The way the warden sees it, the 180-kilogram black bear living in the middle of the sprawling Louisiana State Penitentiary is an extra layer of security.
“I love that bear being right where it is,” Warden Burl Cain said. “I tell you what, none of our inmates are going to try to get out after dark and wander around when they might run into a big old bear. It’s like having another guard at no cost to the taxpayer.”
The bear was first seen by an inmate crossing a road in the prison earlier this month. It was taking a stroll near the center of the maximum security prison. Most of the 73-square-kilometer prison is run as a farm, but about 14km2 is piney woods.
PHOTO: AP
Prison workers measured the bear’s footprints, which were 15cm in diameter.
“The wildlife people told us they think it’s a big female they’ve been tracking for a while,” Cain said.
Maria Davidson, manager of the Large Carnivore Program for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, marvels that a bear was spotted in an area of high activity such as the center of the prison.
“Bears are actually very shy, their tendency is to run and hide,” Davidson said.
As for acting as an unpaid prison guard, Davidson doubts that the bear would provide much of a deterrent to a fleeing prisoner.
“We’ve never had a predatory attack by a black bear in Louisiana, to our knowledge, on pets or livestock,” she said. “As for a bear coming out and rushing an inmate, I don’t see that happening.”
The prison is isolated and has plenty of other kinds of dangerous wildlife, including alligators, rattlesnakes and wild pigs, said Gary Young, head of the executive management office at the prison. The last recorded escape was nearly three years ago, and the inmate was quickly recaptured before leaving the grounds.(AP)
佔地遼闊的路易斯安那州州立監獄內住了一隻黑熊,監獄的典獄長認為,這隻一百八十公斤重的黑熊讓監獄又多了一道安全防護。
「我很高興這隻熊生活在這裡,」典獄長柏爾.凱恩說:「因為天黑後沒有一個囚犯會想到外面晃,不然可能會碰上大黑熊;這就像不花納稅人半毛錢,就多請了一個警衛一樣。」
一名囚犯本月初過馬路時首先目睹這頭熊,當時牠正在這所高度警戒的監獄中央附近溜達。這所佔地七十三平方公里的監獄大部分做為農場之用,但其中十四平方公里是一片松樹林。
監獄員工測量了這隻熊的腳印,結果牠的腳長十五公分。
凱恩說:「野生動物組織的人跟我們說,他們已經觀察牠一陣子了,牠應該是一隻大母熊。」
路易斯安那州的野生動物暨漁業部下有一個大型肉食動物計畫,其負責人瑪莉雅.戴維森對熊會出現在像監獄這類人類活動頻繁的區域感到相當訝異。
戴維森說:「熊其實很膽小,牠們通常會跑去躲起來。」
至於作為一隻未支薪的「警衛熊」,戴維森懷疑這頭熊能對遏阻囚犯逃獄發揮多大作用。
「據我們所知,路易斯安那州還沒有發生過黑熊掠食攻擊寵物或家畜的事件,」她說:「而我也不認為熊會跑出來攻擊囚犯。」
這所監獄的行政管理部門主任蓋瑞•楊表示,我們地處偏僻,監獄轄區內還有其他許多危險的野生猛獸,例如短吻鱷魚、響尾蛇和野豬。上一次發生逃獄事件是將近三年前,結果這名囚犯還沒逃出監獄就立刻被逮到了。
(美聯社�翻譯:袁星塵)
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