Do Bears Need Wilderness? Are They a 'Symbol of the Wilderness'?

摘要

"In wilderness is the preservation of the world", wrote early American conservationist and writer Henry David Thoreau over 150 years ago. His message was that wild places sustained the physical and spiritual needs of human societies. Thoreau': words seem more valid today than ever. Human economies benefit immensely from ecosystem services provided by wild places (watershed protection, and mitigation of natural disasters, are two examples). And growing numbers of tourists to national parks in many countries signifies a need for contact with nature. Clearly people need wild places (whether they realize it or not)—but do bears? Should bears be used by conservationists as ambassadors of wild places?