 | | 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) | 它們本該成群結隊地飛往遼闊的大海，但現在，成千上萬的海鷗卻盤旋在加州橘郡普里馬的垃圾堆上空不肯離去。對于這里的員工來說，它們的糞便絕不僅僅增添了一絲煩惱，還可能造成嚴重的細菌污染。 現在，情況終于有了好轉。加利福尼亞州橘郡政府的支出表上多了四項空中"武器"的支出--這就是久經訓練、將輪番上陣驅趕海鷗的獵鷹。 這些獵鷹早已聲名遠播：它們曾成功地在機場跑道和軍用基地解決過同樣的問題。因此，橘郡政府才決定投資4萬美金引進它們，希望它們能從海鷗手中奪回垃圾堆的"領空"。 訓鷹人迪安·克拉考爾說，哪怕獵鷹只是在垃圾堆上空出現，其兇猛的食肉動物形象也足以震懾住海鷗，最終迫使它們乖乖地離開。 這些獵鷹都經過訓練，只會向訓練中的誘餌發起攻擊，而不會傷害其他鳥類。因此橘郡的官員希望，經過一段時間，那群海鷗能夠把垃圾堆上空看成是獵鷹的勢力范圍而不再有覬覦之心。 按照試驗項目規定的要求，這些獵鷹在接下來的五個月中，每周將工作五天，輪番上陣對付海鷗。 （中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2002-12-04 01:00
