize in medicine

Den je dobio nagradu iz medicine

for demonstrating that high-priced fake medicine

jer je dokazao da skuplje lažne tablete

works better than low-priced fake medicine.

deluju bolje od jeftinih.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So here's my one minute of fame,

I evo mog minuta slave,

my acceptance speech,

moj govor prilikom dodele nagrade

and here's the duck.

i evo je patka.

This is its first time on the U.S. West Coast.

Ovo joj je prvi put na zapadnoj američkoj obali.

I'm going to pass it around.

Dodaću je naokolo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Yeah?

Da?

You can pass it around.

Možete je proslediti naokolo.

Please note it's a museum specimen,

Molim vas obratite pažnju da je to muzejski primerak,

but there's no chance you'll get the avian flu.

ali nema šanse da dobijete ptičji grip.

After winning this prize, my life changed.

Nakon što sam dobio ovu nagradu, moj život se promenio.

In the first place, people started to send me

Na prvom mestu, ljudi su počeli da mi šalju

all kinds of duck-related things,

svakakve stvari povezane sa patkama,

and I got a real nice collection.

tako da sam napravio prilično lepu kolekciju.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

More importantly,

Važnije od toga,

people started to send me their observations

ljudi su počeli da mi šalju svoja zapažanja

of remarkable animal behavior,

zanimljivog životinjskog ponašanja

and believe me, if there's an animal misbehaving on this planet,

i verujte mi, ako se neka životinja čudno ponaša na ovoj planeti,

I know about it.

ja znam za to.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

This is a moose.

Ovo je los.

It's a moose trying to copulate

To je los koji pokušava kopulaciju

with a bronze statue of a bison.

sa bronzanom statuom bizona.

This is in Montana, 2008.

Ovo je Montana, 2008.

This is a frog that tries to copulate with a goldfish.

Ovo je žaba koja pokušava kopulaciju sa zlatnom ribicom.

This is the Netherlands, 2011.

Ovo je Holandija, 2011.

These are cane toads in Australia.

Ovo su žabe krastače u Australiji.

This is roadkill.

Ovo je leš na putu.

Please note that this is necrophilia.

Primetite da je ovo nekrofilija.

It's remarkable: the position.

Zanimljiv je položaj.

The missionary position is very rare in the animal kingdom.

Misionarska poza je veoma retka u životinjskom carstvu.

These are pigeons in Rotterdam.

Ovo su golubovi u Roterdamu.

Barn swallows in Hong Kong, 2004.

Laste u Hong Kongu, 2004.

This is a turkey in Wisconsin

Ovo je ćurka u Viskonsinu

on the premises of the Ethan Allen juvenile correctional institution.

u prostoru kazneno-popravnog zavoda za maloletnike, Etan Alen.

It took all day,

Trajalo je ceo dan

and the prisoners had a great time.

i zatvorenici su se dobro proveli.

So what does this mean?

Pa šta ovo znači?

I mean, the question I ask myself,

Pitanje koje sebi postavljam je,

why does this happen in nature?

zašto se ovo dešava u prirodi?

Well, what I concluded

Ono što sam zaključio

from reviewing all these cases

pregledavši sve ove slučajeve

is that it is important that this happens

jeste da je važno da do ovoga dolazi

only when death is instant

samo kada je smrt iznenadna,

and in a dramatic way

dramatična,

and in the right position for copulation.

i kada je poza odgovarajuća za kopulaciju.

At least, I thought it was till I got these slides.

Bar sam mislio tako dok nisam dobio ove slajdove.

And here you see a dead duck.

I ovde vidite mrtvu patku.

It's been there for three days,

Tu je tri dana

and it's laying on its back.

i leži na leđima.

So there goes my theory of necrophilia.

I tako ode moja teorija o nekrofiliji.

Another example of the impact

Sledeći primer uticaja

of glass buildings on the life of birds.

staklenih zgrada na život ptica.

This is Mad Max, a blackbird who lives in Rotterdam.

Ovo je Ludi Maks, crni kos koji živi u Roterdamu.

The only thing this bird did was fly against this window

Jedina stvar koju je ova ptica radila jeste da leti u prozor

from 2004 to 2008, day in and day out.

od 2004. do 2008., iz dana u dan.

Here he goes, and here's a short video.

Evo ga i evo kratkog videa.

(Music) (Clunk)

(Muzika) (Udarac)

(Clunk)

(Udarac)

(Clunk)

(Udarac)

(Clunk)

(Udarac)

So what this bird does

Ova ptica

is fight his own image.

se bori sa svojom slikom.

He sees an intruder in his territory,

On vidi uljeza na svojoj teritoriji

and it's coming all the time and he's there,

i dolazi sve vreme i uvek je tu,

so there is no end to it.

tako da tome nema kraja.

And I thought, in the beginning -- I studied this bird for a couple of years --

I mislio sam na početku - proučavao sam ovu pticu par godina -

that, well, shouldn't the brain of this bird be damaged?

zar ne bi trebalo da mozak ove ptice bude oštećen?

It's not. I show you here some slides,

Nije. Pokazaću vam ovde neke slajdove,

some frames from the video,

isečke ovog videa,

and at the last moment before he hits the glass,

u poslednjem trenutku pre nego što udari u staklo,

he puts his feet in front,

on postavi noge ispred

and then he bangs against the glass.

i tek onda udari o staklo.

So I'll conclude to invite you all to Dead Duck Day.

Zaključiću tako što ću vas sve pozvati na Dan mrtve patke.

That's on June 5 every year.

To je 5. juna svake godine.

At five minutes to six in the afternoon,

U pet do šest popodne,

we come together at the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam,

okupimo se u Prirodnjačkom muzeju u Roterdamu,

the duck comes out of the museum,

patka izađe iz muzeja

and we try to discuss new ways

i pokušavamo da dođemo do novih načina

to prevent birds from colliding with windows.

da sprečimo sudaranje ptica sa prozorima.

And as you know, or as you may not know,

I kao što znate ili možda ne znate,

this is one of the major causes of death

to je jedan od glavnih uzroka smrti

for birds in the world.

u ptičjem svetu.

In the U.S. alone, a billion birds die

Samo u Americi, milijardu ptica ugine

in collision with glass buildings.

u sudaru sa staklenim zgradama.

And when it's over, we go to a Chinese restaurant

I kada završimo sa tim, idemo u kineski restoran

and we have a six-course duck dinner.

i imamo 6 jela od patke za večeru.

So I hope to see you

Nadam se da ću vas videti

next year in Rotterdam, the Netherlands,

naredne godine u Roterdamu, u Holandiji,

for Dead Duck Day.

na Dan mrtve patke.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Oh, sorry.

Oh, izvinite.

May I have my duck back, please?

Mogu li dobiti nazad svoju patku, molim vas?

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Smeh) (Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala.