How vultures can help solve crimes | Lauren Pharr

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Yanyan Hong

[This talk contains graphic images]

【這個演講包含生動的圖像】

My parents always wanted me to be a doctor.

我的父母總是希望我成為醫生。

But a doctor that studies how vultures eat dead things

但是研究禿鷲吃死屍的醫生

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

可能不是我父母想到的那種醫生。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

我研究禿鷲的清除行為 以及禿鷲如何影響犯罪現場。

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

我在這裡談我們如何把禿鷲

視為理所當然的法醫科學。

in forensic science.

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

在此之前，我想告訴你一個故事。

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

我們所有的 1000 人要去旅行。

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

2014 年 5 月，我們站在 田納西州納許維爾的一個公園裡，

because we've been at a horse race.

因為我們剛去看了賽馬。

As we wait for the porta potty,

在等待上流動廁所時，

we see two ladies in their Sunday best:

我們看到身著星期天上教堂的 最佳衣裳的兩位女士：

heels, pearls and lovely, floppy derby hats.

高跟鞋、珍珠 和可愛的圓頂窄邊禮帽。

At any moment, we expect them to start talking

我們預期她們就快開始談論

about their grandma's fine china.

她們祖母的精緻瓷器。

But they don't.

但她們沒談論那些。

Instead, we hear them say,

反而我們聽到她們說：

"Oh, look.

「哦，看！

Something must be dead."

一定有東西死了。」

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

我們抬頭向左望， 看到禿鷲一再地盤旋。

It occurred to me at this very moment

那時我想到，

that if these ladies at the derby

如果這些看賽馬的女士

are aware of vulture's connection to death,

知道禿鷲與死亡的聯繫，

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

那為什麼我們不多談論 出現在犯罪現場的這些鳥？

People know that vultures are connected to death.

人們知道禿鷲與死亡有關。

But they don't really understand how.

但他們並不真正了解如何有關。

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

例如，我收到路易斯安那州 一名偵探發來的電子郵件：

"Lauren, there's been a kidnapping.

「蘿倫，有一起綁架事件。

What buzzards or vultures do we have in Louisiana?"

我們在路易斯安那州 有什麼鵟鷹或禿鷲？」

Before we address the kidnapping,

在我們談論綁架事件之前

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

會先談談我一直會遇到的 鵟鷹/禿鷲問題。

Buzzards don't live in the United States.

鵟鷹不住在美國。

They are hawks that live in Europe.

牠們是生活在歐洲的鷹。

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

你在美國天空中 看到的大黑鳥是禿鷲。

The two types of vultures that live in Louisiana

住在路易斯安那州的兩種禿鷲

are the turkey vulture and black vulture.

是火雞禿鷲和黑禿鷲。

To fully understand the role of vultures in forensic science,

為了充分理解禿鷲 在法庭科學中的作用，

I'll walk you through this forensic case.

我會引導你走過這件法醫案子。

From the email, certain things become apparent.

從電子郵件中，某些事情變得明顯。

We can assume the detective thinks the individual is dead.

我們可以假設 偵探認為這個人已經死了。

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

他想用這些鳥來尋找屍體。

Like the ladies in Nashville,

就像納許維爾的女士們一樣，

the detective thinks that vultures circling in the sky

偵探認為在天空中盤旋的禿鷲

will lead him to the body.

會將他引向屍體。

It's not that simple.

並不是這麼簡單。

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

我不知道你是否曾近距離看過禿鷲， 或花長時間與牠們在一起，

or spent much time with them,

but they're huge, huge.

但牠們非常巨大。

Six-foot wingspan.

翼展 6 英尺。

Vultures circle in the air

禿鷲在空中盤旋，

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

因為牠們太大，以致無法拍翅飛翔，

so they soar.

所以牠們翱翔。

They soar in thermals, which are vortexes or little tornadoes

牠們在熱浪中翱翔，

這是由於太陽照射一整天 升高了地面的溫度，

caused by pressure differences in the air

造成氣壓差，

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

而形成的漩渦或小型龍捲風。

Therefore, when you see a circling vulture,

因此，當你看到一隻盤旋的禿鷲時，

the bird is usually traveling from point A to B,

牠通常是在從 A 點飛到 B 點，

rather than circling above something dead.

而不是在死屍上方盤旋。

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

其實如果你想用禿鷲尋找屍體，

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

要在樹上或柵欄上尋找禿鷲。

Vultures are too big and slow to hunt.

禿鷲太大、太慢，無法狩獵。

So they have to scavenge.

所以牠們必須當清道夫。

In fact, vultures are the only animals in the world

事實上，禿鷲是世界上唯一

that depend upon death as a food source.

依靠死屍作為食物來源的動物。

The turkey vulture that you see here is super cool,

你在這裡看到的火雞禿鷲非常酷，

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

因為牠是少數 真正具有嗅覺的鳥類之一。

It hones in on the deceased by sensing a chemical

牠透過感應屍體衰變過程中 冒出的化學物質

that's coming off the body during decay.

找到死屍。

The evolutionary role of the vulture

禿鷲的進化作用

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

是消除死屍產生的有害毒素。

Once death has been detected,

一旦發現死屍，

the turkey vulture lands and quickly scavenges.

火雞禿鷲就會降落和迅速地拾荒。

Vultures usually remove the eyes first,

禿鷲通常先摘下眼睛，

then tear the skin,

然後撕開皮膚，

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

開始拉扯肌肉組織，留下骨架。

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

因此禿鷲的重要性 不在空中而在地面。

but on the ground.

Vulture scavenging is somewhat gruesome.

禿鷲的清除有點可怕。

If you're ever on a bad first date,

如果你的第一次約會很糟糕，

just reference this talk,

那麼請引用這個演講的話題，

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

我認為你不必擔心

about your potential suitor giving you another call.

你的潛在追求者會再打電話給你。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Although gruesome, vultures are key forensic players,

雖然可怕，禿鷲是關鍵的參與法醫，

and here's why.

這是為什麼。

Vultures will consume a dead human

禿鷲會嚥下死人的屍體，

just like they will consume roadkill.

就像牠們會嚥下路上 被車輛碾死的動物屍體一樣。

But you don't ever hear about that,

但你未曾聽說過這些

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

乃是因為禿鷲很擅長於牠們的工作。

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

如果禿鷲靠死屍維生、 清除人類的屍體，

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

那為什麼禿鷲沒被列在 法醫教科書和培訓手冊中呢？

The answer:

答案是：

the tradition has been for researchers to exclude animal scavengers

傳統上研究人員

把腐爛的東西放在籠子裡，

from decomposition studies

by placing a cage over the decaying subject matter.

防止清除的動物接近。

Why?

為什麼？

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

因為研究人員怕 動物會帶著被分析的東西跑走，

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

讓他們沒數據可供報告。

consequently excluding animals' results in a lengthy skeletonization process,

因此，排除動物於解剖過程外的結果

and this information is currently what detectives use during investigations.

是目前偵探偵查時使用的資訊。

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

常常人們在犯罪現場看到骷髏時，

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

會想：「哇，在被發現之前 這已存在很長一段時間了。」

Oh, no, no, no, no.

哦，不，不，不，不。

Vultures accelerate decay.

禿鷲加速腐爛。

And the skeletonized body could have been there

如果禿鷲清除過那個屍體，

for as little as five days if scavenged by vultures.

骷髏可能只在那裡短短的五天而已。

The failure to account for vulture scavenging

沒算上禿鷲的清除，

can result in forensic scientists inaccurately estimating

可能導致法醫科學家

不準確地估計某人死亡了多久，

how long someone has been dead

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

以致搜索錯誤的失踪人員檔案。

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

因此，我們的目標 是讓法醫科學家專注於禿鷲證據，

and to get law enforcement to consider vulture scavenging

並讓執法機構考慮禿鷲的清除，

and a possible recent death when skeletal remains are found.

來發現骨骼遺骸可能的死亡時間。

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

讓我們回到綁架案件的重要性。

I responded to the detectives

我回應偵探，

and told them that vultures like areas with water.

告訴他們禿鷲喜歡有水的地方。

They like areas with white-tailed deer,

牠們喜歡有白尾鹿的地區，

they typically arrive within the first five days following death,

牠們通常在死後的頭五天內到達，

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

牠們將留下完整的脊椎和羽毛。

The detectives write back and say,

偵探回信說：

"We found the body buried in a shallow grave.

「我們發現屍體被埋在一個淺墳裡。

We also found the feathers you mentioned."

我們還發現了你提到的羽毛。」

But there appeared to be a problem

但似乎有一個問題，

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

因為羽毛距離 發現屍體的地方 40 碼遠。

The feathers were next to a bloody pine cone.

羽毛旁邊是一個血淋淋的松果。

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

禿鷲不會被血吸引， 牠們通常不會漫遊。

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

牠們可能閒蕩 40 英尺， 但牠們不會閒蕩 40 碼。

That would be a waste of energy

那會浪費能量，

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

對於一隻不知道什麼時候 能吃下一頓飯的鳥而言。

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

我先得確定禿鷲是否曾出現在現場。

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

事實上，松果旁的羽毛 與火雞禿鷲的相同。

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

那怎會有隻禿鷲閒蕩 40 碼遠呢？

One of the reasons I love vultures

我愛禿鷲的原因之一

is because they tend to operate in a manner

是牠們傾向的運作方式 可用生物學和物理學來解釋。

that can be explained by biology and physics.

I started mentally going through the numerous bating experiments

我開始在腦袋裡回想 曾在德州的大體農場

I had conducted at a body farm in Texas.

進行的無數軟化實驗。

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

大體農場是可將自己的大體 捐獻供科學研究的地方。

I also went through my experiences with trapping

我還回想起捕捉

and GPS tagging vultures.

和幫禿鷲貼 GPS 標籤的經驗，

And then the year-long process of monitoring vultures

以及其後通過遠程 GPS 技術

via remote GPS technology.

監測禿鷲一年的過程。

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

接著我拿出田野筆記， 「啊哈」，我知道了！

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

我知道有兩樣東西會引誘 禿鷲離開屍體 40 碼：

Guts and brain matter.

膽和腦的物質。

I presented this information to the detectives

我提供這些資訊給偵探們，

and learned that they suspected the victim had been incapacitated

並獲悉他們懷疑受害人因為

頭部被鈍器擊傷而喪失行動的能力。

by blunt force trauma to the head.

The blow to the head was thought to have occurred

頭部被重擊

據信發生在發現松果的地區，

in the area where the pine cone was found,

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

然後受害人被拖行 40 碼，

埋在淺土裡。

This suggested that brain matter was the lure for the vulture

這表明腦物質誘惑了禿鷲，

and illustrates how studying vulture behavior

並說明了研究禿鷲的行為

can help piece together some of the evidence.

有助於拼湊出一些證據。

The detectives also sent me this photo.

偵探們也發這張照片給我。

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

受害者的手臂伸出墳土外。

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

作為法醫科學家必須考慮整個情況。

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

松果旁的羽毛表明禿鷲去過現場。

This crime scene photo also depicts

這個犯罪現場照片

characteristic vulture scavenging behavior.

還描繪了禿鷲清除行為的特徵。

We zoom in, we see a white down feather,

放大近看，能看到一支白羽毛，

which is characteristic of the turkey vulture.

這是火雞禿鷲的特徵。

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

也請注意，在手腕附近的皮膚 有切割般的撕裂傷。

The turkey vulture smells the decay, lands.

火雞禿鷲聞到腐屍而降落著地。

It can get through the pine needles,

牠能穿過松針，

pull out the hand,

拉出手，

it's going to tear the skin with its beak

用喙撕開皮膚，

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

然後開始拉扯骨頭上的軟組織。

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

就撕和拉，撕和拉，撕和拉。

This photo illustrates the scavenging efficiency of vultures.

這張照片說明禿鷲的清除效率。

This is important because it helps support the time line

這很重要，因為它有助於支持

the detectives are putting together for the murder.

偵探拼湊的謀殺時間軸。

There's not a whole lot of evidence.

沒有很多證據。

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

你太不可能在犯罪現場看到禿鷲，

Instead, vultures just leave these very subtle clues.

反而是禿鷲只留下 這些非常微妙的線索。

Rather than looking for the vulture,

不是尋找禿鷲，

look for the feathers and pristine bones.

而是尋找羽毛 和在原始狀態下的骨頭。

Vultures are important

禿鷲很重要，

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

因為牠們做得非常好，速度也很快。

They're like tornadoes.

牠們就像龍捲風。

If you blink, you will miss them.

如果你眨眼就會錯過了。

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

我提供偵探有關禿鷲證據的意見。

And he presented the vulture evidence in court.

他將禿鷲的證據呈上法庭。

The kidnapping case was a death penalty case.

那宗綁架案是死刑案件。

And the defendant was found guilty.

被告被判有罪。

This case illustrates how studying vulture behavior

這個案例說明了研究禿鷲行為

helps innovate forensic science.

如何幫助創新法庭科學。

Someone who has been murdered

有人遇害

deserves the most thorough investigation possible.

值得進行最徹底的調查。

When we include vultures in forensic studies,

我們研究法醫學時把禿鷲包括在內，

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

能對發生的事、發生的時間

and who it happened to.

以及遭遇的人進行更全面的描述。

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

所以下次你處理犯罪現場的屍體時，

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

在地面找找禿鷲留下的線索。

And if anyone ever brings up vultures on a date,

如果有人在約會時談起禿鷲，

you'll know they're a keeper.

你會知道他們是好對象。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）