Hello. Well, I'm here to talk to you about my animal muse: the sloth.
Zdravo. Ovde sam da bih vam govorila o mojoj životinjskoj muzi: lenjivcu.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I've been documenting the strange lives of the world's slowest mammal for the last 10 years. I still remember the first time I saw one. I was fascinated by their freaky biology. I mean, what's not to love about an animal that's born with a fixed grin on its face?
Beležim čudesne živote najsporijeg sisara na svetu poslednjih 10 godina. Još uvek se sećam kad sam ga prvi put ugledala. Bila sam fascinirana njihovom uvrnutom biologijom. Mislim, kako da ne volite životinju koja je rođena sa osmehom na licu?
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And the need to hug.
I potrebom da grli.
Audience: Awww.
Publika: Aaaa.
But sloths are massively misunderstood. They've been saddled with a name that speaks of sin and damned for their languorous lifestyle, which people seem to think has no place amongst the fittest in the fast-paced race for survival. Well, I'm here to tell you that we've got this animal all wrong -- and how understanding the truth about the sloth may help save us and this planet we both call home.
Međutim, lenjivci su krajnje neshvaćeni. Opterećeni su imenom koje govori o grehu i proklinjani zbog njihovog tromog stila života, za koji, kako se čini, ljudi smatraju da nema mesta među najpodobnijim u žustroj trci za opstanak. Pa, ovde sam da vam kažem da smo skroz pogrešno shvatili ovu životinju - i da nam razumevanje istine o lenjivcu može da pomogne da spasimo sebe i ovu planetu koju nazivamo domom.
I traced sloth-based slander back to a Spanish conquistador called Valdés, who gave the first description of a sloth in his encyclopedia of the New World. He said the sloth was "the stupidest animal that can be found in the world ... I have never seen such an ugly animal or one that is more useless."
Pratila sam klevetanje lenjivaca skroz do španskog osvajača po imenu Valdes, koji je prvi dao opis lenjivca u svojoj enciklopediji o Novom svetu. Rekao je da je lenjivac „najgluplja životinja koja postoji na svetu... Nikad nisam video životinju koja je toliko ružna i beskorisna.”
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Tell us what you really think, Valdés.
Samo bez ustručavanja, Valdes.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I'd like to have a word about Valdés's drawing skills.
Želela bih da porazgovaram o Valdesovom umeću crtanja.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I mean, what is that?
Mislim, šta je to?
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I've never seen an illustration of a sloth that's more useless.
Nikad nisam videla beskorisniju ilustraciju lenjivca.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
But I mean, on the plus side, he has given the sloth a remarkably humanlike face, and sloths do have remarkably humanlike faces. This sloth I photographed in Costa Rica, I think looks a lot like Ringo Starr.
Ali mislim, s pozitivne strane, podario je lenjivcu iznenađujuće ljudsko lice, a lenjivci zaista imaju iznenađujuće ljudsko lice. Ovaj lenjivac koga sam fotografisala u Kostariki mislim da liči na Ringa Stara.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
But then, sloths do bear an uncanny resemblance to the The Beatles.
Ali opet, lenjivci imaju neobičnu sličnost s Bitlsima.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Particularly pleased with Paul, actually, on there. But like The Beatles, sloths are also extremely successful. They come from an ancient line of mammals, and there were once dozens of species including the giant ground sloth, which was the size of a small elephant and one of the only animals big enough to eat avocado pits whole and disperse them.
Naročito sam, pak, zadovoljna Polom tamo gore. Međutim, poput Bitlsa, i lenjivci su izuzetno uspešni. Potiču iz drevne loze sisara i nekada ih je bilo na desetine vrsta, uključujući džinovskog zemaljskog lenjivca veličine omanjeg slona, jedne od retkih životinja dovoljno velikih da pojedu koštice avokada i da ih rasprše.
So ... (Laughter)
Dakle... (Smeh)
Some of you have worked it out already.
Neki od vas su već ukapirali.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
That means that without sloths, there might be no avocado on toast today, leaving hipsters everywhere totally bereft at breakfast.
Znači da bez lenjivaca danas ne biste imali avokado na tostu, ostavljajući hipstere svuda skroz ucveljene za vreme doručka.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Today, there are six surviving species, and they fall into two groups. You've got your Bradypus three-toed sloths, they're the ones with the Beatles haircuts and the Mona Lisa smiles. Then, there are the two-toed sloths. They look a little bit more like a cross between a Wookiee and a pig. They live in the jungles of Central and South America, and they're extremely prolific. There was a survey that was done in the 1970s in a Panamanian tropical forest that found that sloths were the most numerically abundant large animal. They took up one quarter of the mammalian biomass. Now, that's an awful lot of sloths and suggests they're doing something very right indeed.
Danas imamo šest preživelih vrsta i one su razvrstane u dve grupe. Imate bradipus lenjivce sa tri prsta, to su oni sa frizurama kao Bitlsi i osmesima Mona Lize. Potom imamo lenjivce sa dva prsta. Oni više liče na mešanca Vukija i svinje. Žive u džunglama Centralne i Južne Amerike i izuzetno su brojni. Tokom 1970-ih je urađeno ispitivanje u kišnoj šumi Paname koje je otkrilo da su lenjivci najbrojnija velika životinja. Zauzimali su četvrtinu biomase sisara. Sad, to je užasno mnogo lenjivaca i to nam nagoveštava da lenjivci uistinu rade nešto ispravno.
So what if, rather than deriding the sloth for being different, we tried to learn from it instead?
Dakle, šta ako bismo, umesto što im se rugamo jer su različiti, pokušali da učimo od njih?
We humans are obsessed with speed. Busyness is a badge of honor, and convenience trumps quality in our quest for quick. Our addiction to the express life is choking us and the planet. We idolize animals like the cheetah, the "Ferrari of the animal kingdom," capable of doing naught to 60 in three seconds flat. Well, so what?
Mi ljudi smo opsednuti brzinom. Zauzetost je orden časti, a pogodnost pobeđuje kvalitet u našem pohodu na hitrost. Naša zavisnost od instant života guši i nas i planetu. Idealizujemo životinje poput geparda, „ferarija u životinjskom carstvu”, koji je u stanju da dosegne 96 km/h za ravno tri sekunde. Pa šta s tim?
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
So what? The sloth, on the other hand, can reach a leisurely 17 feet a minute with the wind behind it.
Pa šta? Lenjivac, s druge strane, može nonšalantno da pređe 5 metara za minut s vetrom u leđa.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
But being fast is costly. The cheetah is speedy, but at the expense of strength. They can't risk getting in a fight, so they lose one in nine kills to tougher predators like hyenas. No wonder they're laughing.
Međutim, brzina je skupa. Gepard je brz, ali na račun snage. Ne mogu da rizikuju sukobljavanje, te izgube jedan plen od devet od jačih grabljivica poput hijena. Nije ni čudo što se smeju.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
The sloth, on the other hand, has taken a more stealthy approach to dinner. They survive by capturing and consuming static leaves.
Lenjivac, s druge strane, ima diskretniji pristup večeri. Preživljavaju loveći i konzumirajući statično lišće.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
But you see, leaves don't want to be eaten any more than antelope do, so they're loaded full of toxins and very hard to digest. So in order to consume them, the sloth has also had to become an athlete -- a digesting athlete.
Međutim, vidite, lišće ne želi da ga jedu ništa više od antilope, te je ispunjeno otrovima i veoma ga je teško svariti. Pa, kako bi ga konzumirali, lenjivci takođe moraju da postanu atlete - atlete u varenju hrane.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
The sloth's secret weapon is a four-chambered stomach and plenty of time. They have the slowest digestion rate of any mammal. And it can take up to a month to process a single leaf, which gives their liver plenty of time to process those toxins. So, sloths aren't lazy. No, they're busy. Digesting.
Tajno oružje lenjivca je želudac sa četiri komore i obilje vremena. Imaju najsporiju stopu varenja hrane od svih sisara. A može da potraje i čitav mesec dok svare jedan jedini list, što obezbeđuje njihovoj jetri obilje vremena da preradi otrove. Dakle, lenjivci nisu lenji. Ne, oni su zauzeti. Varenjem hrane.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Yeah, really busy.
Da, istinski zauzeti.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Hard at work, that sloth, very hard at work. And of course, leaves have little calorific value, so sloths have evolved to spend as little energy as possible. They do about 10 percent of the work of a similar-sized mammal and survive on as little as 100 calories a day, thanks to some ingenious adaptations. The Bradypus, three-toed sloths, they've got more neck bones than any other mammal, even a giraffe. Which means they can turn their head through 270 degrees and graze all around them, without having to actually bother with the effort of moving their body.
Taj lenjivac vredno radi, veoma vredno radi. I naravno, lišće ima nisku kalorijsku vrednost, pa su lenjivci evoluirali da troše što je moguće manje energije. Obavljaju oko 10 procenata posla sisara slične veličine i preživljavaju na svega sto kalorija dnevno, zahvaljujući nekim ingenioznim adaptacijama. Bradipus, lenjivci s tri prsta, imaju više vratnih kostiju od bilo kog drugog sisara, čak i žirafe. Što znači da mogu da okrenu glavu za 270 stepeni i da brste svuda oko sebe, a da zapravo ne moraju da se muče i pokreću svoje telo.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
It also means that they are surprisingly good swimmers. Sloths can bob along in water three times faster than they can move on land, kept afloat by ... trapped wind.
To takođe znači i da su iznenađujuće dobri plivači. Lenjivci mogu da plove vodom tri puta brže nego što mogu da se kreću na kopnu, a plutaju zahvaljujući... zarobljenim gasovima.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
So --
Dakle -
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
sloths are the only mammal that we know of that don't do flatulence. When they need to expel gas, it's actually reabsorbed into their bloodstream and expelled orally as a sort of mouth fart.
lenjivci su jedini poznati sisar koji se ne nadima. Kada moraju da izbace gas, njega zapravo apsorbuje njihov krvotok i izbacuje se na usta poput nekakvog usnog prdeža.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Turning their lives upside down saves further energy. They have about half the skeletal muscle of a terrestrial mammal. They don't really have so many of the extensor muscles that are the weight-bearing muscles; instead, they rely on retractor muscles to pull themselves along. They have long, hooked claws and a high fatigue resistance, so they can literally hook on and hang like a happy, hairy hammock for hours on end. And sloths can do almost anything in this inverted position. They sleep, eat and even give birth. Their throat and blood vessels are uniquely adapted to pump blood and to swallow food against the force of gravity. They have sticky bits on their ribs that prevent their enormous stomach from crushing their lungs. And their fur grows the opposite direction, so they can drip dry after a tropical drenching. The only problem is, if you turn a sloth the other way up, gravity removes its dignity.
Izokretanje života naglavačke takođe štedi dodatnu energiju. Imaju otprilike polovinu skeletne muskulature suvozemnog sisara. Nemaju zaista mnogo ekstenzornih mišića, a to su mišići za nošenje tereta; umesto toga, oslanjaju se na retraktorne mišiće kojima se penju. Imaju duge, zakrivljene kandže i visoku otpornost na oštećenja, pa mogu da se bukvalno zakače i vise, poput srećnih, dlakavih ljuljaški satima bez prekida. A lenjivci mogu da rade skoro sve u tom izvrnutom položaju. Spavaju, jedu, pa čak mogu tako i da se porode. Njihova grla i krvni sudovi su se naročito adaptirali da pumpaju krv i gutaju hranu nasuprot sili gravitacije. Imaju lepljive delove na rebrima koji sprečavaju njihove ogromne želuce da im smrskaju pluća. A njihovo krzno raste u suprotnom smeru, pa mogu da se ocede nakon tropskog kvašenja. Jedini problem je što, ako izvrnete lenjivca, gravitacija mu oduzme dostojanstvo.
Audience: Awww.
Publika: Aaaa.
They can't hold themselves upright. And so they drag their bodies along as if mountaineering on a flat surface. And I think this is why the early explorers like Valdés thought so poorly of them, because they were observing sloths the wrong way up and out of context.
Ne mogu da se drže uspravno. Pa vuku svoja tela kao da planinare po ravnoj površini. Mislim da je to razlog zašto su rani istraživači poput Valdesa imali loše mišljenje o njima, jer su posmatrali lenjivce u pogrešnom položaju i van konteksta.
I've spent many happy hours mesmerized by moving sloths. Their lack of muscle hasn't impeded their strength or agility. Nature's zen masters of mellow move like "Swan Lake" in slow mo --
Provela sam mnoge bezbrižne sate opčinjena lenjivcima u pokretu. Nedostatak mišića nije smetnja njihovoj snazi niti okretnosti. Prirodni zen majstori ležernosti se kreću poput usporenog „Labudovog jezera” -
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
with the core control of a tai chi master. This one has fallen asleep mid-move, which is not uncommon.
sa kontrolom težišta dostojnom majstora taj čia. Ovaj je zaspao usred pokreta, što nije retkost.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
But you're probably wondering: How does a dangling bag of digesting leaves avoid being eaten? Good question. Well, this is one of the sloth's main predators. It's the harpy eagle. It can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, has talons the size of a grizzly bear's, razor-sharp eyesight, and that ring of feathers focuses sound so that it can hear the slightest leaf rustle. The sloth, on the other hand, has poor hearing, bad eyesight, and running from danger is clearly not an option. No, they survive by wearing an invisibility cloak worthy of Harry Potter.
Međutim, verovatno se pitate: kako viseća vreća koja vari lišće izbegava da je pojedu? Dobro pitanje. Ovo je jedna od glavnih lenjivčevih grabljivica. Radi se o orlu harpiji. Može da leti brzinom od 80 km/h, ima kandže veličine onih kod medveda grizli, oštar vid, a taj prsten perja usmerava zvuk kako bi mogao da čuje i najmanje šuškanje lišća. Lenjivac, s druge strane, ima slab sluh, loš vid, a bežanje od opasnosti očito nije mogućnost. Ne, oni preživljavaju tako što nose plašt nevidljivosti dostojan Harija Potera.
Their fur has grooves that attract moisture and act as tiny hydroponic gardens for algae, and they also attract a host of invertebrates. So they are their own slow-moving, miniature ecosystem. They become one with the trees. And we think that their movements are so slow, they slip under the radar of the monstrous harpy as it's flying about the canopy, scanning for action.
Njihovo krzno ima žlebove koji privlače vlagu i deluju poput sićušnih hidroponskih bašti za alge, a one takođe privlače jata beskičmenjaka. Dakle, oni su sopstveni sporopokretni minijaturni ekosistemi. Postaju jedno s drvećem. I smatramo da su im poketi toliko spori da izmiču pažnji monstruozne harpije dok preleće kupolama od drveća, skenirajući kretanje.
Sloths are stealth ninjas, and they rarely leave the safety of the canopy -- except to defecate, which they do about once a week at the base of a tree. Now, this risky and energetic behavior has long been a mystery, and there are lots of theories as to why they do it. But I think they're leaving surreptitious scented messages for potential mates. Because, you see, sloths are generally silent, solitary creatures, except for when the female is in heat. She will climb to the top of a tree and scream for sex. In D-sharp.
Lenjivci su tihe nindže i retko napuštaju bezbednost krošnji - osim kad se prazne, a to rade jednom nedeljno pri dnu drveta. Sad, ovo riskantno i energično ponašanje je dugo bilo misterija i postoji mnogo teorija o tome zašto to rade. Međutim, smatram da ostavljaju tajne mirišljave poruke potencijalim partnerima. Jer, vidite, lenjivci su uopšteno tiha, usamljena bića, osim kada je ženka u teranju. Ona se penje na vrh drveta i vrišti da želi seks. U De-duru.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Don't believe me?
Ne verujete mi?
(Sound of sloth scream)
(Zvuk vriska lenjivca)
D-sharp. This and only this note will get the male's attention. It mimics the sound of the kiskadee flycatcher. So the female remains covert, even when yodeling for sex at the top of her lungs. Her clandestine booty calls will carry for miles across the canopy, and males will beat a slow path towards her.
De-dur. Ova i samo ova nota privlači pažnju mužjaka. Ženka oponaša zvuk ptice velike muholovke. Te tako ostaje prikrivena, čak i kada iz sve snage vrišti za seksom. Njeni tajni pozivi na randevu se prenose kilometrima kroz krošnje, a mužjaci će sporim tempom ići ka njoj.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I think scented messages in her dung will help send Romeo up the right tree so that he doesn't waste precious energy scaling the wrong one. Sex, by the way, is the only thing that sloths do swiftly. I've seen them do it in the wild, and it's over and done with in a matter of seconds. But then, why waste precious energy on it, particularly after that journey?
Mislim da mirišljava poruka u izmetu ženke pomaže Romeu da se popenje na pravo drvo, kako ne bi trošio dragocenu energiju penjući se na pogrešno. Seks je, usput, jedina stvar koju lenjivci obavljaju na brzaka. Videla sam kako to rade u divljini i sve se okonča u roku od nekoliko sekundi. Međutim, opet, zašto traćiti dragocenu energiju na to, naročito nakon tolikog putovanja?
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Unlike other mammals, sloths don't also waste time maintaining a constant warm body temperature. Energy from the sun is free, so they bask in the sun like lizards and wear an unusually thick coat for the tropics to keep that heat in. Sloths have a freakishly low metabolism. And we think that this might be one of the reasons that they can sometimes recover from injuries that would kill most animals. This sloth recovered from a double amputation, and I've known sloths that have managed to survive even power line electrocutions. And we now think that a low metabolism may well be key to surviving extinction. Researchers at Kansas University who were studying mollusks found that a high metabolism predicted which species of mollusk had gone extinct.
Nasuprot drugim sisarima, lenjivci ne traće vreme održavajući stalno toplu telesnu temperaturu. Sunčeva energija je besplatna, pa leškare na suncu poput guštera i nose neobično gusto krzno za tropske predele kako bi zadržavali toplotu. Lenjivci imaju čudnovato spor metabolizam. I smatramo da bi to mogao da bude jedan od razloga zašto se ponekad oporavljaju od povreda koje bi ubile mnoge životinje. Ovaj lenjivac se oporavio od dvostruke amputacije, a znam lenjivce koji su uspevali da prežive čak i udare struje sa dalekovoda. I trenutno smatramo da bi spor metabolizam mogao da bude ključ za opstanak. Istraživači sa Univerziteta Kanzas koji su izučavali mekušce otkrili su da je brz metabolizam pokazatelj koja će vrsta mekušca izumreti.
Sloths have been around on this planet in one shape or another for over 40 million years. The secret to their success is their slothful nature. They are energy-saving icons. And I founded the Sloth Appreciation Society to both promote and protect their slow, steady, sustainable lives. I'm a pretty speedy character. I'm sure you've guessed. And the sloths have taught me a lot about slowing down. And I think that the planet would benefit if we all took a slowly digested leaf out of their book.
Lenjivci postoje na planeti u ovom ili onom obliku preko 40 miliona godina. Tajna njihovog uspeha je njihova lenja priroda. Oni su ikone energetske uštede. A ja sam osnovala Društvo poštovalaca lenjivaca kako bih promovisala i zaštitila njihove spore, odmerene, održive živote. Ja sam žustra osoba. Verovatno ste to pretpostavili. A lenjivci su me poprilično podučili usporavanju. I smatram da bi planeta imala koristi kada bismo istrgli sporo svarljiv list iz njihove knjige.
How about we all embrace our inner sloth by slowing down, being more mindful, reducing wasteful convenience, being economical with our energy, recycling creatively and reconnecting with nature. Otherwise, I fear, it will be us humans that turn out to be "the stupidest animals that can be found in the world."
Zašto ne bismo svi prigrlili lenjivca u sebi usporavajući, postajući obazriviji, umanjujući traćenje radi ugodnosti, postupajući ekonomičnije s našom energijom, kreativno reciklirajući i povezujući se sa prirodom. U suprotnom se plašim da će se ispostaviti da smo mi ljudi „najgluplja životinja koja postoji na svetu.”
Thank you very much.
Mnogo vam hvala.
May the sloth be with you!
Neka lenjivac bude s vama!
(Applause)
(Aplauz)