Lauren Pharr: How vultures can help solve crimes
劳伦·法尔: 秃鹫是如何帮助破案的
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.
它们是如何影响犯罪现场的。
about how we take vultures for granted
秃鹫的想当然的看法。
I want to tell you a story.
all 1,000 of us.
在座的1000人一起去。
田纳西州纳什维尔的一个公园里。
in Nashville, Tennessee,
和可爱的宽大圆礼帽。
floppy derby hats.
to start talking
有秃鹫在一圈圈地盘旋。
and see vultures circling round and round.
connection to death,
about these birds at crime scenes?
在犯罪现场的秃鹫呢?
are connected to death.
I received from a detective in Louisiana:
来自路易斯安纳州一名警探的邮件。
do we have in Louisiana?"
question I get all the time.
问的秃鹰和秃鹫的区别。
in the sky within the US are vultures.
天空盘旋的大黑鸟才是秃鹫。
that live in Louisiana
of vultures in forensic science,
在法医学中的作用,
certain things become apparent.
the individual is dead.
认为这个人已经死了,
to try to find the body.
that vultures circling in the sky
seen a vulture up close
to flap their wings and fly,
无法拍打翅膀飞翔,
which are vortexes or little tornadoes
热气流中有涡流或一些小龙卷风,
空气中的气压不同而产生。
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.
所以很难捕获猎物,
the only animals in the world
that you see here is super cool,
that can actually smell.
几种嗅觉灵敏的鸟类之一,
by sensing a chemical
produced following death.
产生的有毒有害的物质。
and quickly scavenges.
and leave you with a skeleton.
of vultures is not in the air,
giving you another call.
vultures are key forensic players,
are so good at what they do.
and if they scavenge humans,
如果它们吃人类腐肉,
forensic textbooks and training manuals?
和训练手册中没提秃鹫呢?
to exclude animal scavengers
over the decaying subject matter.
would run away with their subject matter
会带着目标物跑掉,
any data to report --
in a lengthy skeletonization process,
排除在了冗长解剖过程之外,
使用的正是这样的信息。
what detectives use during investigations.
when people see a skeletonized body,
当人们看到仅剩的骨架时,
for a really long time undiscovered."
很长时间才被发现的“,
could have been there
if scavenged by vultures.
for vulture scavenging
inaccurately estimating
missing person's files.
scientists to focus on vulture evidence
让法医学专家关注秃鹫的证据,
to consider vulture scavenging
when skeletal remains are found.
可能的近期死亡时间。
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.
to a bloody pine cone.
它们通常不会游荡。
and they typically don't wander.
but they're not going to wander 40 yards.
但不会溜达到40码外。
when it will get its next meal.
if vultures were at the scene.
was consistent with the turkey vulture.
是红头美洲鹫的。
would a vulture wander 40 yards?
to operate in a manner
by biology and physics.
the numerous bating experiments
做过的大量抑制实验,
where you can donate your body to science.
捐献给科研的地方。
my experiences with trapping
of monitoring vultures
and had an "Aha!" moment.
然后恍然大悟。
lure a vulture 40 yards from a body.
有两件事情会诱惑到秃鹫,
to the detectives
the victim had been incapacitated
害者头部受钝力外伤,
was thought to have occurred
and buried in a shallow grave.
埋在浅坟里。
was the lure for the vulture
是诱惑秃鹫的原因,
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.
有类似刀切的撕裂痕迹。
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
拼凑凶杀案的时间线。
together for the murder.
the vultures at the crime scene.
these very subtle clues.
非常微妙的线索。
and fast at what they do.
the vulture evidence to the detective.
提供给侦探,
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
发生了什么、何时发生、
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