Lauren Pharr: How vultures can help solve crimes
蘿倫 · 法: 禿鷲如何助解罪案
Lauren Pharr promotes the role of vultures in forensic science. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
to be a doctor.
how vultures eat dead things
my parents had in mind.
and how vultures affect crime scenes.
以及禿鷲如何影響犯罪現場。
about how we take vultures for granted
I want to tell you a story.
all 1,000 of us.
in Nashville, Tennessee,
田納西州納許維爾的一個公園裡,
最佳衣裳的兩位女士:
floppy derby hats.
和可愛的圓頂窄邊禮帽。
to start talking
and see vultures circling round and round.
看到禿鷲一再地盤旋。
connection to death,
about these birds at crime scenes?
出現在犯罪現場的這些鳥?
are connected to death.
I received from a detective in Louisiana:
一名偵探發來的電子郵件:
do we have in Louisiana?"
有什麼鵟鷹或禿鷲?」
question I get all the time.
鵟鷹/禿鷲問題。
in the sky within the US are vultures.
看到的大黑鳥是禿鷲。
that live in Louisiana
of vultures in forensic science,
在法庭科學中的作用,
certain things become apparent.
the individual is dead.
偵探認為這個人已經死了。
to try to find the body.
that vultures circling in the sky
seen a vulture up close
或花長時間與牠們在一起,
to flap their wings and fly,
which are vortexes or little tornadoes
升高了地面的溫度,
as the sun heats up the ground.
a circling vulture,
from point A to B,
to try to find a body,
or on a fence post.
the only animals in the world
that you see here is super cool,
that can actually smell.
真正具有嗅覺的鳥類之一。
by sensing a chemical
冒出的化學物質
produced following death.
and quickly scavenges.
and leave you with a skeleton.
of vultures is not in the air,
不在空中而在地面。
giving you another call.
vultures are key forensic players,
被車輛碾死的動物屍體一樣。
are so good at what they do.
and if they scavenge humans,
清除人類的屍體,
forensic textbooks and training manuals?
法醫教科書和培訓手冊中呢?
to exclude animal scavengers
over the decaying subject matter.
would run away with their subject matter
動物會帶著被分析的東西跑走,
any data to report --
in a lengthy skeletonization process,
what detectives use during investigations.
when people see a skeletonized body,
for a really long time undiscovered."
這已存在很長一段時間了。」
could have been there
if scavenged by vultures.
for vulture scavenging
inaccurately estimating
missing person's files.
scientists to focus on vulture evidence
是讓法醫科學家專注於禿鷲證據,
to consider vulture scavenging
when skeletal remains are found.
of the kidnapping case.
like areas with water.
the first five days following death,
an intact spinal column and feathers.
in a shallow grave.
40 yards from where the body was found.
發現屍體的地方 40 碼遠。
to a bloody pine cone.
and they typically don't wander.
牠們通常不會漫遊。
but they're not going to wander 40 yards.
但牠們不會閒蕩 40 碼。
when it will get its next meal.
能吃下一頓飯的鳥而言。
if vultures were at the scene.
was consistent with the turkey vulture.
與火雞禿鷲的相同。
would a vulture wander 40 yards?
to operate in a manner
可用生物學和物理學來解釋。
by biology and physics.
the numerous bating experiments
曾在德州的大體農場
where you can donate your body to science.
捐獻供科學研究的地方。
my experiences with trapping
of monitoring vultures
and had an "Aha!" moment.
「啊哈」,我知道了!
lure a vulture 40 yards from a body.
禿鷲離開屍體 40 碼:
to the detectives
the victim had been incapacitated
was thought to have occurred
and buried in a shallow grave.
was the lure for the vulture
studying vulture behavior
some of the evidence.
out of the grave.
you have to think about the whole picture.
indicated that vultures were at the scene.
scavenging behavior.
of the turkey vulture.
has a cut-like tear near the wrist.
有切割般的撕裂傷。
smells the decay, lands.
the soft tissues away from the bone.
tear and pull, tear and pull.
the scavenging efficiency of vultures.
support the time line
together for the murder.
the vultures at the crime scene.
these very subtle clues.
這些非常微妙的線索。
和在原始狀態下的骨頭。
and fast at what they do.
the vulture evidence to the detective.
the vulture evidence in court.
was a death penalty case.
how studying vulture behavior
investigation possible.
in forensic studies,
of what happened, when it happened
at a crime scene with a dead body --
to find the clues vultures have left.
brings up vultures on a date,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lauren Pharr - Forensic anthropologistLauren Pharr promotes the role of vultures in forensic science.
Why you should listen
Every animal has its enthusiast. For the turkey vulture, it's Dr. Lauren Pharr. Originally from Tennessee, Pharr uses her PhD from LSU's Department of Geography and Anthropology to research and promote the role of vultures in forensic science.
Through cross-disciplinary research in forensic anthropology and geographic information systems, Pharr has shown that deeper study of vulture scavenging can lead to faster and more accurate work in identifying human remains. Pharr's work has led her across the country to help law enforcement professionals and researchers at the Texas State Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, the Smithsonian Ornithology Laboratory and the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Whether it's helping local law enforcement solve missing-person cases or assisting in data collection and research at national labs, Pharr proves that this often misunderstood species offers more than a cliché about vultures circling.
Lauren Pharr | Speaker | TED.com