THE presence of noisy ecotourists may unexpectedly benefit brown bears in the wild. Though the tourists scare big male bears away from prime feeding zones, hungry mothers and cubs are not deterred and seize the opportunity to eat free from the threat of infanticide, helping to boost the population.
Despite good intentions, ecotourists often do more harm than good. People, boats and cars can disturb the feeding, mating and parental behaviour of animals, sometimes with lethal consequences (New Scientist, 6 March, p 6).
But Owen Nevin at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK and Barrie Gilbert at…
