I would like to talk to you about

一種非常特別的動物

a very special group of animals.

世界上有一萬種不同的鳥類

There are 10,000 species of birds in the world.

禿鷹是所有鳥類中最受威脅的一種

Vultures are amongst the most threatened group of birds.

當你看到這樣的禿鷹

When you see a vulture like this, the first thing

你的腦海裡浮現的第一個念頭是

that comes to your mind is, these are disgusting, ugly,

這真是噁心、醜陋、貪婪的生物

greedy creatures that are just after your flesh,

也讓你聯想到政客（大笑）（掌聲）

associated with politicians. (Laughter) (Applause)

我想改變你的看法

I want to change that perception. I want to change

我想改變你對這些鳥類的感覺

those feelings you have for these birds, because

因為他們需要我們的同情，非常需要。（笑聲）

they need our sympathy. They really do. (Laughter)

稍後我將告訴你為什麼

And I'll tell you why.

首先，為什麼大家對禿鷹的印象這麼差？

First of all, why do they have such a bad press?

當達爾文在1832年橫跨大西洋時

When Charles Darwin went across the Atlantic in 1832

在小獵犬號上，他看見土耳其禿鷹

on the Beagle, he saw the turkey vulture,

他說：「這些是為了沉溺墮落而生的

and he said, "These are disgusting birds

無毛、紅頭的噁心鳥類。」（笑聲）

with bald scarlet heads that are formed to revel in putridity." (Laughter)

你想不到更惡毒的侮辱了， 而這卻出自於達爾文之口。（笑聲）

You could not get a worse insult, and that from Charles Darwin. (Laughter)

但是，他在回來後改變了他的想法

You know, he changed his mind when he came back,

之後我再告訴你為什麼

and I'll tell you why.

另外，迪士尼也已經把禿鷹列入角色之一了（笑聲）

They've also be associated with Disney — (Laughter) —

裡頭包括了像高飛狗一樣象徵愚笨的角色

personified as goofy, dumb, stupid characters.

如果你最近看到肯亞的報導

More recently, if you've been following the Kenyan press

（笑聲）（鼓掌）（歡呼）

— (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers) —

牠們們還被看作是肯亞的國會議員

these are the attributes that they associated

但是我想要抗議這件事

the Kenyan MPs with. But I want to challenge that.

你知道我為什麼想要抗議這件事嗎？

I want to challenge that. Do you know why?

因為國會議員

Because MPs

不會讓環境更乾淨（笑聲）

do not keep the environment clean. (Laughter)

國會議員無助於預防疾病的散播

MPs do not help to prevent the spread of diseases.

而且還很難做到一夫一妻制（笑聲）（鼓掌）

They are hardly monogamous. (Laughter) (Applause)

得要很久才會絕種（笑聲）

They are far from being extinct. (Laughter)

而且我最喜歡的一點是， 禿鷹長得比較好看（笑聲）（鼓掌）

And, my favorite is, vultures are better looking. (Applause) (Laughter)

這裡有現存的兩種禿鷹

So there's two types of vultures in this planet.

有在美國被發現的新世界禿鷹

There are the New World vultures that are mainly found

像是兀鷹、卡拉卡拉鷹

in the Americas, like the condors and the caracaras,

以及有十六種的舊世界禿鷹

and then the Old World vultures, where we have

在這十六種當中

16 species. From these 16, 11 of them are facing

有十一種瀕臨絕種

a high risk of extinction.

為什麼禿鷹很重要呢？

So why are vultures important? First of all,

首先，牠們在生態中提供了非常重要的服務

they provide vital ecological services. They clean up.

牠們是大自然的清道夫，為我們清理垃圾

They're our natural garbage collectors.

牠們清理屍骨殘骸

They clean up carcasses right to the bone.

牠們幫忙殺死細菌、吸收炭疽病毒

They help to kill all the bacteria. They help absorb anthrax

阻止可能大量傳播

that would otherwise spread and cause

造成無數生物死亡或得病的病菌

huge livestock losses and diseases in other animals.

最近的研究報告指出

Recent studies have shown that in areas where there are

在沒有禿鷹的地區，屍體需要經過三到四倍的時間

no vultures, carcasses take up to three to four times

來分解與腐爛

to decompose, and this has huge ramifications

這樣的過程讓疾病交錯傳染

for the spread of diseases.

禿鷹也具有許多重要歷史性的意義

Vultures also have tremendous historical significance.

禿鷹讓人們聯想到了埃及文化

They have been associated in ancient Egyptian culture.

奈克貝特是保護者與母性的象徵

Nekhbet was the symbol of the protector

與眼鏡蛇同時出現時

and the motherhood, and together with the cobra,

則象徵了上埃及與下埃及的團結與統一

symbolized the unity between Upper and Lower Egypt.

在印度神話中，加達羽是禿鷹之神

In Hindu mythology, Jatayu was the vulture god,

牠冒著生命危險從十頭惡魔羅波那手中

and he risked his life in order to save the goddess Sita

救出悉達女神

from the 10-headed demon Ravana.

在西藏文化裡，牠們在天葬中扮演了很重要的角色

In Tibetan culture, they are performing very important

在某些地區，如西藏

sky burials. In places like Tibet, there are no places

他們沒有地方或木材可以為亡者辦理火葬

to bury the dead, or wood to cremate them,

因此禿鷹提供了自然分解的機制

so these vultures provide a natural disposal system.

那麼禿鷹到底出了什麼問題？

So what is the problem with vultures?

有八種禿鷹在肯亞出現

We have eight species of vultures that occur in Kenya,

其中有六種正瀕臨絕種的危機

of which six are highly threatened with extinction.

原因是被人類毒殺

The reason is that they're getting poisoned, and the reason

而被毒殺的原因則是

that they're getting poisoned is because there's

人類與野生動物之間的衝突

human-wildlife conflicts. The pastoral communities

牧羊人毒死那些會掠食的動物

are using this poison to target predators,

結果是這些禿鷹成了犧牲者

and in return, the vultures are falling victim to this.

在印度、巴基斯坦等南亞國家

In South Asia, in countries like India and Pakistan,

有四種禿鷹被列為極危物種

four species of vultures are listed as critically endangered,

意味著再過十五年牠們就會絕種了

which means they have less than 10 or 15 years to go extinct,

絕種的原因是因為

and the reason is because they are falling prey

牠們吃了被餵食像雙氯芬酸鈉這種止痛藥的生畜

by consuming livestock that has been treated

而成為了犧牲者

with a painkilling drug like Diclofenac.

這種藥物在印度的獸醫中

This drug has now been banned for veterinary use in India,

已確定被列為禁藥

and they have taken a stand.

因為沒有禿鷹的時候

Because there are no vultures, there's been a spread

就會有無數的野狗在屍體丟棄場

in the numbers of feral dogs at carcass dump sites,

而當有野狗的時候

and when you have feral dogs, you have a huge time bomb

就有了狂犬病爆發的不定時炸彈

of rabies. The number of cases of rabies

狂犬病已在印度以驚人的速度蔓延開來了

has increased tremendously in India.

肯亞將要興建非洲最大型的風車農場

Kenya is going to have one of the largest wind farms in Africa:

353座風車將會座落在圖爾卡納湖

353 wind turbines are going to be up at Lake Turkana.

我並不反對風力發電

I am not against wind energy, but we need to work

但是我們需要和各國政府合作

with the governments, because wind turbines

因為風車會將鳥切成兩半，就像圖片裡的那樣

do this to birds. They slice them in half.

它們是鳥類攪拌機

They are bird-blending machines.

在西非，有一種黑市交易是

In West Africa, there's a horrific trade

將禿鷹的屍體販賣給做巫術和戀物癖的人

of dead vultures to serve the witchcraft and the fetish market.

目前我們已做了一些努力 我們做了關於這些鳥的研究

So what's being done? Well, we're conducting research

我們在這些鳥的身上放了傳輸器

on these birds. We're putting transmitters on them.

我們試著了解最基本的禿鷹生態

We're trying to determine their basic ecology,

然後看牠們將前往何處

and see where they go.

我們發現牠們在不同國家間來去

We can see that they travel different countries, so

所以如果只著重於單一地點，對解決問題毫無幫助

if you focus on a problem locally, it's not going to help you.

我們需要與各國政府進行區域合作

We need to work with governments in regional levels.

我們也和當地居民合作

We're working with local communities.

告訴他們如何欣賞禿鷹

We're talking to them about appreciating vultures,

以及人類對這些美麗物種的需求

about the need from within to appreciate these

以及牠們提供的幫助

wonderful creatures and the services that they provide.

怎樣參與合作呢？你可以開始行動

How can you help? You can become active,

積極表示意見，寫信給你的政府

make noise. You can write a letter to your government

告訴當權者我們需要關注這些

and tell them that we need to focus on these very

被誤會的物種

misunderstood creatures. Volunteer your time

花點時間分享這些內容，傳遞出去

to spread the word. Spread the word.

當你走出這間房間

When you walk out of this room, you will be informed

你將收到關於禿鷹的訊息

about vultures, but speak to your families, to your children,

告訴你的家庭、孩子和鄰居

to your neighbors about vultures.

禿鷹是一種優美的動物

They are very graceful. Charles Darwin said

達爾文見到牠們在空間輕鬆飛翔的姿態時

he changed his mind because he watched them fly

改變了他的想法

effortlessly without energy in the skies.

如果沒有這樣美麗的物種

Kenya, this world, will be much poorer

肯亞和這個世界都將會變得更貧窮

without these wonderful species.

謝謝！（掌聲）

Thank you very much. (Applause)