Solution to the Problem:
The answer is: 67
Let x = number of animals killed in 1991.
Then x + 2.05x = 203
Then 3.05x = 203
So x = 66.557 or 67.
James Alarie added the following commentary about the problem...
If the article had said that the number had climbed 10%, it would mean
that the same number PLUS 10% of that base number had died. For
"climbed 205%", it should mean that the same number plus 205% of the
base number had died. I could then divide 203 by (1 + 2.05) and find
that the number for 1991 was 66.55. What happened to the .55 animal?
Did he get revived and then die later? The result should be an
integer.
If I assume that the 1991 number was 66, then the climb would be
207.5%. That's too high to "round off" to 205% unless someone is
being very liberal in the round-off department. If the 1991 number
were 67, then the climb would be 203%; that's too low.
It appears to me that the newspaper article misstated the "climb"
number. A 1991 number of 99 gives a ratio of 205%, so that sounds
likely.