Sloths! The strange life of the world's slowest mammal | Lucy Cooke

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Hello.

哈囉！

Well, I'm here to talk to you about my animal muse:

我來跟大家談談我的動物繆思：

the sloth.

樹懶。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I've been documenting the strange lives of the world's slowest mammal

我一直在記錄這種史上最慢的 哺乳動物的奇特生活

for the last 10 years.

已經十年了。

I still remember the first time I saw one.

我還記得我第一次看到 這種動物的樣子。

I was fascinated by their freaky biology.

我深深著迷於牠們怪異的生物學。

I mean, what's not to love about an animal that's born

我是說，你怎麼能不愛

天生就有著一張大笑臉的動物？

with a fixed grin on its face?

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And the need to hug.

而且需要抱抱。

Audience: Awww.

觀眾：喔～～

But sloths are massively misunderstood.

但是樹懶其實完全被誤解了。

They've been saddled with a name that speaks of sin

牠們被安上罪的名字，

and damned for their languorous lifestyle,

譴責牠們倦怠的生活方式，

which people seem to think has no place amongst the fittest

因為大家似乎認為

牠們在快節奏的生存競賽中 不應該佔有一席之地。

in the fast-paced race for survival.

Well, I'm here to tell you that we've got this animal all wrong --

但是，我要在這裡告訴大家，

我們實在太冤枉這種動物了——

and how understanding the truth about the sloth

及為什麼了解樹懶的真相

may help save us and this planet we both call home.

可以幫助拯救我們，

及我們兩者都稱為家的這個行星。

I traced sloth-based slander

我查考對樹懶的毀謗，

back to a Spanish conquistador called Valdés,

追溯到一位名叫瓦爾德斯的 西班牙征服者，

who gave the first description of a sloth in his encyclopedia of the New World.

他在他的新世界百科全書上 首次描述一隻樹懶。

He said the sloth was

他說樹懶是

"the stupidest animal that can be found in the world ...

「世上你能找到最愚蠢的動物，

I have never seen such an ugly animal or one that is more useless."

我從來沒有看過這麼醜的動物， 或這麼沒用的！」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Tell us what you really think, Valdés.

你老實說吧！瓦爾德斯。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I'd like to have a word about Valdés's drawing skills.

我要對瓦爾德斯的繪畫技巧 評頭論足一番。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I mean, what is that?

你看看，這像話嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I've never seen an illustration of a sloth that's more useless.

我從來沒有看過 這麼沒用的樹懶圖示。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I mean, on the plus side,

不過，從好處看，

he has given the sloth a remarkably humanlike face,

他給了樹懶一張超像人類的臉，

and sloths do have remarkably humanlike faces.

而樹懶的確有一張超像人類的臉。

This sloth I photographed in Costa Rica, I think looks a lot like Ringo Starr.

這是我在哥斯大黎加照的樹懶相片。

我認為牠真的很像 披頭四的林哥·史達。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But then, sloths do bear an uncanny resemblance to the The Beatles.

不過，樹懶的確跟披頭四像得可怕。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Particularly pleased with Paul, actually, on there.

跟保羅尤其像，就在那。

But like The Beatles, sloths are also extremely successful.

但就像披頭四，樹懶也超成功。

They come from an ancient line of mammals, and there were once dozens of species

牠們源自某種古代的哺乳類， 本來有很多種，

including the giant ground sloth, which was the size of a small elephant

包括大地懶，尺寸跟小型大象一樣，

and one of the only animals big enough to eat avocado pits whole

是唯一夠大的動物，

能吃下整顆酪梨果核並散播它。

and disperse them.

So ... (Laughter)

所以……（笑聲）

Some of you have worked it out already.

有人已經想通了喔。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That means that without sloths,

也就是說如果沒有樹懶，

there might be no avocado on toast today,

今天大概就沒有酪梨吐司可以烤了，

leaving hipsters everywhere totally bereft at breakfast.

讓那些趕流行的人完全痛失早餐。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Today, there are six surviving species, and they fall into two groups.

目前有六個倖存的物種，分成兩群。

You've got your Bradypus three-toed sloths,

我們有樹懶屬三趾樹懶，

they're the ones with the Beatles haircuts and the Mona Lisa smiles.

牠們就是有著披頭四的髮型 及蒙娜麗莎的微笑的那種。

Then, there are the two-toed sloths.

然後，我們有二趾樹懶。

They look a little bit more like a cross between a Wookiee and a pig.

牠們比較像武技獸及豬的混種。

They live in the jungles of Central and South America,

牠們在中美及南美的叢林中生活，

and they're extremely prolific.

而且非常多產。

There was a survey that was done in the 1970s

1970 年代在巴拿馬的 熱帶林有過一項調查，

in a Panamanian tropical forest

that found that sloths were the most numerically abundant large animal.

發現樹懶是數量最多的大型動物。

They took up one quarter of the mammalian biomass.

牠們占了哺乳動物生物量的四分之一。

Now, that's an awful lot of sloths

那可是超多量的樹懶，

and suggests they're doing something very right indeed.

而且這意味著牠們 在某方面的確做得很好。

So what if, rather than deriding the sloth for being different,

所以，與其嘲笑樹懶的不同點，

we tried to learn from it instead?

我們要不要試著 從牠們身上學點什麼？

We humans are obsessed with speed.

我們人類太癡迷於速度了。

Busyness is a badge of honor,

忙碌是榮譽標章，

and convenience trumps quality in our quest for quick.

在我們尋求快速的路上， 便利勝過品質。

Our addiction to the express life is choking us and the planet.

我們對快捷人生成癮，

而這正在使我們及地球窒息。

We idolize animals like the cheetah, the "Ferrari of the animal kingdom,"

我們崇拜像獵豹一樣的動物，

說牠們是動物界的法拉利，

capable of doing naught to 60 in three seconds flat.

只要三秒就可以從零飆到 60。

Well, so what?

那又怎樣？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

So what?

那又怎樣？

The sloth, on the other hand,

另一方面，

can reach a leisurely 17 feet a minute

樹懶可以悠閒地在 一分鐘內走 17 呎，

with the wind behind it.

後面還有風喔！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But being fast is costly.

但是快速的代價很高。

The cheetah is speedy, but at the expense of strength.

獵豹是很快，但是代價就是力量。

They can't risk getting in a fight,

牠們不能冒險參戰，

so they lose one in nine kills to tougher predators like hyenas.

所以牠們跟鬃狗這種強壯的 獵食動物打架，每九場就要輸一場。

No wonder they're laughing.

難怪牠們會笑。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The sloth, on the other hand,

反過來說，

has taken a more stealthy approach to dinner.

樹懶用比較鬼鬼祟祟的方法 來享用晚餐。

They survive by capturing and consuming

牠們靠抓取及吞嚥什麼維生呢？

static leaves.

靜葉！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But you see, leaves don't want to be eaten any more than antelope do,

不過你也知道，

葉子就跟羚羊一樣不想被吃掉，

so they're loaded full of toxins and very hard to digest.

所以葉片充滿了毒素， 而且很難消化。

So in order to consume them,

所以為了吃葉子，

the sloth has also had to become an athlete --

樹懶也必須變成運動員，

a digesting athlete.

消化運動員。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The sloth's secret weapon is a four-chambered stomach

樹懶的秘密武器就是四個胃室

and plenty of time.

及很多時間。

They have the slowest digestion rate of any mammal.

牠們的消化率是哺乳動物中最慢的。

And it can take up to a month to process a single leaf,

牠可以花上一個月的時間 來消磨一片葉子，

which gives their liver plenty of time to process those toxins.

這樣就讓肝臟有很多時間 處理那些毒素。

So, sloths aren't lazy.

所以，樹懶一點都不懶。

No, they're busy.

不懶，牠們很忙。

Digesting.

忙著消化。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Yeah, really busy.

是的，真的很忙。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Hard at work, that sloth, very hard at work.

那隻樹懶很努力工作， 非常努力工作。

And of course, leaves have little calorific value,

而且想當然爾，葉子的熱量很低，

so sloths have evolved to spend as little energy as possible.

所以樹懶演化到盡量不用能量。

They do about 10 percent of the work of a similar-sized mammal

牠們跟類似大小的哺乳動物比， 只做百分之十的工作，

and survive on as little as 100 calories a day,

每天只要一百卡就能生存，

thanks to some ingenious adaptations.

感謝那些巧妙的適應！

The Bradypus, three-toed sloths,

樹懶屬，三趾樹懶，

they've got more neck bones than any other mammal,

牠們的頸骨是哺乳動物中最多的，

even a giraffe.

甚至比長頸鹿還多。

Which means they can turn their head through 270 degrees

這代表牠們可以 270 度轉頭，

and graze all around them,

把四周的葉片全吃掉，

without having to actually bother with the effort of moving their body.

完全不用費心努力移動身體。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It also means that they are surprisingly good swimmers.

這也代表牠們出奇地很會游泳。

Sloths can bob along in water

樹懶在水中上下躍動的速度，

three times faster than they can move on land,

比在陸地上移動還要快三倍，

kept afloat by ...

牠們保持漂浮的方法是……

trapped wind.

腸胃積氣！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So --

所以——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

sloths are the only mammal that we know of that don't do flatulence.

樹懶是我們所知 唯一不會脹氣的動物。

When they need to expel gas,

牠們需要排氣的時候，

it's actually reabsorbed into their bloodstream

就把氣體重新吸收進血液中，

and expelled orally as a sort of mouth fart.

然後經由嘴部排放，

就像嘴巴放屁一樣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Turning their lives upside down saves further energy.

把牠們的生活顛倒過來 也能進一步節省能量。

They have about half the skeletal muscle of a terrestrial mammal.

牠們的骨骼肌只有 陸生哺乳動物的一半左右。

They don't really have so many of the extensor muscles

牠們沒有很多可以負重物的伸肌；

that are the weight-bearing muscles;

instead, they rely on retractor muscles to pull themselves along.

相反地，牠們靠收縮肌來拉動自己。

They have long, hooked claws and a high fatigue resistance,

牠們有長鉤型的爪子及高抗疲勞耐力，

so they can literally hook on and hang like a happy, hairy hammock

所以牠們真的可以高掛在那裡，

像個快樂的毛茸茸吊床

for hours on end.

連續幾小時！

And sloths can do almost anything in this inverted position.

樹懶用這個顛倒的姿勢 幾乎可以做任何事。

They sleep, eat and even give birth.

牠們可以這樣睡覺、 吃飯甚至生小孩。

Their throat and blood vessels are uniquely adapted

牠們的喉嚨及血管已經特別適應

to pump blood and to swallow food against the force of gravity.

能抵抗重力以輸送血液及吞嚥食物。

They have sticky bits on their ribs

牠們的肋骨上有黏塊，

that prevent their enormous stomach from crushing their lungs.

能防止牠們巨大的胃壓壞肺部。

And their fur grows the opposite direction,

牠們的皮毛倒長，

so they can drip dry after a tropical drenching.

所以可以在熱帶大雨浸透之後滴乾。

The only problem is, if you turn a sloth the other way up,

唯一的問題是，

如果你把樹懶翻過來，

gravity removes its dignity.

重力會讓牠們失去尊嚴。

Audience: Awww.

觀眾：喔～～

They can't hold themselves upright.

牠們無法保持直立，

And so they drag their bodies along as if mountaineering on a flat surface.

所以牠們得拖著身體，

好像在平地登山一樣。

And I think this is why the early explorers like Valdés

我認為這就是為什麼 早期的探險家如瓦爾德斯

thought so poorly of them,

認為牠們這麼糟糕，

because they were observing sloths the wrong way up and out of context.

因為他們觀察的是反過來的樹懶，

而且不在牠們的生活背景裡。

I've spent many happy hours mesmerized by moving sloths.

我曾目不轉睛盯著移動的樹懶， 快樂地看上好幾個小時，

Their lack of muscle hasn't impeded their strength or agility.

牠們雖然缺乏肌肉， 但是力量及敏捷度都不受妨礙。

Nature's zen masters of mellow move like "Swan Lake" in slow mo --

大自然的禪宗大師老成持重的動作，

像極了慢動作的《天鵝湖》——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

with the core control of a tai chi master.

卻有太極大師的核心控制。

This one has fallen asleep mid-move, which is not uncommon.

這隻動到一半就睡著了，

這情況不算罕見。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But you're probably wondering:

但是你們大概會想：

How does a dangling bag of digesting leaves avoid being eaten?

吊在那裡吃葉片的大袋子 怎麼不會被吃掉？

Good question.

好問題！

Well, this is one of the sloth's main predators.

這是樹懶的主要天敵。

It's the harpy eagle.

角鵰。

It can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour,

牠每小時可以飛 50 哩，

has talons the size of a grizzly bear's,

爪子跟灰熊的爪一樣大，

razor-sharp eyesight,

目光銳利，

and that ring of feathers focuses sound

那一圈羽毛能集中聲音，

so that it can hear the slightest leaf rustle.

所以牠能聽見極輕的樹葉悉簌聲。

The sloth, on the other hand, has poor hearing, bad eyesight,

另一方面，

樹懶的聽力很差，視力很糟，

and running from danger is clearly not an option.

碰到危險就逃之夭夭 也不是什麼好選項。

No, they survive by wearing an invisibility cloak

不是，牠們靠著隱形披風逃生，

worthy of Harry Potter.

稱得上是哈利波特。

Their fur has grooves that attract moisture

牠們的皮毛上有溝會吸濕氣，

and act as tiny hydroponic gardens for algae,

就像小小的水藻水耕園一樣，

and they also attract a host of invertebrates.

它們同時也會吸引無脊椎動物寄生。

So they are their own slow-moving, miniature ecosystem.

所以牠們自成一格， 形成慢動作的小型生態系統。

They become one with the trees.

牠們與樹木合而為一。

And we think that their movements are so slow,

我們認為就是因為 牠們的動作其慢無比，

they slip under the radar of the monstrous harpy

才不會在角鵰飛過樹梢掃視獵物時， 被牠們可怕的雷達掃到。

as it's flying about the canopy, scanning for action.

Sloths are stealth ninjas,

樹懶是隱密的忍者，

and they rarely leave the safety of the canopy --

牠們極少離開安全的樹梢——

except to defecate,

除非要排便，

which they do about once a week at the base of a tree.

牠們大約一個星期在樹下蹲一次。

Now, this risky and energetic behavior has long been a mystery,

這種冒險且充滿活力的行為

一直是個謎，

and there are lots of theories as to why they do it.

有很多理論在說牠們為什麼這麼做。

But I think they're leaving surreptitious scented messages for potential mates.

不過我認為牠們是偷偷留下訊息

給可能的交配對象。

Because, you see, sloths are generally silent, solitary creatures,

因為，你知道嗎，

樹懶通常是安靜的獨居生物，

except for when the female is in heat.

除非雌性在發情。

She will climb to the top of a tree and scream for sex.

她會爬上樹頂大聲叫春。

In D-sharp.

用 D♯ 音 。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Don't believe me?

你們不信？

(Sound of sloth scream)

（樹懶叫聲）

D-sharp.

D♯ 音。

This and only this note will get the male's attention.

只有這個音會吸引雄性的注意。

It mimics the sound of the kiskadee flycatcher.

它很像霸鶲的聲音。

So the female remains covert,

所以母樹懶能維持掩護，

even when yodeling for sex at the top of her lungs.

即使她用最大的肺活量 以真假音交替叫春。

Her clandestine booty calls will carry for miles across the canopy,

她秘密的情郎召喚聲 可以在樹梢之間傳好幾哩，

and males will beat a slow path towards her.

公樹懶會很慢很慢地朝她而去。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I think scented messages in her dung will help send Romeo up the right tree

我認為她糞中的氣味

可以幫助羅密歐爬上對的樹，

so that he doesn't waste precious energy scaling the wrong one.

所以他不會浪費寶貴的能量

去爬不對的樹。

Sex, by the way, is the only thing that sloths do swiftly.

順帶一題，

性是樹懶唯一做得很快的事。

I've seen them do it in the wild,

我曾在野外看過牠們交配，

and it's over and done with in a matter of seconds.

只要幾秒鐘就結束了。

But then, why waste precious energy on it,

不過話說回來，為什麼 要浪費寶貴的能量做愛呢？

particularly after that journey?

特別是爬了那麼久之後？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Unlike other mammals,

不像其他的哺乳類，

sloths don't also waste time maintaining a constant warm body temperature.

樹懶也不會浪費時間

維持恆定的體溫。

Energy from the sun is free,

從太陽來的能源是免費的，

so they bask in the sun like lizards

所以牠們像蜥蜴一樣曬太陽，

and wear an unusually thick coat for the tropics to keep that heat in.

並且還在熱帶穿著 異常厚的外套以保持熱量。

Sloths have a freakishly low metabolism.

樹懶的新陳代謝慢得出奇。

And we think that this might be one of the reasons

我們認為這可能是一個原因，

that they can sometimes recover from injuries

讓牠們有時可以從對大多動物來說 會致命的創傷中痊癒。

that would kill most animals.

This sloth recovered from a double amputation,

這隻樹懶從雙截肢中痊癒，

and I've known sloths that have managed to survive

我也知道某些樹懶

可以設法在電纜線觸電後存活。

even power line electrocutions.

And we now think that a low metabolism may well be key to surviving extinction.

我們現在認為低新陳代謝

可能是滅絕倖存的關鍵。

Researchers at Kansas University who were studying mollusks

堪薩斯大學的研究人員

研究軟體動物，

found that a high metabolism predicted which species of mollusk

發現高新陳代謝預測了

哪種軟體動物會絕種。

had gone extinct.

Sloths have been around on this planet in one shape or another

樹懶用不同的樣子

for over 40 million years.

已經在這個星球上生存 超過四千萬年。

The secret to their success is their slothful nature.

牠們成功的秘密 就是牠們懶惰的天性。

They are energy-saving icons.

牠們是節能的典範。

And I founded the Sloth Appreciation Society

我創辦了「樹懶讚賞協會」，

to both promote and protect their slow, steady, sustainable lives.

發揚及保護牠們緩慢、 穩定及永續的生活。

I'm a pretty speedy character.

我是急性子的人。

I'm sure you've guessed.

我相信你們都猜到了。

And the sloths have taught me a lot about slowing down.

樹懶教了我很多要放慢速度的事。

And I think that the planet would benefit

我認為地球可以受惠，

if we all took a slowly digested leaf out of their book.

如果我們拿牠們的慢動作 做學習的例子。

How about we all embrace our inner sloth

這樣好不好？我們都來擁抱 我們內心的樹懶，

by slowing down,

放慢速度，

being more mindful,

更用心，

reducing wasteful convenience,

減少造成浪費的便利，

being economical with our energy,

節約能源，

recycling creatively

更有創意地回收，

and reconnecting with nature.

並與大自然重新連結。

Otherwise, I fear,

不然，我怕

it will be us humans that turn out to be

會是我們人類變成

"the stupidest animals that can be found in the world."

「世上你能找到最愚蠢的動物。」

Thank you very much.

謝謝大家。

May the sloth be with you!

願樹懶與你同在！

(Applause)

（掌聲）