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Updated: 2004-11-15 10:19
Bern bears get chance of liberty

“熊城”伯尔尼为熊建新家

Bern bears get chance of liberty

Bears see little of the world around them, except the sky(BBC)

After nearly 500 years in a pit, Bern's famous bears are to get a new home - a riverside reserve on the edge of the old city.

With luck, the park will open in 2007, bringing to an end years of protests by angry tourists and animal lovers.

"There are worse bear pits, but the bears are confined, they look up and can only see the sky," said Mark Rissi of the Swiss Animal Protection society.

But the money - some 6.9m Swiss Francs (4.5m euro) has yet to be allocated.

The design for the new 10,000 square-metre park allows the bears to live outside 24 hours a day.

"Now they are locked in at night," says Mr Rissi. "But evening is when they are most active."

The bears will be able to hibernate in caves, dig in the ground and catch fish.

Tourists will still be able to see them - not from the parapet of a pit, but from an adjacent bridge over the river Aar.

Bears were first brought to the Swiss capital in 1513, about 300 years after the city's founder named it after the first animal he killed on a hunting trip.

The symbol of the bear is on the city's flag, and is widely used for advertising restaurants, beers and other local attractions.

The conservative Bernese public were not initially enthusiastic about closing the historical bear pit, especially under pressure.

"They do not like criticism from outside," says Mr Rissi.

But the city was won over by the head of the city's zoo, Bernd Schildger, and a competition was held to select the best design for the new park.

The pit itself will become a skating rink.

Now the main obstacle is funding. Local authorities have yet to vote on the appropriation, which comes after a period of belt-tightening in the canton of Bern to deal with a huge budget deficit.

(Agencies)

瑞士“熊城”伯尔尼著名的熊近500年来一直居住在动物园的“熊坑”里,现在它们即将拥有自己的新家——坐落在旧城边一条河畔的保护区。

幸运的是,该公园将于2007年开放,从而结束了恼怒的游客和动物爱好者们(对“熊坑”)长达数年的抗议。

“还有条件更差的熊坑,但是(在这里)这些熊被囚禁了,他们抬头仰望时除了天空什么也看不到。”瑞士动物保护协会的马克·里斯说。

但是一笔约为690万瑞士法郎(约合450万欧元)的资金尚未到位。

面积为一万平方米的新公园的设计使这些熊一天24小时都可以生活在户外。

里斯先生说:“现在,它们晚上会被锁起来。但那正是它们最活跃的时候。”

这些熊将可以在洞穴里冬眠,可以挖洞,还可以捉鱼吃。

游客们仍然可以看到它们,但不是像原来那样隔着栏杆俯视深坑,而是从阿勒河上邻近的一座桥上望过去。

伯尔尼最初的统治者用狩猎中杀死的第一只动物来命名这座城市,大约300年后的1513年,熊首次出现在瑞士首都伯尔尼。

熊的标志性图案出现在伯尔尼的市旗上,并广泛用于饭店、啤酒和其他当地特色物品的宣传广告上。

保守的伯尔尼民众起初对关闭古老的“熊坑”并不热心,特别是面临压力的时候。

里斯先生说:“他们不喜欢来自外界的批评。”

但是伯尔尼动物园园长说服了整座城市,还举办了一场为新公园选择最佳设计方案的竞赛。

原来的“熊坑”将改为一个溜冰场。

现在最主要的困难就是资金的筹集。伯尔尼当局仍需为拨款举行投票,而为了应对巨大的财政预算赤字,伯尔尼州正处于节省开支时期。

(中国日报网站译)

 
Vocabulary:

hibernate: To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state(冬眠)

adjacent: close to; lying near(邻近的,毗连…的)

 
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