“Among the carnivores, naturally wide-ranging species show the most evidence of stress and/or psychological dysfunction in captivity, a finding that is a cause for concern, given the difficulties of conserving such species in situ.”Zoos have radically altered the way they keep large carnivores over the past few decades. “Our results show that a particular lifestyle in the wild confers vulnerability to welfare problems in captivity,” they say. They conclude that the animals most likely to suffer problems are also the ones with the biggest natural territories. Georgia Mason and Ros Clubb, zoologists from the University of Oxford, say their discovery should prompt zoos to reappraise the way they keep big cats, large bears and other crowd pullers.”Our findings indicate that the keeping of naturally wide-ranging carnivores should either be fundamentally improved or phased out,” they write in the journal Nature.Dr Mason and Dr Clubb investigated 35 animal species by reviewing data on stereotypical behaviour ­ such as pacing up and down ­ and infant mortality published in more than 1,000 scientific papers. Polar bears, lions, tigers and other large carnivores that roam over huge territories in the wild become stressed and psychologically scarred when kept in zoos, a study suggests.
Scientists have found a direct correlation between the level of stress an animal suffers in a typical zoo enclosure and the size of its territory in the wild The biggest, most wide-ranging carnivores suffer the most. I think I first grew it to cover my acne at about 16, but I have it predominantly because I don’t like shaving. It would depend on the charity and the amount, but I hope no one takes me up on it.’Hope and History: Making Peace in Ireland’ by Gerry Adams is published by Brandon Books, £20..

But there were dozens of other escape attempts, for which I wasn’t caught, even though I didn’t get out It wasn’t to be. I wasn’t a Steve McQueen and that was it.If you were offered a large sum of money for charity, would you shave your beard off? Julia Bridgeman, SloughI don’t know My beard covers a multitude of sins. So the prison officer was looking down at him going in and looking up at me going out. One of my attempts involved someone who reputedly looked very like me He came into the prison so that I could go out in his place Unfortunately, he was about 5ft 8in and I’m about 6ft 1in. But the big thing is to make sure it stops – to work at conflict resolution.You were caught twice while trying to break out of prison. Why were you so bad at escaping? Tim Segal, by e-mailI was very unlucky. And you can only deal with that by being grounded and trying to make sure the violence ceases.

If you allowed yourself to be swamped by it, of course, you couldn’t live your life. Colleagues, people I’m in the car with, or even in the shower, have been known to leave when I start singing.Your life has been quite traumatic. Have you ever considered therapy? If not, how do you deal with the violence you have witnessed? Karen Thompson, Haywards HeathI’ve never considered therapy, although my opponents would probably advise it But it is very difficult I’ve been shot myself My home has been bombed I’ve lost lots of friends. As for films or TV, John Cleese in Fawlty Towers makes me cry with laughter I have them on DVD.