I would like to talk to you about a very special group of animals.
Želio bih govoriti o jednoj vrlo posebnoj skupini životinja.
There are 10,000 species of birds in the world. Vultures are amongst the most threatened group of birds. When you see a vulture like this, the first thing that comes to your mind is, these are disgusting, ugly, greedy creatures that are just after your flesh, associated with politicians. (Laughter) (Applause) I want to change that perception. I want to change those feelings you have for these birds, because they need our sympathy. They really do. (Laughter) And I'll tell you why.
Na svijetu postoji 10.000 vrsta ptica. Strvinari su među najugroženijim pticama. Kad vidite ovakvog strvinara, prvo pomislite da su to odvratna, ružna, proždrljiva bića koja samo žele vaše meso, poput političara. (Smijeh) (Pljesak) Želim promijeniti način gledanja na njih i osjećaje koje imate prema ovim pticama jer one trebaju našu naklonost. Zbilja je trebaju. (Smijeh) Reći ću vam zašto.
First of all, why do they have such a bad press? When Charles Darwin went across the Atlantic in 1832 on the Beagle, he saw the turkey vulture, and he said, "These are disgusting birds with bald scarlet heads that are formed to revel in putridity." (Laughter) You could not get a worse insult, and that from Charles Darwin. (Laughter) You know, he changed his mind when he came back, and I'll tell you why. They've also be associated with Disney — (Laughter) — personified as goofy, dumb, stupid characters.
Kao prvo, zašto su na tako lošem glasu? Kad je 1832. godine Charles Darwin prešao Atlantski ocean na brodu Beagle, vidio je karipskog strvinara (Cathartes aura) i rekao: "To su odvratne ptice s ćelavim crvenim glavama, stvorene za gošćenje na truleži." (Smijeh) Ne postoji gora uvreda, i to od samog Charlesa Darwina. (Smijeh) Ali promijenio je mišljenje kad se vratio i reći ću vam zašto. Povezani su i s Disneyem -- (Smijeh) -- okarakterizirani su kao budalasti, glupi likovi.
More recently, if you've been following the Kenyan press — (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers) — these are the attributes that they associated the Kenyan MPs with. But I want to challenge that. I want to challenge that. Do you know why? Because MPs do not keep the environment clean. (Laughter) MPs do not help to prevent the spread of diseases. They are hardly monogamous. (Laughter) (Applause) They are far from being extinct. (Laughter) And, my favorite is, vultures are better looking. (Applause) (Laughter)
U skorije vrijeme, pratio sam kenijski tisak -- (Smijeh) (Pljesak) (Uzvici) -- ovo su osobine s kojima su povezali kenijske zastupnike u parlamentu. Ali želim to osporiti. Želim to osporiti. Znate zašto? Zato što zastupnici ne održavaju okoliš čistim. (Smijeh) Zastupnici ne pomažu u suzbijanju širenja bolesti. Rijetko su monogamni. (Smijeh) (Pljesak) Nisu ni blizu istrebljenja. (Smijeh) I, meni najdraže, strvinari su zgodniji od njih. (Pljesak) (Smijeh)
So there's two types of vultures in this planet. There are the New World vultures that are mainly found in the Americas, like the condors and the caracaras, and then the Old World vultures, where we have 16 species. From these 16, 11 of them are facing a high risk of extinction.
Na svijetu postoje dvije vrste strvinara. Postoje strvinari Novog svijeta, koji većinom žive u Sjevernoj i Južnoj Americi, poput kondora i caracara, te strvinari Starog svijeta, gdje spada 16 vrsta. Od tih 16 vrsta, 11 ih je pred velikim rizikom od istrebljenja.
So why are vultures important? First of all, they provide vital ecological services. They clean up. They're our natural garbage collectors. They clean up carcasses right to the bone. They help to kill all the bacteria. They help absorb anthrax that would otherwise spread and cause huge livestock losses and diseases in other animals. Recent studies have shown that in areas where there are no vultures, carcasses take up to three to four times to decompose, and this has huge ramifications for the spread of diseases.
Zašto su strvinari važni? Kao prvo, daju ključne ekološke usluge. Oni čiste. Oni su naši prirodni skupljači smeća. Čiste leševe sve do kosti. Pomažu ubiti sve bakterije. Pomažu upiti antraks koji bi se inače širio i prouzročio velike gubitke stoke te bolesti kod drugih životinja. Novija istraživanja pokazala su da u područjima gdje nema strvinara leševima treba tri do četiri puta dulje da istrunu, što ima ogromne posljedice na širenje bolesti.
Vultures also have tremendous historical significance. They have been associated in ancient Egyptian culture. Nekhbet was the symbol of the protector and the motherhood, and together with the cobra, symbolized the unity between Upper and Lower Egypt. In Hindu mythology, Jatayu was the vulture god, and he risked his life in order to save the goddess Sita from the 10-headed demon Ravana. In Tibetan culture, they are performing very important sky burials. In places like Tibet, there are no places to bury the dead, or wood to cremate them, so these vultures provide a natural disposal system.
Strvinari imaju i velik povijesni značaj. Bili su simbol u staroegipatskoj kulturi. Nekhbet je bila simbol zaštitnice i majčinstva, a zajedno s kobrom, simbolizirala je jedinstvo Gornjeg i Donjeg Egipta. U hinduskoj mitologiji, Jatayu je bio bog strvinar i riskirao je svoj život kako bi spasio boginju Situ od Ravane, demona s 10 glava. U tibetanskoj kulturi, izvode se vrlo važni nebeski pogrebi. U mjestima poput Tibeta nema se gdje sahraniti mrtve, a nema ni drveta za kremaciju pa su strvinari prirodni način odlaganja.
So what is the problem with vultures? We have eight species of vultures that occur in Kenya, of which six are highly threatened with extinction. The reason is that they're getting poisoned, and the reason that they're getting poisoned is because there's human-wildlife conflicts. The pastoral communities are using this poison to target predators, and in return, the vultures are falling victim to this.
Koji je onda problem sa strvinarima? Postoji osam vrsta strvinara u Keniji, od kojih je šest pred istrebljenjem. To je tako jer se otruju, a razlog tome je taj što postoje konflikti između ljudi i divljači. Pastirske zajednice koriste otrov zbog grabežljivaca, a zbog toga stradavaju strvinari.
In South Asia, in countries like India and Pakistan, four species of vultures are listed as critically endangered, which means they have less than 10 or 15 years to go extinct, and the reason is because they are falling prey by consuming livestock that has been treated with a painkilling drug like Diclofenac. This drug has now been banned for veterinary use in India, and they have taken a stand. Because there are no vultures, there's been a spread in the numbers of feral dogs at carcass dump sites, and when you have feral dogs, you have a huge time bomb of rabies. The number of cases of rabies has increased tremendously in India.
U Južnoj Aziji, u zemljama poput Indije i Pakistana, 4 vrste strvinara vode se kao kritično ugrožene, što znači da imaju manje od 10 - 15 godina do istrebljenja, a to je tako jer ugibaju zbog hranjenja stokom koja je tretirana sredstvima protiv bolova, primjerice Diclofenacom. Veterinarima u Indiji taj je lijek danas zabranjeno koristiti i oni su se tome usprotivili. Kako nema strvinara, povećao se broj divljih pasa na odlagalištima leševa, a kad imate divlje pse, imate ogromnu tempiranu bombu bjesnoće. Broj slučajeva bjesnoće jako se povećao u Indiji.
Kenya is going to have one of the largest wind farms in Africa: 353 wind turbines are going to be up at Lake Turkana. I am not against wind energy, but we need to work with the governments, because wind turbines do this to birds. They slice them in half. They are bird-blending machines. In West Africa, there's a horrific trade of dead vultures to serve the witchcraft and the fetish market.
Kenija će imati jednu od najvećih vjetroelektrana u Africi: kod jezera Turkana postavit će se 353 vjetrenjače. Nisam protiv vjetroenergije, ali moramo poraditi s vladama zato što vjetrenjače prerežu ptice na pola. To su sjeckalice za ptice. U Zapadnoj Africi odvija se zastrašujuća preprodaja mrtvih strvinara na tržištima za vračanje i fetiš.
So what's being done? Well, we're conducting research on these birds. We're putting transmitters on them. We're trying to determine their basic ecology, and see where they go. We can see that they travel different countries, so if you focus on a problem locally, it's not going to help you. We need to work with governments in regional levels. We're working with local communities. We're talking to them about appreciating vultures, about the need from within to appreciate these wonderful creatures and the services that they provide.
Što se poduzima? Provodimo istraživanje o ovim pticama. Stavljamo odašiljače na njih. Pokušavamo odrediti njihov osnovni okoliš i saznati kuda se kreću. Možemo vidjeti da putuju kroz različite zemlje pa nema koristi usredotočiti se na problem na lokalnoj razini. Moramo raditi s vladama na regionalnoj razini. Radimo s lokalnim zajednicama. Govorimo im da treba cijeniti strvinare, o potrebi iznutra da se cijene ta prekrasna bića i usluge koje ona pružaju.
How can you help? You can become active, make noise. You can write a letter to your government and tell them that we need to focus on these very misunderstood creatures. Volunteer your time to spread the word. Spread the word. When you walk out of this room, you will be informed about vultures, but speak to your families, to your children, to your neighbors about vultures.
Kako vi možete pomoći? Možete se aktivirati podići svoj glas. Možete napisati pismo svojoj vladi i reći da se moramo usredotočiti na ova vrlo neshvaćena bića. Podarite svoje vrijeme da bi se proširila vijest. Proširite vijest. Kad izađete odavde, bit ćete informirani o strvinarima, ali razgovarajte sa svojim obiteljima, sa svojom djecom, sa svojim susjedima o strvinarima.
They are very graceful. Charles Darwin said he changed his mind because he watched them fly effortlessly without energy in the skies. Kenya, this world, will be much poorer without these wonderful species. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Vrlo su graciozni. Charles Darwin rekao je da je promijenio mišljenje zato što ih je gledao kako bez ikakvog napora lete nebom. Kenija, ovaj će svijet biti mnogo siromašniji bez ove prekrasne vrste. Puno hvala. (Pljesak)