Lucy Cooke: Sloths! The strange life of the world's slowest mammal
露西·库克: 树懒!世界上最慢的哺乳动物的奇怪生活
In books, TV shows and even an annual sloth calendar, Lucy Cooke shares unexpected truths about animals. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
about my animal muse:
我的动物界缪斯:
of the world's slowest mammal
最慢的哺乳动物的奇特生活,
about an animal that's born
that speaks of sin
人们似乎认为
has no place amongst the fittest
that we've got this animal all wrong --
我们完完全全误解了它,
the truth about the sloth
这个家一般的星球。
we both call home.
西班牙征服者那里,
conquistador called Valdés,
首次对树懒进行了描述。
in his encyclopedia of the New World.
that can be found in the world ...
或更一无是处的动物。”
or one that is more useless."
about Valdés's drawing skills.
of a sloth that's more useless.
a remarkably humanlike face,
humanlike faces.
I think looks a lot like Ringo Starr.
长得很像林戈·斯塔尔。
确实有着不可思议的相似之处。
resemblance to the The Beatles.
with Paul, actually, on there.
sloths are also extremely successful.
树懒同样非常成功。
其中曾包含多个物种,
and there were once dozens of species
which was the size of a small elephant
to eat avocado pits whole
(Laughter)
(笑声)
吃早餐时顿失乐趣。
totally bereft at breakfast.
它们可以被分为两类。
and they fall into two groups.
three-toed sloths,
和蒙娜丽莎的微笑。
and the Mona Lisa smiles.
between a Wookiee and a pig.
伍基人和猪的杂交品种。
of Central and South America,
that was done in the 1970s
numerically abundant large animal.
of the mammalian biomass.
something very right indeed.
the sloth for being different,
便利胜过质量。
in our quest for quick.
is choking us and the planet.
正在使我们和这个星球窒息。
the "Ferrari of the animal kingdom,"
“动物王国的法拉利”
in three seconds flat.
but at the expense of strength.
输给鬣狗等更优秀的掠食者。
to tougher predators like hyenas.
approach to dinner.
树叶不愿意像羚羊那样被吃掉,
to be eaten any more than antelope do,
and very hard to digest.
had to become an athlete --
is a four-chambered stomach
是所有哺乳动物中最慢的。
digestion rate of any mammal.
去消化一片树叶,
to process a single leaf,
来处理这些毒素。
to process those toxins.
它正在非常努力地工作。
very hard at work.
have little calorific value,
在消化时消耗尽可能少的能量。
as little energy as possible.
类似大小的哺乳动物的10%,
of a similar-sized mammal
as 100 calories a day,
than any other mammal,
through 270 degrees
with the effort of moving their body.
surprisingly good swimmers.
than they can move on land,
不会肠胃胀气的哺乳动物。
that don't do flatulence.
into their bloodstream
as a sort of mouth fart.
saves further energy.
可以节省更多的能量。
陆地哺乳动物的一半。
of a terrestrial mammal.
of the extensor muscles
它们依靠牵缩肌来拉动自己。
to pull themselves along.
and a high fatigue resistance,
和很强的抗疲劳能力,
like a happy, hairy hammock
几乎可以做任何事情。
in this inverted position.
are uniquely adapted
输送血液和吞咽食物。
against the force of gravity.
from crushing their lungs.
the opposite direction,
after a tropical drenching.
if you turn a sloth the other way up,
就像在平地上登山一样。
as if mountaineering on a flat surface.
the early explorers like Valdés
这样的早期的探险家
the wrong way up and out of context.
并且脱离了实际场景。
mesmerized by moving sloths.
我度过了很多快乐时光。
并没有妨碍力量和灵活性。
their strength or agility.
move like "Swan Lake" in slow mo --
就像慢动作中的“天鹅湖”——
which is not uncommon.
这并不罕见。
如何避免被吃掉?
of digesting leaves avoid being eaten?
of the sloth's main predators.
of up to 50 miles per hour,
the slightest leaf rustle.
has poor hearing, bad eyesight,
听力糟糕,视力不好,
is clearly not an option.
an invisibility cloak
that attract moisture
gardens for algae,
a host of invertebrates.
缓慢移动的微型生态系统。
miniature ecosystem.
their movements are so slow,
of the monstrous harpy
scanning for action.
the safety of the canopy --
at the base of a tree.
has long been a mystery,
充满活力的行为一直是个谜,
诞生了很多理论。
as to why they do it.
留下隐秘的气味信息。
scented messages for potential mates.
silent, solitary creatures,
沉默又孤独的生物,
and scream for sex.
will get the male's attention.
of the kiskadee flycatcher.
放声大叫时也是如此。
at the top of her lungs.
will carry for miles across the canopy,
几英里外的树冠上,
a slow path towards her.
帮助罗密欧爬上正确的树,
will help send Romeo up the right tree
去攀登错误的树。
scaling the wrong one.
that sloths do swiftly.
能迅速完成的事情。
with in a matter of seconds.
这么宝贵的精力在交配上呢,
a constant warm body temperature.
的外套以保持热量。
for the tropics to keep that heat in.
one of the reasons
recover from injuries
from a double amputation,
that have managed to survive
may well be key to surviving extinction.
是物种避免灭绝的关键。
who were studying mollusks
在研究软体动物时发现,
哪些种类的软体动物
predicted which species of mollusk
in one shape or another
is their slothful nature.
Appreciation Society
可持续的生活。
their slow, steady, sustainable lives.
a lot about slowing down.
慢慢地消化一片叶的话。
leaf out of their book.
that can be found in the world."
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lucy Cooke - Zoologist, author, explorerIn books, TV shows and even an annual sloth calendar, Lucy Cooke shares unexpected truths about animals.
Why you should listen
Lucy Cooke is a New York Times best-selling author, award-winning documentary producer, presenter and National Geographic explorer with a master's in zoology from Oxford University. She is a passionate conservationist and champion of animal species that are often misunderstood. Her style is immersive, journalistic and unashamedly populist, mixing expert storytelling with a dash of humor to reach the widest possible audience. She began her presenting career hosting Freaks and Creeps for National Geographic, a show about strange species that get overlooked in favor of charismatic megafauna, and has hosted numerous shows for the BBC.
Cooke has a particular soft spot for sloths and founded the Sloth Appreciation Society to promote a greater understanding of their lazy lifestyle. She has produced a number of iconic viral sloth videos, Meet the Sloths, an award-winning international series for Animal Planet, two best-selling books -- A Little Book of Sloth and Life in the Sloth Lane -- and an annual calendar featuring her sloth photographs.
Cooke's latest book, The Truth About Animals, was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society prize and the AAAS young adult science prize. Nature calls it a "deeply researched, sassily written history of the biggest misconceptions, mistakes and myths we've concocted about the animal kingdom, spread by figures from Aristotle to Walt Disney."
Lucy Cooke | Speaker | TED.com