> most people will (reasonably) understand that to mean that's because of reproduction
Subjective claims are fine, maybe you misunderstood the headline (although by definition anyone complaining about the wording actually didn't misunderstand it). But that's an empirical claim that could be tested. And my suspicions are that almost no one in the target audience would think for one second that the bears have reproduced enough in less than one year to quadruple in population.
Subjective claims are fine, maybe you misunderstood the headline (although by definition anyone complaining about the wording actually didn't misunderstand it). But that's an empirical claim that could be tested. And my suspicions are that almost no one in the target audience would think for one second that the bears have reproduced enough in less than one year to quadruple in population.