 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) | 当多年前独裁者尼古拉·齐奥塞斯库被罗马尼亚人民杀死的时候，为此欢欣鼓舞的不仅仅是所有的人，还有所有的熊--死在这个独裁者手下的熊已经数以百计了。 不过现在情况又有了变化--熊的数量正在不断地急剧膨胀--以至于罗马尼亚人民不得不"接过齐奥塞斯库手中的枪"了。 在罗马尼亚城市布拉索夫，十几只褐色大熊正欢畅地穿梭在灰蒙蒙的城市高楼间，它们围着一个个垃圾堆尽兴地"野餐"，却全然不知身后的猎枪早已对准了自己。这将是它们最后的野餐。尽管在有些欧洲地区熊已经濒临灭绝，但在此地却是"熊满为患"，人们只好从中筛选出一部分，"送它们上路"。  当地猎杀协会的负责人图多尔·达内26日对记者说："我们已经杀掉了3头，接下来的几周内计划还要再杀4头。因为这些熊可能给人们带来更多的危险。"
达内还说，自从1989年圣诞处决了齐奥塞斯库以后，熊的数量就急剧增加。而在齐奥塞斯库的时代，他常常设宴款待自己的亲信和外国高官，并邀请他们一起参加猎熊派队。有时候一晚上就能杀掉好几十头熊。 虽说现在杀熊是为了控制它们的数量，可还是有人为此感到不高兴。那些专门靠为觅熊"芳踪"而来的西方游客带路赚钱的当地人就是其中之一。但按照达内的说法，布拉索夫周边的特兰西瓦尼亚山区实在没有办法容纳34只熊。而德国游客埃里希·齐门的话也许代表了大多数游客的心声，他说："太遗憾了。这些熊给我们带来了很多乐趣。如果你胆子大的话，你甚至还可以去给他们喂食。" (中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2002-09-30 01:00
