How vultures can help solve crimes | Lauren Pharr

翻译人员: jacks peng 校对人员: Carol Wang

[This talk contains graphic images]

[此演讲包含真实事故图像]

My parents always wanted me to be a doctor.

我父母以前总希望我能当医生。

But a doctor that studies how vultures eat dead things

但研究秃鹫怎么吃死尸的医生

is probably not the type of doctor my parents had in mind.

可能并不是我父母想要的那种。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I study vulture scavenging behavior and how vultures affect crime scenes.

我研究秃鹫的清腐行为以及 它们是如何影响犯罪现场的。

I'm here to talk to you about how we take vultures for granted

今天我就给大家讲一讲

在法医学中，我们对 秃鹫的想当然的看法。

in forensic science.

Before we do that, I want to tell you a story.

在这之前，我想先给大家讲个故事。

So we're going to take a trip, all 1,000 of us.

所以我要带大家踏上一段旅程， 在座的1000人一起去。

It's May 2014 and we're standing in a park in Nashville, Tennessee,

在2014年5月，我们站在 田纳西州纳什维尔的一个公园里。

because we've been at a horse race.

因为我们在看赛马。

As we wait for the porta potty,

当我们在等厕所时，

we see two ladies in their Sunday best:

我们看到两位精心装扮的女士，

穿着高跟鞋、戴着珍珠 和可爱的宽大圆礼帽。

heels, pearls and lovely, floppy derby hats.

At any moment, we expect them to start talking

我们做好了她们随时会开始谈论

about their grandma's fine china.

她们祖母的高级瓷器的准备。

但她们没有。

But they don't.

Instead, we hear them say,

反而，我们听到她们在说，

"Oh, look.

“噢，看啊！”

Something must be dead."

“肯定是有什么东西死掉了。”

We look up and to the left and see vultures circling round and round.

我们抬头望去，看到左边 有秃鹫在一圈圈地盘旋。

It occurred to me at this very moment

那个时刻我突然想到，

that if these ladies at the derby

如果那些戴着圆礼帽的女士，

are aware of vulture's connection to death,

都明白秃鹫和死亡有联系。

then why aren't we talking more about these birds at crime scenes?

那为何我们不多说一些 在犯罪现场的秃鹫呢？

People know that vultures are connected to death.

人们知道秃鹫和死亡有联系，

But they don't really understand how.

但他们并不知道怎样产生联系的。

For example, here's an email I received from a detective in Louisiana:

举个例子，这是我收到的一封 来自路易斯安纳州一名警探的邮件。

"Lauren, there's been a kidnapping.

劳伦，这边发生了一起绑架案。

What buzzards or vultures do we have in Louisiana?"

路易斯安纳州有哪些秃鹰或秃鹫呢？

Before we address the kidnapping,

在谈论绑架案前，

I'll first address this buzzard/vulture question I get all the time.

我会先回答一下大家经常 问的秃鹰和秃鹫的区别。

Buzzards don't live in the United States.

秃鹰不生活在美国，

They are hawks that live in Europe.

它们是生活在欧洲的一种鹰类。

The big black birds you see circling in the sky within the US are vultures.

你在美国看到的那些在 天空盘旋的大黑鸟才是秃鹫。

The two types of vultures that live in Louisiana

路易斯安纳州有两种秃鹫:

are the turkey vulture and black vulture.

红头美洲鹫和黑鹫。

To fully understand the role of vultures in forensic science,

为了更好地理解秃鹫 在法医学中的作用，

I'll walk you through this forensic case.

我会带你看这个法医案件。

From the email, certain things become apparent.

从邮件里看出，有些事是确定的。

We can assume the detective thinks the individual is dead.

我们可以假定侦探 认为这个人已经死了,

And he wants to use the birds to try to find the body.

他希望去用这些鸟儿寻找尸体。

Like the ladies in Nashville,

就像纳什维尔的女士们一样，

the detective thinks that vultures circling in the sky

警探认为天空中盘旋的秃鹫

will lead him to the body.

能够把他带到尸体处，

It's not that simple.

但事情并没有那么简单。

I don't know if you've ever seen a vulture up close

不知你是否近距离看过秃鹫，

or spent much time with them,

或者花一定的时间观察它们，

but they're huge, huge.

它们体型很大，非常大，

Six-foot wingspan.

展翅有六英尺长。

Vultures circle in the air

秃鹫在天空中盘旋，

because they are too big to flap their wings and fly,

是因为它们太大，所以 无法拍打翅膀飞翔，

so they soar.

因此，它们在高空翱翔。

They soar in thermals, which are vortexes or little tornadoes

它们在热气流中翱翔，

caused by pressure differences in the air

由白天地面太阳照射造成 空气中的气压不同而产生。

that form throughout the day as the sun heats up the ground.

Therefore, when you see a circling vulture,

因此，当你看到盘旋的秃鹫时，

the bird is usually traveling from point A to B,

那些鸟儿通常是想从A处飞到B处，

rather than circling above something dead.

而不是围着一堆死掉的东西盘旋。

Actually, if you want to use a vulture to try to find a body,

实际上，如果想用秃鹫来寻找尸体，

look for a vulture in a tree or on a fence post.

那就寻找树上或围栏柱上的秃鹫。

Vultures are too big and slow to hunt.

秃鹫体型太大、行动太慢， 所以很难捕获猎物，

So they have to scavenge.

所以它们不得不吃腐肉。

In fact, vultures are the only animals in the world

事实上，秃鹫是世界上

唯一以死尸当做食物的动物。

that depend upon death as a food source.

The turkey vulture that you see here is super cool,

你看这个红头美洲鹫看起来很酷，

because it's one of the few bird species that can actually smell.

因为它是为数不多的 几种嗅觉灵敏的鸟类之一，

It hones in on the deceased by sensing a chemical

它能够迅速分辨出那些

that's coming off the body during decay.

尸体腐烂所散发出来的化学物质。

The evolutionary role of the vulture

秃鹫在进化中的角色，

is to rid the earth of harmful toxins produced following death.

是帮助地球清除尸体 产生的有毒有害的物质。

Once death has been detected,

一旦察觉到死亡，

the turkey vulture lands and quickly scavenges.

红头美洲鹫会迅速降落、吃掉尸体。

Vultures usually remove the eyes first,

秃鹫一般会把眼睛去掉，

then tear the skin,

然后把皮肤撕开，

start pulling the tissues, and leave you with a skeleton.

撕扯肌肉组织，最后只剩骨架。

Therefore, the importance of vultures is not in the air,

因此，秃鹫的重要性不在于空中，

but on the ground.

而在陆地上。

Vulture scavenging is somewhat gruesome.

秃鹰觅食有点可怕，

If you're ever on a bad first date,

如果你的第一次约会很糟糕，

就引用这个演讲，

just reference this talk,

and I don't think you'll have to worry

我想你不用担心

about your potential suitor giving you another call.

你的潜在对象会再打电话给你了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Although gruesome, vultures are key forensic players,

尽管可怕，但秃鹫可是关键的法医，

and here's why.

原因如下：

Vultures will consume a dead human

秃鹫会吃死人，

just like they will consume roadkill.

就像他们吃路毙的动物一样。

But you don't ever hear about that,

但你从来没听说过这些吧，

and it's because vultures are so good at what they do.

是因为秃鹫实在太擅长于此。

If vultures depend on death for survival and if they scavenge humans,

如果秃鹫依靠死尸生存， 如果它们吃人类腐肉，

then how can vultures be absent from forensic textbooks and training manuals?

那么为什么法医课本 和训练手册中没提秃鹫呢？

The answer:

答案是：

the tradition has been for researchers to exclude animal scavengers

在腐解研究中，研究人员往往

from decomposition studies

将食腐动物排除在外，

by placing a cage over the decaying subject matter.

而是笼子盖住腐解的物体。

Why?

为什么？

Because researchers were afraid an animal would run away with their subject matter

因为研究者担心动物 会带着目标物跑掉，

and they wouldn't have any data to report --

这样就没有数据可汇报——

consequently excluding animals' results in a lengthy skeletonization process,

最终，就把动物作用的结果 排除在了冗长解剖过程之外，

and this information is currently what detectives use during investigations.

目前侦探在调查中 使用的正是这样的信息。

A lot of times at a crime scene when people see a skeletonized body,

很多时候在犯罪现场， 当人们看到仅剩的骨架时，

they think, "Wow, this has been here for a really long time undiscovered."

他们心想：”喔，这是过了 很长时间才被发现的“，

Oh, no, no, no, no.

哦，不，不，不，不，

Vultures accelerate decay.

是秃鹫加速了分解的过程。

And the skeletonized body could have been there

骨架可能在那里只有不足5天，

for as little as five days if scavenged by vultures.

如果是被秃鹫清理过的话。

The failure to account for vulture scavenging

如果没计算秃鹫分解的因素，

can result in forensic scientists inaccurately estimating

可能会导致法医无法准确估算

how long someone has been dead

一个人到底死了多久，

and then searching through the wrong missing person's files.

然后，导致搜索错误的失踪人员档案。

Therefore, the goal is to get forensic scientists to focus on vulture evidence

所以，我们的目的是， 让法医学专家关注秃鹫的证据，

and to get law enforcement to consider vulture scavenging

并让执法人员考虑秃鹫食腐情况，

and a possible recent death when skeletal remains are found.

在发现骨骸时，就能推算出 可能的近期死亡时间。

Let's get back to the importance of the kidnapping case.

让我们回到绑架案的重要性，

I responded to the detectives

我给侦探答复，

and told them that vultures like areas with water.

并告知他们秃鹫喜欢有水的地方。

They like areas with white-tailed deer,

它们喜欢有白尾鹿的地方，

they typically arrive within the first five days following death,

通常在死亡后的头五天内到达，

they're going to leave an intact spinal column and feathers.

会留下完整的脊柱和羽毛。

The detectives write back and say,

侦探回信说：

"We found the body buried in a shallow grave.

“我们发现尸体被埋在一个浅坟里，

We also found the feathers you mentioned."

我们也发现了你提到的羽毛。“

But there appeared to be a problem

但那显然有个问题，

because the feathers were located 40 yards from where the body was found.

因为羽毛位于发现尸体的40码外，

The feathers were next to a bloody pine cone.

羽毛就在一个血迹斑斑的松果旁边。

Vultures aren't attracted to blood, and they typically don't wander.

秃鹫不会被血液所吸引， 它们通常不会游荡。

They might wander 40 feet, but they're not going to wander 40 yards.

它们可能会走上40英尺， 但不会溜达到40码外。

That would be a waste of energy

对秃鹫而言，那纯粹是浪费能量，

for a bird that doesn't know when it will get its next meal.

当它不知道下一顿美餐在哪里时。

So my first job here was to determine if vultures were at the scene.

所以我首先要确认秃鹫是否在现场。

Indeed, the feather by the pine cone was consistent with the turkey vulture.

确实，松果旁边的羽毛 是红头美洲鹫的。

So why in the world would a vulture wander 40 yards?

那为什么秃鹫会浪荡个40码远呢？

One of the reasons I love vultures

我喜欢秃鹫的一个原因，

is because they tend to operate in a manner

是由于它们的行为

that can be explained by biology and physics.

在生物学和物理学上可解释。

I started mentally going through the numerous bating experiments

我开始在脑海中回想

我曾在德州尸体场里 做过的大量抑制实验，

I had conducted at a body farm in Texas.

A body farm is a place where you can donate your body to science.

尸体场是人们把遗体 捐献给科研的地方。

I also went through my experiences with trapping

我也回想了自己捕捉

和用GPS标记秃鹫的经历,

and GPS tagging vultures.

And then the year-long process of monitoring vultures

和之后长达一年的

通过远程GPS技术监视秃鹫的过程。

via remote GPS technology.

Next, I brought up my field notes and had an "Aha!" moment.

接着，我拿出现场笔记一看， 然后恍然大悟。

I knew of two things that would lure a vulture 40 yards from a body.

我知道在尸体40码外 有两件事情会诱惑到秃鹫，

Guts and brain matter.

就是内脏和大脑物质。

I presented this information to the detectives

我把这个信息告诉了侦探们，

and learned that they suspected the victim had been incapacitated

得知他们怀疑受 害者头部受钝力外伤，

by blunt force trauma to the head.

并因此丧失了行动能力。

The blow to the head was thought to have occurred

他们认为对头部的重击

in the area where the pine cone was found,

就发生在发现松果的地方，

and then the victim was drug 40 yards and buried in a shallow grave.

然后受害者被拖到40码外、 埋在浅坟里。

This suggested that brain matter was the lure for the vulture

这解释了大脑物质 是诱惑秃鹫的原因，

and illustrates how studying vulture behavior

并展示了对秃鹫行为的研究

can help piece together some of the evidence.

是如何帮助把证据拼凑在一起。

The detectives also sent me this photo.

侦探也向我传来这照片。

The victim's arm is sticking up out of the grave.

受害者的手臂从坟墓里伸出来。

As a forensic scientist, you have to think about the whole picture.

作为法医科学家，你需要考虑整幅画面。

The feather by the pine cone indicated that vultures were at the scene.

松果旁的羽毛意味着秃鹫在现场，

This crime scene photo also depicts

这张犯罪现场照片同样描述了

characteristic vulture scavenging behavior.

秃鹰清除行为的特征。

We zoom in, we see a white down feather,

放大后可发现一根白色羽毛，

which is characteristic of the turkey vulture.

这是红头美洲鹫的特征，

Also note that the skin has a cut-like tear near the wrist.

请注意手腕处皮肤 有类似刀切的撕裂痕迹。

The turkey vulture smells the decay, lands.

红头美洲鹫嗅到了腐物，然后降落。

It can get through the pine needles,

它可以穿过松针，

pull out the hand,

拉出手，

it's going to tear the skin with its beak

用它的喙撕裂皮肤，

and then start pulling the soft tissues away from the bone.

然后开始把软组织从骨头上拉下来。

Just tear and pull, tear and pull, tear and pull.

就这样扯拉，扯拉，扯拉。

This photo illustrates the scavenging efficiency of vultures.

这个照片展现了秃鹫的清除效率。

This is important because it helps support the time line

这一点很重要，

因为可帮助侦探们 拼凑凶杀案的时间线。

the detectives are putting together for the murder.

There's not a whole lot of evidence.

这并没有太多的证据。

You're not likely going to see the vultures at the crime scene.

你不太可能在犯罪现场看到秃鹫；

Instead, vultures just leave these very subtle clues.

相反，秃鹫只会留下这些 非常微妙的线索。

Rather than looking for the vulture,

与其寻找秃鹫，

look for the feathers and pristine bones.

不如寻找羽毛和新的骨头。

Vultures are important

秃鹫非常重要,

because they are so good and fast at what they do.

因为它们对于此道既擅长又快，

They're like tornadoes.

它们就像龙卷风一样，

If you blink, you will miss them.

一眨眼，就会错过它们。

I provided my opinion about the vulture evidence to the detective.

我把有关秃鹫证据的观点 提供给侦探，

And he presented the vulture evidence in court.

他在法庭上展示了秃鹫的证据。

The kidnapping case was a death penalty case.

这桩绑架案是一起死刑案，

And the defendant was found guilty.

被告被判有罪。

This case illustrates how studying vulture behavior

这个案件展示了研究秃鹫行为

helps innovate forensic science.

如何帮助法医科学研究。

Someone who has been murdered

被谋杀的人

deserves the most thorough investigation possible.

值得最彻底地进行调查。

When we include vultures in forensic studies,

当我们把秃鹫包含在法医研究中，

we paint a more thorough picture of what happened, when it happened

我们就描绘了一幅 发生了什么、何时发生、

and who it happened to.

发生在谁身上的更全面的画面。

So, the next time you're at a crime scene with a dead body --

所以，下次你在犯罪现场看到尸体——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

look to the ground to find the clues vultures have left.

找找地上有没有秃鹫留下的线索。

And if anyone ever brings up vultures on a date,

如果有人在约会时带着秃鹫，

you'll know they're a keeper.

你会知道他们是最佳对象哦。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）