and President Theodore Roosevelt

狄奧多．羅斯福總統

needed a little break from the White House,

想離開白宮去渡假，

so he took a train to Mississippi

因此他搭上火車前往密西西比州，

to do a little black bear hunting outside of a town

到城外去獵黑熊，

called Smedes.

就在史密德鎮。

The first day of the hunt, they didn't see a single bear,

打獵的第一天，他們一隻熊也沒看到，

so it was a big bummer for everyone,

大家都覺得很掃興，

but the second day, the dogs cornered one

但是第二天，

after a really long chase, but by that point,

追逐好久之後，狗群圍住了一隻熊，

the president had given up

但是那時總統已經放棄，

and gone back to camp for lunch,

回到帳篷去吃午餐了。

so his hunting guide cracked the animal

因此狩獵長用來福槍托

on the top of the head with the butt of his rifle,

往那隻熊的頭上猛力一擊，

and then tied it up to a tree

接著將牠綁在樹上，並開始吹號角，

and started tooting away on his bugle

請羅斯福回來，

to call Roosevelt back so he could have the honor

享有槍殺牠

of shooting it.

的特權。

The bear was a female.

那是隻母熊。

It was dazed, injured,

牠頭暈眼花，遍體鱗傷，

severely underweight, a little mangy-looking,

十分瘦弱，看起來有點骯髒，

and when Roosevelt saw this animal

羅斯福一看到牠

tied up to the tree,

被綁在樹上，

he just couldn't bring himself to fire at it.

就是無法鼓起勇氣對牠開槍。

He felt like that would go against his code

他覺得這麼做有違

as a sportsman.

運動家精神。

A few days later, the scene was memorialized

幾天後，這個場景被畫在

in a political cartoon back in Washington.

華府的政治漫畫裡留念。

It was called "Drawing a Line in Mississippi,"

稱為「在密西西比州劃界」，

and it showed Roosevelt with his gun down and his arm out,

這幅畫展現了羅斯福放下槍並伸出手的樣子，

sparing the bear's life,

留給熊一條活命。

and the bear was sitting on its hind legs

那隻熊坐在後腳上，

with these two big, frightened, wide eyes

有著圓滾滾的雙眼

and little ears pricked up at the top of its head.

和頭頂上小巧、豎立的雙耳。

It looked really helpless, like you just wanted to

看起來非常無助，讓你想將牠抱在懷裡安慰牠。

sweep it up into your arms

讓你想將牠抱在懷裡

and reassure it.

安慰牠。

It wouldn't have looked familiar at the time,

當時那隻熊不太常見，

but if you go looking for the cartoon now,

但現在若是在漫畫裡找，

you recognize the animal right away:

你馬上就能認出這隻動物：

It's a teddy bear.

泰迪熊。

And this is how the teddy bear was born.

而這就是泰迪熊誕生的方式。

Essentially, toymakers took the bear from the cartoon,

基本上，玩具商從漫畫採用這隻熊，

turned it into a plush toy, and then named it

讓牠變成毛絨絨的玩具，

after President Roosevelt -- Teddy's bear.

並以羅斯福總統之名，稱它為「泰迪熊」。

And I do feel a little ridiculous

我覺得有點可笑，

that I'm up here on this stage

因為我站在這舞台上

and I'm choosing to use my time

把我的時間花在

to tell you about a 100-year-old story

告訴大家一個百年前的老故事，

about the invention of a squishy kid's toy,

關於一個軟綿綿童玩的誕生。

but I'd argue that the invention of the teddy bear,

但我認為泰迪熊發明的故事裡頭

inside that story is a more important story,

還有一個更重要的故事，

a story about how dramatically our ideas

一個我們的想法能讓

about nature can change,

自然大幅改變的故事，

and also about how, on the planet right now,

同樣地，如今在地球上

the stories that we tell

我們述說的故事

are dramatically changing nature.

也大幅改變了自然。

Because think about the teddy bear.

因為你想想泰迪熊。

For us, in retrospect, it feels like an obvious fit,

試著回想，對我們來說那是再自然不過的事了，

because bears are so cute and cuddly,

因為熊那麼可愛又討人喜歡，

and who wouldn't want to give one to their kids to play with,

誰不會想拿隻熊給孩子玩？

but the truth is that in 1902,

但事實是 1902 年時，

bears weren't cute and cuddly.

熊並不可愛也不討喜。

I mean, they looked the same,

牠們雖然長得一樣，

but no one thought of them that way.

但沒人會有那種感覺。

In 1902, bears were monsters.

1902 年時，熊是怪物。

Bears were something that frickin' terrified kids.

熊是會嚇死小孩的東西。

For generations at that point,

幾個世代以來，

the bear had been a shorthand for all the danger

熊一直是危險的象徵，

that people were encountering on the frontier,

大家會在荒郊野外碰到的那種，

and the federal government was actually

聯邦政府其實有

systematically exterminating bears

計畫地消滅熊，

and lots of other predators too,

以及其他食肉動物，

like coyotes and wolves.

像是土狼和野狼。。

These animals, they were being demonized.

這些動物都被妖魔化了

They were called murderers

牠們被被稱為兇手，

because they killed people's livestock.

因為牠們會殺害人類的牲畜。

One government biologist, he explained this

有位官方的生物學家說道，

war on animals like the bear by saying

這場對動物，像是對熊的戰爭，

that they no longer had a place

牠們已無容身之地，

in our advancing civilization,

在文明社會之中

and so we were just clearing them out of the way.

我們就能清光牠們。

In one 10-year period, close to half a million wolves

在十年之間，將近五十萬隻野狼

had been slaughtered.

被屠殺。

The grizzly would soon be wiped out

95% 原生地的灰熊

from 95 percent of its original territory,

即將被一掃而空，

and whereas once there had been 30 million bison

然而，當地曾有三千萬隻犎牛橫跨平原，

moving across the plains, and you would have

因此你聽過一些故事

these stories of trains having to stop

提到火車需暫停

for four or five hours so that these thick,

四、五個小時，

living rivers of the animals could pour over the tracks,

讓這些洪流般的大批動物通過軌道，

now, by 1902, there were maybe less than 100 left in the wild.

到了 1902 年，留現在在原野上的也許不到一百隻。

And so what I'm saying is, the teddy bear was born

我想表達的是， 泰迪熊誕生在

into the middle of this great spasm of extermination,

在大滅絕時期，

and you can see it as a sign that

你可以將它視為徵兆，

maybe some people deep down

也許有些人的內心深處

were starting to feel conflicted about all that killing.

對那些殺戮行為已開始感到衝突。

America still hated the bear and feared it,

當時美國還是討厭熊、害怕熊，

but all of a sudden, America also wanted

但是一瞬間，美國也想

to give the bear a great big hug.

給熊一個大大的擁抱。

So this is something that I've been really curious about in the last few years.

近年來，我對這件事深感好奇。

How do we imagine animals,

我們對如何想像動物，

how do we think and feel about them,

我們如何看待、感受牠們，

and how do their reputations get written

以及牠們的名聲

and then rewritten in our minds?

如何在我們的心中被寫下，然後改寫？

We're here living in the eye of a great storm

我們正生活在滅絕的颱風眼之中，

of extinction where half the species on the planet

地球上，超過半數的物種

could be gone by the end of the century,

有可能在本世紀末就會消失，

and so why is it that we come to care about

為什麼我們在乎的是某些物種，

some of those species and not others?

而非其他的物種？

Well, there's a new field, a relatively new field

有一個在社會科學界較新的領域

of social science that started looking at

開始研究這些問題，

these questions and trying to unpack the powerful

並試著卸下我們對動物那強大且

and sometimes pretty schizophrenic relationships

時常頗為反覆無常的關係，

that we have to animals,

and I spent a lot of time looking through

我花很多時間翻閱

their academic journals,

他們的學術期刊，

and all I can really say is that their findings

我能說的只有他們的發現

are astonishingly wide-ranging.

還真是廣泛的嚇人。

So some of my favorites include that

當中我最喜歡的包括

the more television a person watches in Upstate New York,

紐約上州的居民如果越常看電視，

the more he or she is afraid

他或她會越害怕

of being attacked by a black bear.

被黑熊攻擊

If you show a tiger to an American,

如果你讓美國人看老虎，

they're much more likely to assume that it's female

他們多半會認為那是母的，

and not male.

而非公的。

In a study where a fake snake

一份研究指出，如果路邊有假蛇

and a fake turtle were put on the side of the road,

和假烏龜，

drivers hit the snake much more often than the turtle,

駕駛輾過蛇的機率大於烏龜，

and about three percent of drivers who hit the fake animals

大約有 3% 的駕駛似乎是

seemed to do it on purpose.

故意輾過假動物。

Women are more likely than men to get a

女性在浪上看到海豚時，比男性更

"magical feeling" when they see dolphins in the surf.

可能有「神奇的感覺」。

Sixty-eight percent of mothers with

68% 的媽媽

"high feelings of entitlement and self-esteem"

會有「強烈自尊心和權利的感受」。

identified with the dancing cats

在買飼料時

in a commercial for Purina. (Laughter)

看到跳舞的貓咪，

Americans consider lobsters

美國人認為龍蝦

more important than pigeons

比企鵝還重要，

but also much, much stupider.

但也認為龍蝦較遲鈍。

Wild turkeys are seen as only slightly more dangerous than sea otters,

野生火雞只比海獺還危險一點而已

and pandas are twice as lovable as ladybugs.

熊貓可愛的程度比瓢蟲高兩倍。

So some of this is physical, right?

這和外表有點關係吧？

We tend to sympathize more with animals that look like us,

我們傾向較同情長得像人的動物，

and especially that resemble human babies,

尤其是長得像小嬰兒的動物，

so with big, forward-facing eyes

有較大的前視眼睛

and circular faces,

和圓圓的臉，

kind of a roly-poly posture.

圓滾滾的樣子。

This is why, if you get a Christmas card from, like,

這就是為什麼，如果你收到聖誕卡，

your great aunt in Minnesota,

像明尼蘇達州姨媽寄的，

there's usually a fuzzy penguin chick on it,

上面常會有毛絨絨的企鵝寶寶，

and not something like a Glacier Bay wolf spider.

而不是冰河灣的狼蛛在上面。

But it's not all physical, right?

也不全是外表吧？

There's a cultural dimension to how we think about animals,

文化層面也影響我們怎麼看待動物，

and we're telling stories about these animals,

以及如何說這些動物的故事，

and like all stories,

像所有故事一樣，

they are shaped by the times and the places

我們述說動物

in which we're telling them.

的時間和地點也會改變牠們的形象。

So think about that moment

想想時代背景

back in 1902 again where a ferocious bear

回想 1902 年的那一刻，

became a teddy bear.

一隻兇猛的熊變成泰迪熊。

What was the context? Well, America was urbanizing.

背景是什麼？美國正在都市化階段。

For the first time, nearly a majority of people lived in cities,

首次，超過半數的人住在城市，

so there was a growing distance between us and nature.

因此我們和自然的距離越來越遠。

There was a safe space where we could

有個安全地帶讓我們能重新思考熊，

reconsider the bear and romanticize it.

讓牠的形象變得浪漫。

Nature could only start to seem this pure and adorable

自然要開始變得如此純淨、討喜，

because we didn't have to be afraid of it anymore.

得要我們不再害怕自然才行。

And you can see that cycle playing out

你會看到這種循環不斷重覆上演，

again and again with all kinds of animals.

發生在各種動物身上。

It seems like we're always stuck between

似乎我們總是陷在

demonizing a species and wanting to wipe it out,

妖魔化物種、想要毀滅牠們，

and then when we get very close to doing that,

然後在我們快這麼做的時候，

empathizing with it as an underdog

就會同情牠們像隻敗犬，

and wanting to show it compassion.

想對牠們展現憐憫之情。

So we exert our power,

因此我們運用權力，

but then we're unsettled

但我們又因

by how powerful we are.

擁有強大的力量而感到不安。

So for example, this is one of

例如，這是小朋友寄給布希政府

probably thousands of letters and drawings

數千封信和畫之中的一件，

that kids sent to the Bush administration,

請求政府

begging it to protect the polar bear

保護北極熊，

under the Endangered Species Act,

依據瀕危物種法案

and these were sent back in the mid-2000s,

這些信在 2005 年左右被寄出，

when awareness of climate change was suddenly surging.

當時氣候變遷的意識突然高漲。

We kept seeing that image of a polar bear

我們不斷看到北極熊被

stranded on a little ice floe

困在小浮冰上的圖像，

looking really morose.

看起來鬱鬱寡歡。

I spent days looking through these files.

我花了幾天查閱這些資料，

I really love them. This one's my favorite.

非常喜愛，這是我最喜歡的一張。

If you can see, it's a polar bear that's drowning

你可以看到北極熊快淹死了，

and then it's also being eaten simultaneously

同時龍蝦和鯊魚

by a lobster and a shark.

正要將牠吃下肚。

This one came from a kid named Fritz,

這張是法瑞茲小朋友寫的，

and he's actually got a solution to climate change.

他真的找到氣候變遷的解方。

He's got it all worked out to an ethanol-based solution.

他運用乙醇方案來解決一切。

He says, "I feel bad about the polar bears.

他說：「我覺得北極熊好可憐。

I like polar bears.

我喜歡北極熊。

Everyone can use corn juice for cars. From Fritz."

每個人都可以用玉米汁幫汽車加油。法蘭茲敬上。」

So 200 years ago, you would have Arctic explorers

200 年前，我們有北極探險家

writing about polar bears leaping into their boats

會寫下北極熊跳到船上，

and trying to devour them,

試圖活吞他們的故事，

even if they lit the bear on fire,

即使放火燒熊也難保命，

but these kids don't see the polar bear that way,

但這些孩子不這樣看北極熊，

and actually they don't even see the polar bear

其實他們看待北極熊的方式甚至和

the way that I did back in the '80s.

我在 80 年代還小

I mean, we thought of these animals

的時候不同。

as mysterious and terrifying lords of the Arctic.

我們認為這些動物 就像是北極圈裡謎樣又嚇人的領主。

But look now how quickly that climate change

但是現在氣候變遷

has flipped the image of the animal in our minds.

已飛快轉變這種動物在我們心目中的形象。

It's gone from that bloodthirsty man-killer

北極熊從嗜血的殺人兇手

to this delicate, drowning victim,

到變成這種脆弱、快溺死的被害者，

and when you think about it, that's kind of

而當你認真思考

the conclusion to the story

那個故事的結局，

that the teddy bear started telling back in 1902,

那個 1902 年開始傳說的泰迪熊故事，

because back then, America had more or less

那時候，美國已或多或少

conquered its share of the continent.

征服了那塊大陸。

We were just getting around to

我們只是找時間去

polishing off these last wild predators.

快速處理最後一批野生食肉動物。

Now, society's reach has expanded

現在，社會已一路擴展到

all the way to the top of the world,

世界之巔，

and it's made even these, the most remote,

甚至讓這些遠在天邊、

the most powerful bears on the planet,

世上最強壯的熊都變成可愛

seem like adorable and blameless victims.

又無辜的受害者。

But you know, there's also a postscript to the teddy bear story

其實泰迪熊故事還有後續發展，

that not a lot of people talk about.

但卻沒什麼人討論。

We're going to talk about it,

我們可以稍做討論，

because even though it didn't really take long

因為即使在

after Roosevelt's hunt in 1902

1902 年羅斯福打獵後不久，

for the toy to become a full-blown craze,

這玩具開始蔚為風潮，

most people figured it was a fad,

大多數人都把它看做是一時的流行，

it was a sort of silly political novelty item

只是某種愚蠢的政治噱頭，

and it would go away once the president left office,

總統卸任就會煙消雲散。

and so by 1909, when Roosevelt's successor,

因此羅斯福在 1909 年的接班人

William Howard Taft,

威廉．霍華德．塔虎脫

was getting ready to be inaugurated,

準備好要就職時，

the toy industry was on the hunt

玩具業等著搜尋

for the next big thing.

下一個大事件。

They didn't do too well.

結果成效不彰。

That January, Taft was the guest of honor

那年一月，塔虎脫是

at a banquet in Atlanta,

亞特蘭大一場宴會的座上佳賓，

and for days in advance,

在會前幾天，

the big news was the menu.

菜單是新聞重點。

They were going to be serving him

他們打算招待塔虎脫一道南方菜，