 | | Officials are hoping falcons will chase away the hordes of sea gulls who have been haunting landfills in Orange County, Calif. |
They should be flocking to the ocean, but every day thousands of sea gulls fly to the Orange county's Prima landfill. Their droppings aren't just a nuisance to employees; they're a potential source of bacterial contamination. But now, the Orange county has added four flying weapons to its payroll - trained falcons that will take turns patrolling the skies in an attempt to scare the sea gulls away. After falcons helped to solve similar bird problems at airport runways and military bases, Orange County officials decided to invest ,000 to see if they could be an protect the airspace over the landfill. Falconer Dean Krakuer says the mere presence of the predatory birds will eventually convince the sea gulls to move elsewhere. Since the falcons are trained to only target the lure, they won't attack the other birds. Over time, county officials hope, the sea gulls will begin to view the landfill as the falcons' territory. As part of the pilot project, the falcons will be flying five days a week for the next five months. (Agencies) | 它们本该成群结队地飞往辽阔的大海，但现在，成千上万的海鸥却盘旋在加州橘郡普里马的垃圾堆上空不肯离去。对于这里的员工来说，它们的粪便绝不仅仅增添了一丝烦恼，还可能造成严重的细菌污染。 现在，情况终于有了好转。加利福尼亚州橘郡政府的支出表上多了四项空中"武器"的支出--这就是久经训练、将轮番上阵驱赶海鸥的猎鹰。 这些猎鹰早已声名远播：它们曾成功地在机场跑道和军用基地解决过同样的问题。因此，橘郡政府才决定投资4万美金引进它们，希望它们能从海鸥手中夺回垃圾堆的"领空"。 训鹰人迪安·克拉考尔说，哪怕猎鹰只是在垃圾堆上空出现，其凶猛的食肉动物形象也足以震慑住海鸥，最终迫使它们乖乖地离开。 这些猎鹰都经过训练，只会向训练中的诱饵发起攻击，而不会伤害其他鸟类。因此橘郡的官员希望，经过一段时间，那群海鸥能够把垃圾堆上空看成是猎鹰的势力范围而不再有觊觎之心。 按照试验项目规定的要求，这些猎鹰在接下来的五个月中，每周将工作五天，轮番上阵对付海鸥。 （中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2002-12-04 01:00
