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カラスの一団と暮らす
マンションの最上階の筆者の部屋にはベランダがある。洗濯物はよく乾くし、布団も干せる。夏には仲間とビールも楽しめる。でも、よいことばかりではない。最近、なんとカラスの襲撃が始まって…
Living in the Company of Crows
By DAVID ZOPPETTI
We live on the top floor of an apartment building in Tokyo and are fortunate enough to have terraces on three sides of our flat. They are great for relaxing in the sun, drying laundry, airing out futons or enjoying a barbecue and a glass of beer with friends on a summer evening.
However, lately our little "rooftop paradise" is turning into a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie "The Birds."
Have you noticed how the number of crows has increased these past few years? They used to dwell only in big parks like Yoyogi-koen, but now they're everywhere. Japan might have a low birthrate problem, but it is certainly not suffering from a lack of black-feathered ravens.
According to a recent survey, there are more than 20,000 of them in Tokyo alone. Not much compared to the human population, I agree.
But when they circle and screech overhead like hungry vultures, or spy at you from the vantage point of a close-by TV antenna, it makes you feel a little uncomfortable.
What attracts them of course, is the heap of raw garbage we produce in everyday life. The fact that there are no falcons or eagles (the natural enemies of crows) around also makes the place an attractive haven for them. The half-transparent garbage bags we use might be further invitation, as their content is visible from the outside.
People finally started to cover these with nets in an attempt to keep the scavengers away. But their sharp and pointed beaks usually find a way in. On garbage morning, the streets often look like a dump, and the stench is unbearable.
Crows raise their chicks from spring to early summer and are known to become aggressive during this period. There have been incidents of crows attacking people. Crow specialists (yes, there are crow specialists!) advise not to get within 10 meters of a nest and, if a crow threatens to attack, to stare it down. Stare down a crow! Easier said than done. I think I'd hide under the table instead.
So what should we do? To the Tlingit Indians of Alaska, the raven is the bird of creation, which brought the essence of life to all things. I have often seen flocks of them majestically soaring in the sub-Arctic skies during my travels to Alaska. However, Tokyo's black invaders have nothing in common with these wild birds living in their natural habitat.
As long as we make garbage available to these city dwellers, they will keep increasing.
The expression "to eat crow" means to put up with an embarrassing situation. In the present case, actually eating crow might be the solution.... Just kidding. Don't worry, I am a harmless animal lover. But let's give the problem a thought. I suggest we all try to put out our garbage at the last minute before the truck comes by. Then the crows might decide to go back to the parks and "Birds" will remain a cinema fiction.
We live on the top floor of an apartment building in Tokyo and are fortunate enough to have terraces on three sides of our flat. They are great for relaxing in the sun, drying laundry, airing out futons or enjoying a barbecue and a glass of beer with friends on a summer evening.
However, lately our little "rooftop paradise" is turning into a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie "The Birds."
Have you noticed how the number of crows has increased these past few years? They used to dwell only in big parks like Yoyogi-koen, but now they're everywhere. Japan might have a low birthrate problem, but it is certainly not suffering from a lack of black-feathered ravens.
According to a recent survey, there are more than 20,000 of them in Tokyo alone. Not much compared to the human population, I agree.
But when they circle and screech overhead like hungry vultures, or spy at you from the vantage point of a close-by TV antenna, it makes you feel a little uncomfortable.
What attracts them of course, is the heap of raw garbage we produce in everyday life. The fact that there are no falcons or eagles (the natural enemies of crows) around also makes the place an attractive haven for them. The half-transparent garbage bags we use might be further invitation, as their content is visible from the outside.
People finally started to cover these with nets in an attempt to keep the scavengers away. But their sharp and pointed beaks usually find a way in. On garbage morning, the streets often look like a dump, and the stench is unbearable.
Crows raise their chicks from spring to early summer and are known to become aggressive during this period. There have been incidents of crows attacking people. Crow specialists (yes, there are crow specialists!) advise not to get within 10 meters of a nest and, if a crow threatens to attack, to stare it down. Stare down a crow! Easier said than done. I think I'd hide under the table instead.
So what should we do? To the Tlingit Indians of Alaska, the raven is the bird of creation, which brought the essence of life to all things. I have often seen flocks of them majestically soaring in the sub-Arctic skies during my travels to Alaska. However, Tokyo's black invaders have nothing in common with these wild birds living in their natural habitat.
As long as we make garbage available to these city dwellers, they will keep increasing.
The expression "to eat crow" means to put up with an embarrassing situation. In the present case, actually eating crow might be the solution.... Just kidding. Don't worry, I am a harmless animal lover. But let's give the problem a thought. I suggest we all try to put out our garbage at the last minute before the truck comes by. Then the crows might decide to go back to the parks and "Birds" will remain a cinema fiction.
Shukan ST: Aug. 7, 1998
(C) All rights reserved
- flat
- マンション
- laundry
- 洗濯物
- airing out 〜
- 〜 を干すこと
- rooftop
- 屋上の
- is turning into 〜
- 〜 に変わってきている
- remake
- 再映画化、リメイク
- "The Birds"
- 『鳥』(1963).鳥の大群が人間を襲撃するというヒッチコックの恐怖映画
- dwell(in 〜 )
- 〜 に住む
- low birthrate
- 低出生率
- black-feathered ravens
- 黒い羽のカラス
- circle and screech overhead
- 頭上を弧を描いて飛び、鋭い鳴き声をあげる
- vultures
- ハゲワシ
- spy at 〜
- 〜 のようすをうかがう
- vantage point
- 見張りに有利な場所
- close-by
- 近くの
- heap of raw garbage
- 生ごみの山
- falcons
- タカ
- natural enemies
- 天敵
- haven
- 安息所
- half-transparent
- 半透明の
- might be further invitation
- さらに引きつけるものになっているのかもしれない
- content
- 中身
- in an attempt to 〜
- 〜 しようとして
- keep 〜 away
- 〜 に近づけない
- scavengers
- 腐食動物(腐った物に集まってくる動物)
- pointed
- とがった
- beaks
- くちばし
- dump
- ごみ捨て場
- stench
- 悪臭
- unbearable
- 耐えられない
- raise
- 育てる
- chicks
- ひな
- become aggressive
- 凶暴になる
- incidents
- 事件
- specialists
- 専門家
- threatens to 〜
- 〜 しようと脅す
- stare 〜 down
- 〜 をにらみつけて威圧する
- Easier said than done.
- (諺)言うは易く行なうは難し
- Tlingit Indians
- ネイティブアメリカンのトリンギット族
- creation
- 創造
- essence of life
- 生命の源
- flocks of 〜
- 〜 の群れ
- majestically
- 悠々と
- soaring
- 空を飛ぶ
- sub-Arctic
- 亜北極地帯の
- black invaders
- 黒い侵入者、カラスのこと
- have nothing in common with 〜
- 〜 と相通ずるものは何もない
- wild birds
- 野鳥
- natural habitat
- 自然生息地
- city dwellers
- 住人、カラスのこと
- eat crow
- 余儀なくいやなことをする、屈辱を忍ぶ
- put up with 〜
- 〜 に耐える
- embarrassing situation
- ばつの悪い事態
- solution
- 解決策
- Just kidding
- 冗談ですよ
- harmless
- 人畜無害の
- give 〜 a thought
- 〜 について考える
- at the last minute before 〜
- 〜 の直前に
- comes by
- 収集に来る