Ursine Promiscuity

Brown Bears are making a big comeback in Europe. Throughout the central mountain regions bears are reappearing in places where they have not been seen for generations. Biologists and environmentalists are ecstatic about the development, but farmers and other residents are definitely not happy about it.

The situation is complicated. There are bear enthusiasts and "bear tourists" who flock to areas where the bears have been seen. Hikers report a thrilling sense of danger when walking through bear territory. And there is even a "bear lawyer" who represents the beasts' interests against critics. But what will happen when the first hiker is killed, or a shepherd finds his flock decimated, or families' pet dogs are slaughtered? Officials admit that "bear management" is an extremely expensive proposition. How long will taxpayers be willing to shell out for it?

Stay tuned....

Read about it here.

And on the subject of ursine sex -- Der Spiegel reports:

The Slutty Habits of Brown Bears

Female brown bears like to sleep around, according to findings just published by a new study. But their promiscuity stems not, it seems, from good-old fashioned randiness, but rather is a clever way of protecting their cubs.

If you are a brown bear, being a good mother doesn't preclude also being a bit of a tramp. In fact, according to a new study released on Wednesday, putting yourself about is actually the best way to protect your children.

A favored tactic of male bears to ensure that their own genes get passed on, is to kill the offspring of other fathers. This not only decreases competition for their own cubs, but also frees up the mothers to be fertilized again -- but this time by them.

Faced with the infanticide tendencies of their males, mother bears have come up with a cunning way of preventing their cubs being knocked off: copulate with as many males as you possible can. While this may appear fun to some, and simply exhausting to others, it does mean that no one is quite sure who the father is. Hardly a classy approach but an effective one: The male bears hold back from killing the offspring just in case they end up wiping out their own genetic pool.

Read it here.

Clever, no? But why don't we see similar behavior in other species, like lions, where males kill off their rivals' cubs?