The coolest animal you know nothing about ... and how we can save it | Patrícia Medici

譯者: Samanta Chan 審譯者: Xiaoya Song

This is one of the most amazing animals on the face of the Earth.

這是地球表面上最奇妙的動物之一。

This is a tapir.

這是隻貘。

Now this, this is a baby tapir,

這個，是隻貘寶寶。

the cutest animal offspring in the animal kingdom.

是動物界裡最可愛的動物後代。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

By far.

目前

There is no competition here.

競爭還沒開始

I have dedicated the past 20 years of my life

我將人生過去的二十年

to the research and conservation of tapirs in Brazil,

獻給巴西貘的保育與研究

and it has been absolutely amazing.

這一直以來都令人感到非常驚奇

But at the moment, I've been thinking really, really hard

但現在，我很努力思考

about the impact of my work.

我的工作所帶來的影響

I've been questioning myself about the real contributions I have made

我一直在問我自己， 我對這些我這麼熱愛的動物的保育

for the conservation of these animals I love so much.

的真正貢獻

Am I being effective

我是否在保護牠們的生存上

in safeguarding their survival?

有效果

Am I doing enough?

我是否做得夠多？

I guess the big question here is,

我想，這裡最大的問題是

am I studying tapirs and contributing to their conservation,

我是否真的在研究貘 跟為牠們的存續做付出

or am I just documenting their extinction?

或者我只是在記錄牠們的滅種

The world is facing so many different conservation crises.

這個世界正在面對各式各樣的保育危機

We all know that. It's all over the news every day.

我們都知道，新聞每天都看得到

Tropical forests and other ecosystems are being destroyed,

熱帶雨林跟其他生態環境正在被破壞

climate change, so many species on the brink of extinction:

氣候變化，這麼多的物種正在滅種的邊緣

tigers, lions, elephants, rhinos, tapirs.

老虎、獅子、大象、犀牛、貘

This is the lowland tapir, the tapir species I work with,

這是隻低地貘，跟我一起工作的貘種類

the largest terrestrial mammal of South America.

是南美最大的陸生哺乳類動物

They're massive. They're powerful.

牠們很大，很強大

Adults can weigh up to 300 kilos.

成年的貘可以有三百公斤重

That's half the size of a horse.

那是馬大小的一半

They're gorgeous.

牠們很可愛

Tapirs are mostly found in tropical forests such as the Amazon,

貘大多數在亞馬遜的熱帶雨林中可以被找到

and they absolutely need large patches of habitat

牠們需要很大片的棲息地

in order to find all the resources they need to reproduce and survive.

才可以找到所有牠們需要繁衍跟生存的資源

But their habitat is being destroyed,

但牠們的棲息地正被破壞著

and they have been hunted out of several parts of their geographic distribution.

而牠們已經被獵趕出許多牠們分布的地理區域

And you see, this is very, very unfortunate

你看，這真的是非常、非常的不幸

because tapirs are extremely important for the habitats where they are found.

因為牠們屬於的棲息地對牠們來說 來說是相當重要的

They're herbivores.

牠們是草食動物

Fifty percent of their diet consists of fruit,

水果占牠們飲食的百分之五十

and when they eat the fruit, they swallow the seeds,

而當牠們吃水果時，牠們會吞下種子，

which they disperse throughout the habitat through their feces.

牠們透過排泄物在牠們的棲息地散播這些種子

They play this major role in shaping and maintaining

牠們在形塑和保持雨林的結構和多樣化中

the structure and diversity of the forest,

扮演主要的角色

and for that reason, tapirs are known as gardeners of the forest.

正因為如此，貘亦被視為是雨林的園丁

Isn't that amazing?

這可不很驚人嗎？

If you think about it,

如果你想想

the extinction of tapirs would seriously affect

貘的絕跡真的會嚴重的影響

biodiversity as a whole.

整個生物多樣性

I started my tapir work in 1996, still very young, fresh out of college,

我在1996年開始從事關於貘的工作，我當時非常的年輕，才剛從大學畢業

and it was a pioneer research and conservation program.

當時這是一項前端的研究和保育計畫

At that point, we had nearly zero information about tapirs,

當時，我們幾乎沒有關於貘的任何相關資訊

mostly because they're so difficult to study.

大多因為牠們非常難被研究

They're nocturnal, solitary, very elusive animals,

牠們是夜行、非群居且不易被找到的動物，

and we got started getting very basic data about these animals.

接著我們開始得到關於這些動物非常基本的數據

But what is it that a conservationist does?

但是，保育專家做的事是什麼？

Well, first, we need data.

嗯，首先，我們需要數據

We need field research.

我們需要田野調查。

We need those long-term datasets to support conservation action,

我們需要這些長期的資料集來支持保育行動

and I told you tapirs are very hard to study,

而我跟你們說過了，貘非常難被研究

so we have to rely on indirect methods to study them.

所以我們需要藉由間接方法來研究牠們

We have to capture and anesthetize them

我們必須捕捉，麻醉牠們

so that we can install GPS collars around their necks

所以我們在牠們的脖子裝上了GPS頸鍊

and follow their movements,

來追蹤牠們的行蹤

which is a technique used by many other conservationists around the world.

這是世界上的保育人士都常使用的一個技術

And then we can gather information about how they use space,

接著我們蒐集關於牠們如何使用空間的資訊

how they move through the landscape,

牠們怎麼在地景上移動

what are their priority habitats,

牠們的首要棲息地是什麼

and so much more.

還有更多更多

Next, we must disseminate what we learn.

接著，我們必須散播我們所知道的

We have to educate people about tapirs

我們必須讓大眾了解貘

and how important these animals are.

了解牠們是多麽重要的動物

And it's amazing how many people around the world

而這真的很奇妙，這世上有這麼多的人

do not know what a tapir is.

並不知道貘是什麼

In fact, many people think this is a tapir.

事實上，許多人認為這是隻貘

Let me tell you, this is not a tapir.

讓我告訴你們，這不是隻貘

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is a giant anteater.

這是隻巨大的食蟻獸

Tapirs do not eat ants. Never. Ever.

貘並不吃螞蟻。從未，永遠不會。

And then next we have to provide training, capacity building.

再來，我們需要提供訓練，能力養成。

It is our responsibility to prepare the conservationists of the future.

儲備未來的保育人士是我們的責任。

We are losing several conservation battles,

我們在許多保育戰役上正在敗退

and we need more people doing what we do,

而我們需要更多的人做我們在做的事情

and they need the skills, and they need the passion to do that.

而且如果他們需要技能， 如果他們有做這件事情的熱誠

Ultimately, we conservationists,

最終，我們保育人士

we must be able to apply our data,

我們必須可以應用我們的數據

to apply our accumulated knowledge

應用我們累積的知識

to support actual conservation action.

來支持真正的保育行動

Our first tapir program

我們的第一個貘計劃

took place in the Atlantic Forest

從大西洋雨林開始

in the eastern part of Brazil,

在巴西東部

one of the most threatened biomes in the world.

世上最受威脅的生物群落

The destruction of the Atlantic Forest

大西洋雨林的破壞

began in the early 1500s,

始於十六世紀早期

when the Portuguese first arrived in Brazil,

當葡萄牙人首先抵達巴西

beginning European colonization in the eastern part of South America.

開始歐洲在南美東部的殖民

This forest was almost completely cleared

這雨林在當時幾乎被全面清除

for timber, agriculture, cattle ranching and the construction of cities,

為了木材、農業、牧牛與建造城市

and today only seven percent of the Atlantic forest

而今日，只剩下百分之七的大西洋雨林

is still left standing.

存在著

And tapirs are found in very, very small, isolated, disconnected populations.

所有的貘都是在非常、非常小的， 孤立失聯的族群被找到

In the Atlantic Forest, we found out that tapirs move through open areas

在大西洋雨林，我們發現貘穿越

of pastureland and agriculture

牧農場的開放區域

going from one patch of forest to patch of forest.

從雨林的一片到雨林的另一片

So our main approach in this region

所以我們在這一區主要的處理方式

was to use our tapir data to identify the potential places

是使用我們的貘數據來找出潛在的地方

for the establishment of wildlife corridors

來建造野生生物廊道

in between those patches of forest,

在不同的雨林區域之間

reconnecting the habitat

重新連結棲息地

so that tapirs and many other animals could cross the landscape safely.

好讓貘以及許多其他的動物 可以安全的穿越地景

After 12 years in the Atlantic Forest,

十二年之後的大西洋雨林

in 2008, we expanded our tapir conservation efforts to the Pantanal

在二零零八年，我們擴大了 貘的保育心血到了潘塔納爾濕地

in the western part of Brazil

在巴西的西部

near the border with Bolivia and Paraguay.

靠近與玻利維亞跟巴拉圭的邊界

This is the largest continuous freshwater floodplain in the world,

這是世上最大連續的淡水沖積平原

an incredible place

令人不可置信的地方

and one of the most important strongholds for lowland tapirs in South America.

且是南美中低地貘的最重要堡壘之一

And working in the Pantanal has been extremely refreshing

在潘塔納爾的工作是非常振奮人心的經驗

because we found large, healthy tapir populations in the area,

因為我們在那區域找到大又健康的貘族群

and we have been able to study tapirs

而我們又可以在我們所可能找到的，

in the most natural conditions we'll ever find,

最自然的條件下研究貘

very much free of threats.

幾乎沒有威脅

In the Pantanal, besides the GPS collars, we are using another technique:

在潘塔納爾，除了GPS頸鏈外，我們還用其他方法

camera traps.

紅外相機

This camera is equipped with a movement sensor

這相機裝有動作感測器

and it photographs animals when they walk in front of it.

當動物在相機前移動時照下牠們

So thanks to these amazing devices,

多虧了這些神奇的設備

we have been able to gather precious information

我們才得以捕捉這些珍貴的資訊

about tapir reproduction and social organization

關於貘繁衍以及社會組織

which are very important pieces of the puzzle

這些是開發這些保育策略

when you're trying to develop those conservation strategies.

不可或缺的重要一環

And right now, 2015, we are expanding our work once again

當今二零一五年，我們正再次擴展我們的行動

to the Brazilian Cerrado,

到了巴西的喜拉多

the open grasslands and shrub forests in the central part of Brazil.

巴西中部的開放草原與矮灌木叢林

Today this region is the very epicenter of economic development in my country,

今日，這區域是我國家 經濟發展非常重要的中心

where natural habitat and wildlife populations

也是自然棲地與野生族群

are rapidly being eradicated by several different threats,

正在被各種不同威脅快速鏟滅

including once again cattle ranching,

包含，又一次，牧牛

large sugarcane and soybean plantations,

大片甘蔗與大豆的種植

poaching, roadkill, just to name a few.

偷獵、交通事故，這還只是一部分

And somehow, tapirs are still there,

不知怎麼的，那裡仍有貘

which gives me a lot of hope.

這給我很大的希望

But I have to say that starting this new program in the Cerrado

但我還是得說，在喜拉多開始這項計畫

was a bit of a slap in the face.

有點是在臉上打巴掌

When you drive around

當你開車逛逛

and you find dead tapirs along the highways

而你在公路上找到死掉的貘

and signs of tapirs wandering around in the middle of sugarcane plantations

還有貘在甘蔗田中遊蕩的跡象

where they shouldn't be,

牠們不該在那的

and you talk to kids and they tell you that they know how tapir meat tastes

當你跟小孩說，他們跟你說 他們知道貘吃起來怎樣

because their families poach and eat them,

因為他們的家人偷獵並吃掉牠們

it really breaks your heart.

這真的傷透了你的心

The situation in the Cerrado made me realize --

在喜拉多的情境使我有了

it gave me the sense of urgency.

危機意識

I am swimming against the tide.

我正在逆流而游

It made me realize that despite two decades of hard work

讓我意識到儘管這二十年來的辛苦工作

trying to save these animals, we still have so much work to do

試圖拯救這些動物， 我們還是有許多的工作要做

if we are to prevent them from disappearing.

如果我們要避免牠們消逝

We have to find ways to solve all these problems.

我們必須找到解決這些問題的方法

We really do, and you know what?

我們已經在做了，但你知道嗎？

We really came to a point in the conservation world

我們真的來到保育領域中

where we have to think out of the box.

一個我們必須跳脫框架思考的地步

We'll have to be a lot more creative than we are right now.

我們將必需比我們現在更創新

And I told you, roadkill is a big problem for tapirs in the Cerrado,

讓我告訴你，路殺是對喜拉多的貘來說 很大的一個問題

so we just came up with the idea of putting reflective stickers

所以我們有了在貘的GPS頸鍊上

on the GPS collars we put on the tapirs.

放置反射貼紙的想法

These are the same stickers used on big trucks

這些跟大卡車上的貼紙是一樣的

to avoid collision.

來避免相撞

Tapirs cross the highways after dark,

貘在黑暗中穿越公路

so the stickers will hopefully help drivers see this shining thing

所以希望這些貼紙可以幫司機們 看清這個閃亮的東西

crossing the highway,

正在穿越公路

and maybe they will slow down a little bit.

而他們可以放慢速度些

For now, this is just a crazy idea.

此時此刻，這只是個瘋狂的點子

We don't know. We'll see if it will reduce the amount of tapir roadkill.

我們不知道。但我們會看這是否可以減少貘的路殺

But the point is, maybe this is the kind of stuff that needs to be done.

但重點是，也許這正是需要被實行的事

And although I'm struggling with all these questions

而儘管我仍然對這些問題仍有掙扎

in my mind right now,

現在在我心裡

I have a pact with tapirs.

我跟貘有項協議

I know in my heart

我知道我的心

that tapir conservation is my cause.

就是貘的保育是我的目標

This is my passion.

這是我的熱情

I am not alone.

我並不是一個人

I have this huge network of supporters behind me,

我有這麼龐大的支持網路在我身後

and there is no way I'm ever going to stop.

我絕不可能停止

I will continue doing this, most probably for the rest of my life.

可能我接下來的人生我都會繼續做著

And I'll keep doing this for Patrícia, my namesake,

我們一直做這個，為了派翠西亞，以我為名的

one of the first tapirs we captured and monitored in the Atlantic Forest

我們多年前在大西洋雨林抓到

many, many years ago;

並監控的首要幾隻貘之一

for Rita and her baby Vincent in the Pantanal.

為了在潘塔納爾的Rita，和她的小寶寶Vincent，

And I'll keep doing this for Ted, a baby tapir we captured

而我會為了Ted， 一隻我們去年十二月時抓到的貘寶寶

in December last year also in the Pantanal.

也是在潘塔納爾

And I will keep doing this

我會一直做下去

for the hundreds of tapirs that I've had the pleasure to meet

為了上百隻

over the years

過去幾年我有榮幸認識的貘

and the many others I know I will encounter in the future.

還有許多其他我知道我在將來會遇見的

These animals deserve to be cared for.

這些動物應被關照

They need me. They need us.

牠們需要我， 需要我們。

And you know? We human beings deserve to live in a world

你知道嗎？我們人類應住在一個

where we can get out there and see and benefit from

我們可以出去就看到，受惠於牠們

not only tapirs

牠們不是只有貘

but all the other beautiful species,

而是所有其他美麗的物種的世界

now and in the future.

現在以及未來

Thank you so much.

非常謝謝你們

(Applause)

（鼓掌）