Munir Virani: Why I love vultures

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

翻译人员: Meng Wang 校对人员: Shawn Wang

I would like to talk to you about

我想和大家聊聊

a very special group of animals.

一种非常不寻常的动物。

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

地球上总共有一万种鸟类。

Vultures are amongst the most threatened group of birds.

秃鹫是他们中最濒临灭绝的一种。

When you see a vulture like this, the first thing

每当你看到秃鹫就像这只，首先

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

浮现在你脑海中一定是，这是一些令人厌恶，

greedy creatures that are just after your flesh,

贪得无厌并且追逐腐肉的可怕生物，

associated with politicians. (Laughter) (Applause)

让人禁不住联想到政客们。（笑声）（掌声）

I want to change that perception. I want to change

我想改变这种看法。我想改变

those feelings you have for these birds, because

大家对秃鹫的这些不好的联想，因为

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

他们需要我们的同情。他们真的很需要。（笑声）

And I'll tell you why.

让我来告诉大家为什么。

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

首先，为什么他们会给我们留下这种坏印象呢？

When Charles Darwin went across the Atlantic in 1832

1832年 查尔斯 达尔文在搭乘贝格尔号穿越大西洋的

on the Beagle, he saw the turkey vulture,

旅途中，发现了土耳其秃鹫，

and he said, "These are disgusting birds

他当时说道，“这些令人恶心的，长着猩红色

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

秃头的鸟儿们总是沉湎于腐肉中不可自拔."（笑声）

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

你很难找到比这更恶毒的侮辱了，这些话可是查尔斯 达尔文说的。（笑声）

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

你们知道吗，达尔文返回英国之后就改变他的看法，

and I'll tell you why.

我马上会告诉你们为什么。

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

秃鹫还曾经被迪斯尼看上—（笑声）—

personified as goofy, dumb, stupid characters.

像高飞狗一样，被人格化，变成了麻木的，愚蠢的动画角色。

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

而最近，如果你留意过肯尼亚的新闻

— (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers) —

——（笑声）（掌声）（欢呼）——

these are the attributes that they associated

肯尼亚的国会议员们被讽刺为像秃鹫一般

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

贪婪和愚蠢。但是我想叫板它。

I want to challenge that. Do you know why?

我要质疑它。你们知道为什么吗？

Because MPs

因为国会议员们

do not keep the environment clean. (Laughter)

不能保持自然环境的清洁。（笑声）

MPs do not help to prevent the spread of diseases.

不能阻止疾病的传播。

They are hardly monogamous. (Laughter) (Applause)

几乎没人遵守一夫一妻制度。（笑声）（掌声）

They are far from being extinct. (Laughter)

他们离灭绝还很远。（笑声）

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

并且，这条我最喜欢，秃鹫比议员们好看多了。（掌声）（笑声）

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

在这个世界上有两大类秃鹫。

There are the New World vultures that are mainly found

新大陆的秃鹫主要生长在

in the Americas, like the condors and the caracaras,

美洲大陆，像是美洲秃鹫和委内瑞拉秃鹫，

and then the Old World vultures, where we have

而在其他的大陆，那里

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

总共有16种秃鹫，他们中的11种正面临着

a high risk of extinction.

灭绝的风险。

So why are vultures important? First of all,

所以为什么说秃鹫重要呢？首先，

they provide vital ecological services. They clean up.

秃鹫对生态循环做出了至关重要的作用。他们净化环境。

They're our natural garbage collectors.

秃鹫是我们的大自然垃圾清道夫。

They clean up carcasses right to the bone.

他们会把尸体上的肉吃的干干净净只剩白骨。

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

他们能消灭所有尸体上的细菌，他们能吸收炭疽病毒

that would otherwise spread and cause

阻止病毒的传播与扩散

huge livestock losses and diseases in other animals.

从而使大量的家畜和动物远离死亡和疾病。

Recent studies have shown that in areas where there are

最近的研究还显示在那些

no vultures, carcasses take up to three to four times

没有秃鹫生存的地区，尸体的分解会多花

to decompose, and this has huge ramifications

三到四倍的时间，这给疾病的传播与扩散

for the spread of diseases.

提供了更多的机会。

Vultures also have tremendous historical significance.

秃鹫还有非常多的历史意义。

They have been associated in ancient Egyptian culture.

他们和古埃及文化有着密切的联系。

Nekhbet was the symbol of the protector

奈库贝特女神在古埃及文化中象征着监护人

and the motherhood, and together with the cobra,

和母性，通常和眼镜蛇女神维阿杰特一起出现，

symbolized the unity between Upper and Lower Egypt.

象征着上埃及和下埃及的团结和统一。

In Hindu mythology, Jatayu was the vulture god,

在印度教神话中，秃鹫之神名为雅达尤，

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

他冒着生命危险

from the 10-headed demon Ravana.

从10头恶魔罗波那手中救出了西妲女神。

In Tibetan culture, they are performing very important

在西藏文化中，秃鹫尤其显得重要

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

天葬。在那些类似西藏的地方，既没有条件

to bury the dead, or wood to cremate them,

土葬，也没有木材去进行火葬，

so these vultures provide a natural disposal system.

所以秃鹫为当地人提供了一种天然的尸体处理系统。

So what is the problem with vultures?

那么秃鹫都面临着哪些问题呢？

We have eight species of vultures that occur in Kenya,

肯尼亚生长着八种秃鹫，

of which six are highly threatened with extinction.

其中的六种正濒临灭绝。

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

很多秃鹫被毒死，中毒的原因

that they're getting poisoned is because there's

是因为在肯尼亚正在发生的

human-wildlife conflicts. The pastoral communities

人类与野生动物之间对于生存空间的争夺。牧人们

are using this poison to target predators,

使用毒药来对付掠食动物，

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

掠食动物被毒死之后，秃鹫们随之成为了下一个受害者。

In South Asia, in countries like India and Pakistan,

在南亚，一些国家类似于印度和巴基斯坦，

four species of vultures are listed as critically endangered,

四种秃鹫被列为极度濒临灭绝中，

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

这意味着在他们将会在10到15年之内彻底灭绝，

and the reason is because they are falling prey

灭绝的原因是因为秃鹫们

by consuming livestock that has been treated

食用了那些生前曾被喂食过

with a painkilling drug like Diclofenac.

含有双氯芬酸成分止疼药的家畜。

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

现在含有双氯芬酸的兽药已经被禁止在印度使用，

and they have taken a stand.

印度政府表现出了积极的态度。

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

因为秃鹫数量的骤减，野狗开始

in the numbers of feral dogs at carcass dump sites,

在牲畜尸体掩埋场周围泛滥成灾，

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

在野狗泛滥的地区，狂犬病就像定时炸弹一样

of rabies. The number of cases of rabies

随时都会爆发。狂犬病案例的数量

has increased tremendously in India.

在印度出现了惊人的增长。

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

肯尼亚即将拥有全非洲最大规模的风力发电厂：

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

353台涡轮发电机即将被安装在图尔卡纳湖区。

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

我不反对开发风能，但是我们应该呼吁

with the governments, because wind turbines

政府重新考虑这项决定，因为风力涡轮机

do this to birds. They slice them in half.

会对鸟类造成威胁。高速的扇叶会把鸟儿“切”成两半。

They are bird-blending machines.

它们简直就是鸟类粉碎机。

In West Africa, there's a horrific trade

在西非，一些人毫无怜悯的叫卖

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

死去的秃鹫来满足巫术和收藏的需求。

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

我们正在做什么呢？我们正在研究

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

这些秃鹫。我们在它们身上安装定位器。

We're trying to determine their basic ecology,

我们试图去查明秃鹫与周围环境的关系（生态学）

and see where they go.

并且了解秃鹫的行踪。

We can see that they travel different countries, so

我们发现它们会在不同的国家之间旅行，所以

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

如果只是关注一个地区，你很难取得什么进展。

We need to work with governments in regional levels.

我们需要去和整个地区的政府们打交道。

We're working with local communities.

我们正努力与当地的居民们沟通。

We're talking to them about appreciating vultures,

我们正在尽力让他们了解到秃鹫的益处，

about the need from within to appreciate these

并且发自内心得去感激这些

wonderful creatures and the services that they provide.

奇妙的生物和他们为自然所做的贡献。

How can you help? You can become active,

你们能做些什么呢？你们可以行动起来，

make noise. You can write a letter to your government

制造声势。你们可以写信给你们的政府

and tell them that we need to focus on these very

并且告诉他们，我们需要去关注这些被严重

misunderstood creatures. Volunteer your time

误解的生物。花些时间

to spread the word. Spread the word.

告诉你身边的人。尽可能多的人。

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

当你走出这个房间的时候，你们就是

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

秃鹫达人了，不但要告诉你的家人们，还要

to your neighbors about vultures.

告诉你们的邻居们有关秃鹫的故事。

They are very graceful. Charles Darwin said

它们是那么的优雅。查尔斯 达尔文曾说到

he changed his mind because he watched them fly

他改变了自己的看法，在他看到秃鹫们在空中

effortlessly without energy in the skies.

优雅而又浑然天成的身姿之后。

Kenya, this world, will be much poorer

肯尼亚，全世界，都将会有很大的损失

without these wonderful species.

如果失去了这些奇妙的物种。

Thank you very much. (Applause)

非常感谢。（鼓掌）