ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Munir Virani - Raptor biologist, wildlife photographer
Munir Virani is a raptor biologist and wildlife photographer, and Director of the Peregrine Fund Africa Program, devoted to conserving birds of prey.

Why you should listen

Native Nairobian Munir Virani's young passion may have been cricket, but it was during his tournament prize trips to game reserves that he found his true calling: wildlife. Specifically, the kind of wildlife people are disgusted by. More specifically, birds of prey. Munir earned a college degree in zoology and began working as a raptor biologist at the Peregrine Fund, devoted to the conservation of birds of prey worldwide, where he later became the Director of the Africa Program.

More profile about the speaker
Munir Virani | Speaker | TED.com
TED@Nairobi

Munir Virani: Why I love vultures

穆尼尔 韦拉尼: 为什么我喜欢秃鹫

Filmed:
1,134,254 views

作为大自然的清洁工,秃鹫们对自然循环做出了至关重要的贡献--可是为何总是留下坏印象?为什么大量的秃鹫濒临灭绝?猛禽生物学家穆尼尔 韦拉尼认为,我们需要更多的去关注这些独一无二并且深受误解的生物们,改变我们的看法并且保护秃鹫。
- Raptor biologist, wildlife photographer
Munir Virani is a raptor biologist and wildlife photographer, and Director of the Peregrine Fund Africa Program, devoted to conserving birds of prey. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I would like to talk to you about
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我想和大家聊聊
00:18
a very special特别 group of animals动物.
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一种非常不寻常的动物。
00:20
There are 10,000 species种类 of birds鸟类 in the world世界.
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地球上总共有一万种鸟类。
00:24
Vultures秃鹰 are amongst其中包括 the most threatened受威胁 group of birds鸟类.
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秃鹫是他们中最濒临灭绝的一种。
00:29
When you see a vulture秃鹫 like this, the first thing
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每当你看到秃鹫就像这只,首先
00:32
that comes to your mind心神 is, these are disgusting讨厌, ugly丑陋,
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浮现在你脑海中一定是,这是一些令人厌恶,
00:36
greedy贪婪 creatures生物 that are just after your flesh,
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贪得无厌并且追逐腐肉的可怕生物,
00:39
associated相关 with politicians政治家. (Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声)
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让人禁不住联想到政客们。(笑声)(掌声)
00:46
I want to change更改 that perception知觉. I want to change更改
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我想改变这种看法。我想改变
00:49
those feelings情怀 you have for these birds鸟类, because
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大家对秃鹫的这些不好的联想,因为
00:52
they need our sympathy同情. They really do. (Laughter笑声)
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他们需要我们的同情。他们真的很需要。(笑声)
00:55
And I'll tell you why.
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让我来告诉大家为什么。
00:56
First of all, why do they have such这样 a bad press?
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首先,为什么他们会给我们留下这种坏印象呢?
01:00
When Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文 went across横过 the Atlantic大西洋 in 1832
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1832年 查尔斯 达尔文在搭乘贝格尔号穿越大西洋的
01:04
on the Beagle比格尔, he saw the turkey火鸡 vulture秃鹫,
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旅途中,发现了土耳其秃鹫,
01:07
and he said, "These are disgusting讨厌 birds鸟类
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他当时说道,“这些令人恶心的,长着猩红色
01:10
with bald scarlet猩红 heads that are formed形成 to revel陶醉 in putridity腐烂." (Laughter笑声)
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秃头的鸟儿们总是沉湎于腐肉中不可自拔."(笑声)
01:16
You could not get a worse更差 insult侮辱, and that from Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文. (Laughter笑声)
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你很难找到比这更恶毒的侮辱了,这些话可是查尔斯 达尔文说的。(笑声)
01:21
You know, he changed his mind心神 when he came来了 back,
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你们知道吗,达尔文返回英国之后就改变他的看法,
01:23
and I'll tell you why.
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我马上会告诉你们为什么。
01:25
They've他们已经 also be associated相关 with Disney迪士尼 — (Laughter笑声) —
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秃鹫还曾经被迪斯尼看上—(笑声)—
01:28
personified人格化 as goofy高飞, dumb, stupid characters人物.
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像高飞狗一样,被人格化,变成了麻木的,愚蠢的动画角色。
01:33
More recently最近, if you've been following以下 the Kenyan肯尼亚 press
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而最近,如果你留意过肯尼亚的新闻
01:36
— (Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声) (Cheers干杯) —
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——(笑声)(掌声)(欢呼)——
01:44
these are the attributes属性 that they associated相关
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肯尼亚的国会议员们被讽刺为像秃鹫一般
01:47
the Kenyan肯尼亚 MPs国会议员 with. But I want to challenge挑战 that.
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贪婪和愚蠢。但是我想叫板它。
01:50
I want to challenge挑战 that. Do you know why?
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我要质疑它。你们知道为什么吗?
01:53
Because MPs国会议员
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因为国会议员们
01:55
do not keep the environment环境 clean清洁. (Laughter笑声)
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不能保持自然环境的清洁。(笑声)
02:00
MPs国会议员 do not help to prevent避免 the spread传播 of diseases疾病.
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不能阻止疾病的传播。
02:05
They are hardly几乎不 monogamous一夫一妻制. (Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声)
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几乎没人遵守一夫一妻制度。(笑声)(掌声)
02:12
They are far from being存在 extinct绝种. (Laughter笑声)
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他们离灭绝还很远。(笑声)
02:15
And, my favorite喜爱 is, vultures秃鹰 are better looking. (Applause掌声) (Laughter笑声)
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并且,这条我最喜欢,秃鹫比议员们好看多了。(掌声)(笑声)
02:22
So there's two types类型 of vultures秃鹰 in this planet行星.
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在这个世界上有两大类秃鹫。
02:26
There are the New World世界 vultures秃鹰 that are mainly主要 found发现
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新大陆的秃鹫主要生长在
02:29
in the Americas美洲, like the condors秃鹰 and the caracarascaracaras,
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美洲大陆,像是美洲秃鹫和委内瑞拉秃鹫,
02:32
and then the Old World世界 vultures秃鹰, where we have
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而在其他的大陆,那里
02:34
16 species种类. From these 16, 11 of them are facing面对
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总共有16种秃鹫,他们中的11种正面临着
02:37
a high risk风险 of extinction灭绝.
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灭绝的风险。
02:40
So why are vultures秃鹰 important重要? First of all,
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所以为什么说秃鹫重要呢?首先,
02:44
they provide提供 vital重要 ecological生态 services服务. They clean清洁 up.
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秃鹫对生态循环做出了至关重要的作用。他们净化环境。
02:47
They're our natural自然 garbage垃圾 collectors收藏家.
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秃鹫是我们的大自然垃圾清道夫。
02:50
They clean清洁 up carcasses尸体 right to the bone.
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他们会把尸体上的肉吃的干干净净只剩白骨。
02:52
They help to kill all the bacteria. They help absorb吸收 anthrax炭疽病
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他们能消灭所有尸体上的细菌,他们能吸收炭疽病毒
02:56
that would otherwise除此以外 spread传播 and cause原因
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阻止病毒的传播与扩散
02:59
huge巨大 livestock家畜 losses损失 and diseases疾病 in other animals动物.
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从而使大量的家畜和动物远离死亡和疾病。
03:03
Recent最近 studies学习 have shown显示 that in areas where there are
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最近的研究还显示在那些
03:05
no vultures秃鹰, carcasses尸体 take up to three to four times
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没有秃鹫生存的地区,尸体的分解会多花
03:08
to decompose分解, and this has huge巨大 ramifications后果
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三到四倍的时间,这给疾病的传播与扩散
03:11
for the spread传播 of diseases疾病.
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提供了更多的机会。
03:14
Vultures秃鹰 also have tremendous巨大 historical历史的 significance意义.
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秃鹫还有非常多的历史意义。
03:17
They have been associated相关 in ancient Egyptian埃及人 culture文化.
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他们和古埃及文化有着密切的联系。
03:20
Nekhbet奈赫贝特 was the symbol符号 of the protector保护者
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奈库贝特女神在古埃及文化中象征着监护人
03:24
and the motherhood母亲, and together一起 with the cobra眼镜蛇,
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和母性,通常和眼镜蛇女神维阿杰特一起出现,
03:27
symbolized象征 the unity统一 between之间 Upper and Lower降低 Egypt埃及.
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象征着上埃及和下埃及的团结和统一。
03:31
In Hindu印度教 mythology神话, JatayuJatayu was the vulture秃鹫 god,
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在印度教神话中,秃鹫之神名为雅达尤,
03:35
and he risked冒险 his life in order订购 to save保存 the goddess女神 Sita西塔
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他冒着生命危险
03:40
from the 10-headed-headed demon恶魔 Ravana滨景.
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从10头恶魔罗波那手中救出了西妲女神。
03:43
In Tibetan culture文化, they are performing执行 very important重要
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在西藏文化中,秃鹫尤其显得重要
03:46
sky天空 burials墓葬. In places地方 like Tibet西藏, there are no places地方
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天葬。在那些类似西藏的地方,既没有条件
03:49
to bury埋葬 the dead, or wood to cremate焚化 them,
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土葬,也没有木材去进行火葬,
03:52
so these vultures秃鹰 provide提供 a natural自然 disposal处置 system系统.
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所以秃鹫为当地人提供了一种天然的尸体处理系统。
03:56
So what is the problem问题 with vultures秃鹰?
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那么秃鹫都面临着哪些问题呢?
03:58
We have eight species种类 of vultures秃鹰 that occur发生 in Kenya肯尼亚,
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肯尼亚生长着八种秃鹫,
04:01
of which哪一个 six are highly高度 threatened受威胁 with extinction灭绝.
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其中的六种正濒临灭绝。
04:05
The reason原因 is that they're getting得到 poisoned中毒, and the reason原因
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很多秃鹫被毒死,中毒的原因
04:08
that they're getting得到 poisoned中毒 is because there's
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是因为在肯尼亚正在发生的
04:10
human-wildlife人类与野生动物 conflicts冲突. The pastoral牧歌 communities社区
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人类与野生动物之间对于生存空间的争夺。牧人们
04:13
are using运用 this poison to target目标 predators大鳄,
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使用毒药来对付掠食动物,
04:16
and in return返回, the vultures秃鹰 are falling落下 victim受害者 to this.
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掠食动物被毒死之后,秃鹫们随之成为了下一个受害者。
04:20
In South Asia亚洲, in countries国家 like India印度 and Pakistan巴基斯坦,
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在南亚,一些国家类似于印度和巴基斯坦,
04:23
four species种类 of vultures秃鹰 are listed上市 as critically危重 endangered濒危,
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四种秃鹫被列为极度濒临灭绝中,
04:26
which哪一个 means手段 they have less than 10 or 15 years年份 to go extinct绝种,
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这意味着在他们将会在10到15年之内彻底灭绝,
04:30
and the reason原因 is because they are falling落下 prey猎物
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灭绝的原因是因为秃鹫们
04:33
by consuming消费 livestock家畜 that has been treated治疗
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食用了那些生前曾被喂食过
04:35
with a painkilling止痛 drug药物 like Diclofenac双氯芬酸.
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含有双氯芬酸成分止疼药的家畜。
04:38
This drug药物 has now been banned取缔 for veterinary兽医 use in India印度,
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现在含有双氯芬酸的兽药已经被禁止在印度使用,
04:41
and they have taken采取 a stand.
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印度政府表现出了积极的态度。
04:44
Because there are no vultures秃鹰, there's been a spread传播
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因为秃鹫数量的骤减,野狗开始
04:46
in the numbers数字 of feral野性 dogs小狗 at carcass胴体 dump倾倒 sites网站,
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在牲畜尸体掩埋场周围泛滥成灾,
04:49
and when you have feral野性 dogs小狗, you have a huge巨大 time bomb炸弹
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在野狗泛滥的地区,狂犬病就像定时炸弹一样
04:52
of rabies狂犬病. The number of cases of rabies狂犬病
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随时都会爆发。狂犬病案例的数量
04:55
has increased增加 tremendously异常 in India印度.
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在印度出现了惊人的增长。
04:57
Kenya肯尼亚 is going to have one of the largest最大 wind farms农场 in Africa非洲:
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肯尼亚即将拥有全非洲最大规模的风力发电厂:
05:01
353 wind turbines涡轮机 are going to be up at Lake Turkana图尔卡纳.
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353台涡轮发电机即将被安装在图尔卡纳湖区。
05:04
I am not against反对 wind energy能源, but we need to work
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我不反对开发风能,但是我们应该呼吁
05:06
with the governments政府, because wind turbines涡轮机
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政府重新考虑这项决定,因为风力涡轮机
05:09
do this to birds鸟类. They slice them in half.
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会对鸟类造成威胁。高速的扇叶会把鸟儿“切”成两半。
05:12
They are bird-blending鸟混 machines.
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它们简直就是鸟类粉碎机。
05:15
In West西 Africa非洲, there's a horrific可怕的 trade贸易
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在西非,一些人毫无怜悯的叫卖
05:18
of dead vultures秃鹰 to serve服务 the witchcraft巫术 and the fetish物神 market市场.
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死去的秃鹫来满足巫术和收藏的需求。
05:23
So what's being存在 doneDONE? Well, we're conducting开展 research研究
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我们正在做什么呢?我们正在研究
05:26
on these birds鸟类. We're putting transmitters变送器 on them.
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这些秃鹫。我们在它们身上安装定位器。
05:29
We're trying to determine确定 their basic基本 ecology生态,
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我们试图去查明秃鹫与周围环境的关系(生态学)
05:31
and see where they go.
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并且了解秃鹫的行踪。
05:34
We can see that they travel旅行 different不同 countries国家, so
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我们发现它们会在不同的国家之间旅行,所以
05:36
if you focus焦点 on a problem问题 locally本地, it's not going to help you.
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如果只是关注一个地区,你很难取得什么进展。
05:39
We need to work with governments政府 in regional区域性 levels水平.
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我们需要去和整个地区的政府们打交道。
05:42
We're working加工 with local本地 communities社区.
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我们正努力与当地的居民们沟通。
05:45
We're talking to them about appreciating欣赏 vultures秃鹰,
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我们正在尽力让他们了解到秃鹫的益处,
05:48
about the need from within to appreciate欣赏 these
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并且发自内心得去感激这些
05:51
wonderful精彩 creatures生物 and the services服务 that they provide提供.
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奇妙的生物和他们为自然所做的贡献。
05:54
How can you help? You can become成为 active活性,
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你们能做些什么呢?你们可以行动起来,
05:57
make noise噪声. You can write a letter to your government政府
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制造声势。你们可以写信给你们的政府
05:59
and tell them that we need to focus焦点 on these very
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并且告诉他们,我们需要去关注这些被严重
06:02
misunderstood误解 creatures生物. Volunteer志愿者 your time
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误解的生物。花些时间
06:05
to spread传播 the word. Spread传播 the word.
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告诉你身边的人。尽可能多的人。
06:07
When you walk步行 out of this room房间, you will be informed通知
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当你走出这个房间的时候,你们就是
06:10
about vultures秃鹰, but speak说话 to your families家庭, to your children孩子,
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秃鹫达人了,不但要告诉你的家人们,还要
06:13
to your neighbors邻居 about vultures秃鹰.
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告诉你们的邻居们有关秃鹫的故事。
06:15
They are very graceful优美. Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文 said
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它们是那么的优雅。查尔斯 达尔文曾说到
06:18
he changed his mind心神 because he watched看着 them fly
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他改变了自己的看法,在他看到秃鹫们在空中
06:21
effortlessly毫不费力 without energy能源 in the skies天空.
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优雅而又浑然天成的身姿之后。
06:24
Kenya肯尼亚, this world世界, will be much poorer
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肯尼亚,全世界,都将会有很大的损失
06:27
without these wonderful精彩 species种类.
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如果失去了这些奇妙的物种。
06:30
Thank you very much. (Applause掌声)
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非常感谢。(鼓掌)
Translated by Meng Wang
Reviewed by Shawn Wang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Munir Virani - Raptor biologist, wildlife photographer
Munir Virani is a raptor biologist and wildlife photographer, and Director of the Peregrine Fund Africa Program, devoted to conserving birds of prey.

Why you should listen

Native Nairobian Munir Virani's young passion may have been cricket, but it was during his tournament prize trips to game reserves that he found his true calling: wildlife. Specifically, the kind of wildlife people are disgusted by. More specifically, birds of prey. Munir earned a college degree in zoology and began working as a raptor biologist at the Peregrine Fund, devoted to the conservation of birds of prey worldwide, where he later became the Director of the Africa Program.

More profile about the speaker
Munir Virani | Speaker | TED.com