Topical Collection "Human-Wildlife Conflict and Interaction"
A topical collection in Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This collection belongs to the section "Wildlife".
Editor
Interests: physiology; ethology; animal behavior; animal cognition
Topical Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
The encounters of humans with other animals have always influenced the fate of both. Impulsive or planned emotion-driven human actions have led to the establishment of different relationships with different species, from decimation to protection, at various historical moments.
Worldwide, people interact with wild animals, from wolves to rats, through an anthropocentric point of view that, for example, has driven us to consider pelicans or killer whales as competitors for fishing. Yet, what we call human–wildlife conflict (HWC) too often leads to the persecution, translocation, or eradication of non-human animals.
Today, many people are more conscious of human responsibility towards other species, and thus many forms of human–wildlife interaction (HWI) are valued and performed worldwide, for example, whale watching, birdwatching, photo safari, and ecotourism.
In many poor countries, this reciprocal influence promotes local development by enhancing environmental awareness and purpose by protecting rather than exploiting nature.
Authors are invited to submit original articles or reviews exploring HWC and HWI in new, contemporary ways for this Special Issue of Animals. The theme (regardless of species) should be anchored to specific leanings such as economy, welfare, management, and animal cognition.
Prof. Pia Lucidi
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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Keywords
- wildlife protection
- wildlife management
- wildlife economy
- wildlife strategies
- coexistence
- animal cognition
2021
Jump to: 2020
2020
Jump to: 2021
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Effects of tourism on the habitat use of a big threatened rodent at a World Heritage Site
Authors: Carlos E. Borghi
Affiliation: 1 INTERBIODES (Interacciones Biológicas del Desierto), Facultad Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, San Juan J5400ARL, Argentina 2 CIGEOBIO, UNSJ-CONICET (Centro de Investigaciones de la Geósfera y Biósfera, Universidad Nacional de San Juan–Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), San Juan J5400ARL, Argentina
Abstract: We are thinking of writing a manuscript about "Effects of tourism on the habitat use of a big threatened rodent at a World Heritage Site".
Title: Lions Panthera leo Prefer Killing Certain Cattle Bos taurus Types
Authors: Florian J. Weise; Mathata Tomeletso; Andrew B. Stein; Michael J. Somers; Matt W. Hayward
Affiliation: Conservation Biology Research Group University of Newcastle
Abstract: Lion predation on cattle causes severe human-wildlife conflict that results in retaliatory persecution throughout the lion’s geographic range. Cattle closely resemble the body size, shape and herding patterns of preferred lion prey. We studied cattle depredation patterns in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and determined whether lions exhibited specific preferences based on cattle demographic characteristics (sex and age), as well as morphological traits (body mass, horn length and pelage patterns). We also asked whether human disturbance of kills influenced lion energy intake and whether depredation circumstances influenced loss levels. Lions exhibited no preference for either cattle sex. Overall, bulls and calves were most preferred, whereas heifers were significantly avoided, as were cattle with uniform colouration patterns. Cattle with mottled pelage patterns were most preferred. About 13% of adult cattle had no horns, and these were preferentially targeted by lions, while cattle with short horns were killed in accordance with their availability and long horned cattle were highly avoided. The contemporary morphology of Tswana cattle that resulted from unnatural selective pressures during domestication does not offer effective anti-predatory protection. Human disturbance of feeding soon after kills occurred reduced cattle carcass consumption by >40% (or about 30 kg per carcass per lion). Lions killed significantly more cattle in non-fortified enclosures than in the veldt, although this was influenced by surplus killing. Our results suggest that cattle predation by lions is driven by availability and cavalier husbandry practices, coupled with morphological features associated with facilitating easy husbandry. Cattle no longer exhibit the key features that enabled their ancestors to coexist with large predators and are now reliant upon humans to perform critical anti-predator activities. Hence, the responsibility for mitigating human-wildlife conflict involving lions and cattle lies with people in either breeding traits that minimise predation or adequately protecting their cattle.
Title: Comparison of the perceived (pre-visit) and actual (post-visit) living conditions at elephant tourism venues in Thailand.
Authors: Emily Flower
Affiliation: Australia
Abstract: Animal welfare in wildlife tourism is an important area of discussion both within and beyond academic literature as tourists are increasingly observant and critical of captive animals’ health and well-being. The use of terms generally associated with facilities which aim to contribute to animal protection, such as ‘sanctuary’ or ‘haven’, are common in names of wildlife tourism attractions. However, lack of regulation regarding the use of such names in Thailand allows venues to attract well-meaning welfare-conscious tourists to visit their venue. This is common for elephant tourism venues (ETVs) where, regardless of their name, the quality of care provided to the elephants varies drastically. This study involved the collection of data before and during a visit to 12 ETVs. Venues were assigned pre- and post-visit scores based on the elephants’ perceived and actual living conditions which were used to create welfare scales for the 12 ETVs. This study highlights the range in the quality of care provided to captive elephants in tourism venues and reveals the potential disparity between tourists’ expectations and their actual experience at these venues due to inaccurate information promoted by the ETVs.
Title: Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation, and Co-existence Methods of Asian and African Elephants Similarities and Differences
Authors: Muhammed Mikail, TA Tengku Rinalfi Putra, Hasliza Abu Hassim & Azlan B C
Affiliation: 1. Wildlife Research Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang Selangor Malaysia 2 Department of Veterinary Preclinical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang Selangor Malaysia. 3 Department of Veterinary clinical studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang Selangor Malaysia.
Abstract: Elephants are recognized as the only known largest charismatic terrestrial mega-herbivore, and the important role they played in the maintenance of healthy ecosystem, the religious belief holds by different faith as well as ecotourism. Their conservation status as declared by the international union for conservation of nature is endangered due to conflict with humans. Human-elephant conflict occurs due to habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of which interaction between humans and elephants occurs thereby resulting to exhibition of crop raiding behavior by the elephants, destruction of properties, as well as loss of human lives, Hence classifying them as agricultural pest and subsequently been killed by affected communities or farmers. However diet availability and nutritional preference are known to determine the movement pattern of both Asian and African wild elephants since they are mixed feeders. Understanding the elephant foraging behavior and pattern is important and will offer best way of mitigating human-elephant conflict to bring about Human elephant interaction for a successful elephant conservation. This review highlighted the current knowledge on Human-elephant conflict mitigation method in Asian Elephant of Peninsular Malaysia and compared with the Mitigation Methods of African Elephants similarities and difference Keywords: African Elephant; Asian Elephant; Human-Elephant Conflict; Elephant co-existence; Elephant Foraging Behavior, Diet and Nutritional disorders
Title: the possibility of recovering wild birds of prey through a more modern and high-tech falconry.
Authors: Pia Lucidi
Affiliation: Prof. Pia Lucidi
Abstract: The content of the article - although we are in a first phase of data collection - is already significant. In fact, even some raptors of falconry, trained with this method, respond better and more quickly to training. I believe that our small contribution (three falconry raptors and one reintroduced wild raptor) is consistent with the editorial line of "Protection of animals and restoration of endangered and threatened species". This is a case study. We are currently continuing the experiments by transforming the current drone model for even more realistic simulations: fake prey fleeing raptors in such a realistic flight that it becomes exceedingly difficult to capture. This could become a powerful test for deciding whether a bird of prey is really healed after a hospitalization.
Title: Panthera tigris jacksoni Population Crash and Impending Extinction due to Enviromental Perturbation and Human Wildlife Conflict.
Authors: Dennis Ten Choon Yung 1,2; Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah 3,4; Sivananthan Elagupillay 5; Mat Naim Ramli 6; Rohana Jani 2; Noor Hashida Hashim 2.
Affiliation: 1. Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuantan, Pahang 2. Universiti of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3. Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia (corresponding author) 4. Academy of Sciences, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 5. c/o Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 6. Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract: With an estimated of 80 individuals left in isolated rain forest habitats in Malaysia, the critically endangered Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) is in the intermediate population crash leading to extinction in the next decade. Within about seven decades of persecution and habitat loss, the population experiencing rapid decline from about 3,000 tigers in 1950s down to 80 animals in 2020. The Malayan tiger species is hunted to feed the global illegal and money-spinning business in the traditional Chinese medicine and pelt as status symbol in eastern culture. In the HWC contextual, the tiger will be killed and generation of negative perceptions among the public and NGOs. We screened documents and published information from indexed journals, in Web of Sciences and Scopus databases, as well as available reports in other media. We analyse the anthropogenic activities on the tropical lowland habitats, impact of HWC, and roles of captive breeding and provide new insights for future global strategies for the management and perpetual conservation of this majestic critically endangered species for our next generation. Keywords: Malayan tiger, Critically endangered species, anthropogenic, Pahang, Malaysia Corresponding author email: [email protected] Corresponding author webpage links: https://publons.com/researcher/1586149/mohd-tajuddin-abdullah/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9592-9722 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohd_Tajuddin_Abdullah https://terengganu.academia.edu/MohdTajuddinAbdullahPhDFASc https://scholar.google.com.my/citations?user=ylnvJSAAAAAJ&hl=en https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319922638 Kenyir Lake Landscapes https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030649609 Resource Use and Sustainability of Orang Asli https://www.amazon.com/Kelestarian-Masyarakat-Terengganu-Sustainability-Community/dp/9670962234 https://www.amazon.com/SYARAHAN-INAUGURAL-UMT-BIOGEOGRAFI-BIOGEOGRAPHY/dp/9670962110
Title: Human-raptor conflicts in the Yungas from Northwestern Argentina.
Authors: Amira Salom; María Eugenia Suárez; Cecilia Andrea Destefano; Joaquín Cereghetti; Félix Hernán Vargas; Juan Manuel Grande
Affiliation: Laboratorio de Ecología y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Bernardo Houssay 200, 9410 Ushuaia.
Abstract: Wildlife persecution due to Human-Wildlife conflict has become a serious concern for biodiversity conservation, especially for many endangered species. In this context, conservation approaches need to consider the socio-ecological dimensions of each particular situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence, extent and social characteristics of Human-Raptor Conflicts (HRC) in the Yungas from northwestern Argentina. We conducted 115 semi-structured interviews in 21 sites and analyzed attitudes and associations between sociodemographic variables and the existence of HRC. Forty percent of interviewees showed negative attitudes towards raptors, mainly with those species considered livestock predators rather than poultry predators. A total of 11 species were regarded as conflictive because of predation on domestic animals, of which Andean condors showed the highest conflict. The only socio-demographic factor affecting conflicts was “livestock and poultry rearing”, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. The fact that only 8,7% of interviewees reported taking direct actions towards conflictive species indicate a relatively peaceful coexistence of people with raptors. Nevertheless, negative attitudes towards Andean condor together with their extreme susceptibility to any increase in non-natural mortality indicate the need of an integral conservation approach to tackle future threats for this species conservation in the area.
Title: The perils of being populous: conflict and conservation with abundant kangaroo species.
Authors: David B Croft
Affiliation: School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia.
Abstract: Australia’s first people managed landscapes for kangaroo species as important elements of their diet, accoutrements and ceremony. This developed and persisted for about 65,000 years. The second wave of colonists from the United Kingdom, Ireland and many subsequent countries introduced familiar domesticated livestock and have imposed their agricultural practices on the same landscapes since 1788. This heralded an ongoing era of management against kangaroos that are perceived as competitors to livestock and unwanted consumers of crops. Even so a kangaroo image remains the iconic identifier of Australia. Kangaroo management is shrouded in dogma and propaganda and creates a tension along a loose rural-city divide. This divide is further dissected by the promotion of the consumption of kangaroo products as an ecological good marred by valid concerns about hygiene and animal welfare. In the last decade the fervour to suppress and micro-manage populations of some kangaroo species has mounted. This includes suppression within protected areas that have generally been considered as safe havens. This review explores these tensions between conservation of iconic and yet abundant wildlife, and conflict with people and the various interfaces at which they meet kangaroos.
Title: Anthropogenic and environmental factors determining local favourable conditions for wolves during the cold season
Authors: Paolo Viola; Settimio Adriani; Carlo Maria Rossi; Cinzia Franceschini; Riccardo Primi; Marco Apollonio; Andrea Amici
Affiliation: Tuscia University, Department of agriculture and forest science
Abstract: We studied the characteristics of response site of elicited wolf howling during winter. The aim of this study was to assess differences in, i) human-related effects, ii) wildlife management, iii) habitat characteristics and topography in wolf response sites. We planned a wolf-howling survey in winter following a standardised approach. The study covered an Apennine area of 500 km2 belonging to the Salto Cicolano mountains (Central Italy). A hexagonal meshes was imposed on the area to determine the value of different variables at local scale. A logistic LASSO regression was performed (R function glmnet) because the dependent variable is dichotomous. Winter Response Sites are positively related to the presence of conifer woods (odds = 1.028), protected areas (odds = 1.014), wild boar drive hunting areas (odds = 1.015), and time elapsed since the last hunt (odds = 1.019). The response sites locations are negatively related to urban areas (odds = 0.873), cultivated lands (odds = 0.946), chestnut cultivation (odds = 0.846), stray dogs reply to acoustic stimulation (odds = 0.207).
Title: The escalating effects of wildlife tourism on human–wildlife conflict
Authors: Qingming Cui
Affiliation: School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, China
Abstract: Human–wildlife conflict is a barrier to achieving sustainable biodiversity conservation and community development in protected areas. Tourism is often regarded as a tool to mitigate such conflict. However, existing studies have mainly adopted a socio-economic perspective to examine the benefits of tourism for communities, neglecting the ecological effects of tourism. This case study of macaque tourism on a peninsula in China illustrates that tourism can escalate rather than mitigate human–wildlife conflict. Fifty-three stakeholders were interviewed and secondary data were collected to understand the development of macaque tourism and community–macaque conflict. The results show that food provision and tourist–macaque interactions rapidly increased the macaques’ population, habituation, and aggressive behaviours, which led them to invade the surrounding community more often and exacerbated human–macaque conflict. Meanwhile, low community participation in tourism generated few benefits for residents and did not help alter residents’ hostile attitudes towards the macaques. Local residents gradually retreated from agriculture as the macaques became more intrusive. A holistic approach to evaluating the role of wildlife tourism in resolving community–wildlife conflict is proposed and practical suggestions for alleviating such conflict are given. Keywords: macaque tourism, food provision, human–wildlife conflict, community development, ecological compensation, China
Title: Use Of European Funds and Ex-post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis Lupus Italicus) In the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)
Authors: Duccio Berzi; Jacopo Cerri; Carmela Musto; Maria Luisa Zanni
Affiliation: Ischetus scrl, Viale Ugo Bassi 6/r, Florence, Italy
Abstract: Introduction: Compensation programs were an important tool for mitigating conflicts between farmers and large predators. However, they presented significant weaknesses and faults. For years, the EU has been asking to give priority to programs for the prevention of damage caused by large carnivores, rather than to compensation ones, introducing compulsory compensation for the purposes of the decision (decision EC (2019) 772 of 29/01/19). This manuscript reports the experience of the wolf damage prevention programs in an Italian region, Emilia-Romagna, which has implemented a pilot project, adopting a new way to interface with the farmers involved in the prevention programs. Methods: Starting from 2014, a project aimed at spreading prevention measures was financed through regional and European resources, accompanied by a path of sharing and technical assistance with breeders from the regional body. In detail, (i) standardized types of intervention were defined and technical assistance was structured, (ii) ex post the effectiveness of the interventions carried out was assessed, (iii) the difficulties encountered in using the various financing instruments were analyzed. Results: Overall, 298 farms were analyzed, of these 166 applied for regional calls and 132 companies applied for European funds. The mitigation measures saw a reduction in predatory phenomena of 93.4%, i.e. from 528 to 35 predations over a period of 4-6 years. This study shows that more than 1/3 of the farmers were forced to give up the two tenders, mainly due to the lack of liquidity in anticipating the prevention measures. Conclusion: In the years examined by this study, the prevention programs in the Emilia-Romagna region, thanks to the technical support offered, proved to be a functional and effective tool, capable of significantly affecting the phenomenon of wolf predation on livestock. However, this work highlighted the high percentage of denials to mitigation measures by farmers interested in adopting these tools, stressing the need for regional agencies to focus on new policies that can give in advance economic resources to farmers and solve the problems of an authorization nature, relating to the various bodies with which the participant in the tenders must interface.
Title: Cost of coexisting with a relict large carnivore population: impact of Apennine brown bears, 2005−2015
Authors: Andrea Galluzzi; Valerio Donfrancesco; Gianluca Mastrantonio; Cinzia Sulli; Paolo Ciucci
Affiliation: Dept. Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Rome La Sapienza
Abstract: Human-carnivore conflicts are a major conservation issue. As bears are expanding their range in Europe’s human-modified landscapes, it is increasingly important to understand, prevent and address human-bear conflicts and evaluate mitigation strategies in areas of historical coexistence. Based on verified claims, we assessed costs, patterns, and drivers of bear damages in the relict Apennine brown bear population in the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park, central Italy. During 2005−2015, 203 (±71) damage events were verified annually, equivalent to 75,987 (± 30,038) €/year paid for compensation. Most damages occurred in summer and fall, with livestock depredation, especially sheep and cattle calves, prevailing over other types of damages, with apiaries ranking second in costs of compensation. Transhumant livestock owners were less impacted than residential ones, and farms that benefited from prevention measures loaned for use by the PNALM suffered lower levels of bear impact. Livestock farms chronically damaged by bears represented 8 (±3) % of those annually impacted, corresponding to 24 (±6) % of compensation costs. Further improvements in the conflict mitigation policy adopted by the PNALM include integrated prevention, conditional compensation, and participatory processes. We also discuss the implications of our study for human-bear coexistence in broader contexts.





















