 When Romanians shot Nicolae Ceausescu, it was good news for the bears -- the Communist dictator had shot hundreds of them personally.
Now, though, the party's over -- the bears have become so numerous in some areas that Romanians are shooting them again. In Brasov, more than a dozen brown bears have been picnicking on garbage among the city's drab tower blocks, prompting authorities to begin culling the animals, which have been hunted to extinction in much of the rest of Europe. "We've put down three and plan to kill another four in the coming weeks," the head of the local hunting association, Tudor Danet, told reporters on Thursday. "They might become dangerous." Since Ceausescu's summary execution on Christmas Day 1989, bear numbers have risen sharply, Danet added -- Ceausescu used to invite cronies and foreign dignitaries to lavish shooting parties, sometimes bagging dozens of bears in a single day. Some locals who have been making money by acting as guides for Western tourists keen for a sight of the animals are not happy about the cull. But Danet said the area of Transylvanian mountain around Brasov could not support the 34 bears there now. "It's a pity," German tourist Erich Zimen told television in Brasov, "They are wonderful. And if you are courageous you can even feed them." (Agencies) | 當多年前獨裁者尼古拉·齊奧塞斯庫被羅馬尼亞人民殺死的時候，為此歡欣鼓舞的不僅僅是所有的人，還有所有的熊--死在這個獨裁者手下的熊已經數以百計了。 不過現在情況又有了變化--熊的數量正在不斷地急劇膨脹--以至于羅馬尼亞人民不得不"接過齊奧塞斯庫手中的槍"了。 在羅馬尼亞城市布拉索夫，十幾只褐色大熊正歡暢地穿梭在灰蒙蒙的城市高樓間，它們圍著一個個垃圾堆盡興地"野餐"，卻全然不知身后的獵槍早已對準了自己。這將是它們最后的野餐。盡管在有些歐洲地區熊已經瀕臨滅絕，但在此地卻是"熊滿為患"，人們只好從中篩選出一部分，"送它們上路"。  當地獵殺協會的負責人圖多爾·達內26日對記者說："我們已經殺掉了3頭，接下來的幾周內計劃還要再殺4頭。因為這些熊可能給人們帶來更多的危險。"
達內還說，自從1989年圣誕處決了齊奧塞斯庫以后，熊的數量就急劇增加。而在齊奧塞斯庫的時代，他常常設宴款待自己的親信和外國高官，并邀請他們一起參加獵熊派隊。有時候一晚上就能殺掉好幾十頭熊。 雖說現在殺熊是為了控制它們的數量，可還是有人為此感到不高興。那些專門靠為覓熊"芳蹤"而來的西方游客帶路賺錢的當地人就是其中之一。但按照達內的說法，布拉索夫周邊的特蘭西瓦尼亞山區實在沒有辦法容納34只熊。而德國游客埃里希·齊門的話也許代表了大多數游客的心聲，他說："太遺憾了。這些熊給我們帶來了很多樂趣。如果你膽子大的話，你甚至還可以去給他們喂食。" (中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2002-09-30 01:00
