Understanding the Dynamics of Human–Wildlife Conflicts in North-Western Pakistan: Implications for Sustainable Conservation

The high economic costs of human–wildlife conflicts (HWC) hinder long-term conservation successes, especially in developing countries. We investigated HWC by interviewing 498 respondents from 42 villages in Nowshera district, Pakistan. According to respondents, six species—the common leopard (Panthera pardus), grey wolf (Canis lupus), golden jackal (Canis aureus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica), and wild boar (Sus scrofa)—were involved in livestock predation and crop-raiding. Livestock predation (N = 670) translated into a total annual economic loss of USD 48,490 across the 42 villages, with the highest economic loss of USD 57.1/household/year attributed to the golden jackal. Crop damage by wild boar and porcupine incurred a total annual economic loss of USD 18,000. Results further showed that livestock predation was highly affected by location, prey type, prey age, and herding practices, while cereals and vegetables were preferred crops for wild boar and Indian porcupine. The grey wolf was declared as the most dangerous carnivore, followed by the golden jackal and common leopard. Negative attitude about golden jackal and wild boar prevails among 90% of the respondents of the study area. We strongly assume that the abundance of apex predators can control the economic impacts of meso-carnivores and wild boar on the community’s livelihood. Keeping relatively smaller herds may reduce carnivore attacks and educating the populous and compensation can minimise negative perceptions of HWC. To reduce HWC in the study area, there should be an incessant and timely coordination between wildlife officials and the local community.

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Human-Wildlife conflict in Human dominated landscapes in the surrounding Kebeles of Alage ATVET College, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

10.22541/au.161295547.76444455/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zelalem Temesgen ◽

Girma Mengesha ◽

Teferra Belay

Keyword(s):

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Local Community ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Negative Attitude ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Spotted Hyena ◽

Chi Square ◽

Livestock Predation ◽

Household Heads

The study is aimed to investigate the nature and extent, and assess perception of local community towards wildlife. A total of 140 household heads were selected randomly from nine survey villages using structured and semi-structured questionnaire for interviews. Focus group discussion, key informant interview and personal observation were held used to achieve the study objectives. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and responses compared using Chi-square test (2 tailed), one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Besides, Likert scale statements were used to assess the attitudes of local people towards wildlife conservation. About 47.1% of sampled respondents thought that they experienced livestock predation whereas 57(40.7%) of the respondents faced both crop damage and livestock predation problems. A total of 932.43TLU livestock and 218 Dogs losses reported by households due to predators over the last five years. Thus, large numbers (848.6TLU livestock and 218 Dogs) of attack was happened due to Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta). The frequency of livestock predation (F = 8.157, df = 8, P < 0.05) and type of predators involved (χ2=79.719, df = 8, p <0.05) were significantly differ across study villages. Nearly half, 69(49.3%) of respondents ranked Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) as primary crop raider. Whilst majority of the respondents 115(82.1%) perceived Maize was frequently and severely damaged cereal crop. Most 80 (57.1%) respondents used different methods simultaneously to minimize damage caused by wild animals. Nearly half, (48.6%) of respondents had negative and strong negative attitude towards wildlife conservation. Level of education and amount of money imposed as penalty for illegal grazing were the most important factors affecting the local community attitudes towards wildlife conservation. Improve livestock husbandry, use appropriate guarding methods, education and make the community the actor of conservation would be vital to enhance the peaceful co-existence between human and wildlife in the study area.

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Evaluation of economic loss caused by Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in agricultural land of district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.249847 ◽

2023 ◽

Vol 83 ◽

Author(s):

R. Z. Ashraf ◽

B. Ahmad ◽

F. Shafique ◽

M. U. Hassan ◽

N. Asim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Community ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Spinacia Oleracea ◽

Economic Loss ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Jammu And Kashmir ◽

The People ◽

Total Magnitude ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Local Farmers

Abstract The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a vertebrate pest of agricultural lands and forest. The study was aimed to report the damage to local crops by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Muzaffarabad District. A survey was conducted to identify the porcupine-affected areas and assess the crop damage to the local farmers in district Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 2017 to October 2017. Around 19 villages were surveyed, and a sum of 191 semi-structured questionnaires was distributed among farmers. Crop damage was found highest in village Dhanni where a porcupine destroyed 175 Kg/Kanal of the crops. Regarding the total magnitude of crop loss, village Danna and Koomi kot were the most affected areas. More than half (51.8%) of the respondents in the study area suffered the economic loss within the range of 101-200$, and (29.8%) of the people suffered losses in the range of 201-300$ annually. Among all crops, maize (Zea mays) was found to be the most damaged crop ranging between 1-300 Kg annually. In the study area, porcupine also inflicted a lot of damages to some important vegetables, including spinach (Spinacia oleracea), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). It was estimated that, on average, 511Kg of vegetables are destroyed by porcupine every year in the agricultural land of Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that the Indian crested porcupine has a devastating effect on agriculture which is an important source of income and food for the local community. Developing an effective pest control strategy with the help of the local government and the Wildlife department could help the farmers to overcome this problem.

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Status and Magnitude of Grey Wolf Conflict with Pastoral Communities in the Foothills of the Hindu Kush Region of Pakistan

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9100787 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 787 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Khan ◽

Xiaofeng ◽

Ahmad ◽

Mannan ◽

Khan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Attitude ◽

Economic Loss ◽

Common Species ◽

Herd Size ◽

Grey Wolf ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Livestock Depredation ◽

The Status ◽

Pastoral Communities ◽

Negative Perceptions

Pastoralist–wolf conflict over livestock depredation is the main factor affecting conservation of grey wolf worldwide. Very limited research has been carried out to evaluate the pattern and nature of livestock depredation by wolf. This study aims to determine the status and nature of human–wolf conflict across different villages in the Hind Kush region of Pakistan during the period January 2016–December 2016. For this purpose, a total of 110 local male respondents from all walks of life were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The grey wolf was declared as a common species in the area by 51.3% of the locals with an annual sighting rate of 0.46 each. During the year (2016), a total of 358 livestock were lost to grey wolf predation and disease. Of the total livestock loss, grey wolf was held responsible for a total 101 livestock losses. Goat and sheep were the most vulnerable prey species as they accounted for 80 (79.2%) of the total reported depredations. Out of the total economic loss (USD 46,736, USD 424.87/household), grey wolf was accountable for USD 11,910 (USD 108.27 per household), while disease contributed 34,826 (USD 316.6 per household). High depredation was observed during the summer season 58.42% (n = 59) followed by spring and autumn. Unattended livestock were more prone to grey wolf attack during free grazing in forests. Most of the respondents (75.45%) showed aggressive and negative attitudes towards grey wolf. The herders shared more negative attitude (z = −3.21, p = 0.001) than businessman towards the species. Herders having larger herd size displayed more deleterious behavior towards wolves than those having smaller herd size. Active herding techniques, vaccinating livestock, educating locals about wildlife importance, and initiating compensating schemes for affected families could be helpful to decrease negative perceptions.

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Park-People Relationships: The Case of Damage Caused by Park Animals Around the Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892900010183 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 133-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Jan Erik Studsrød ◽

Per Wegge

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Economic Value ◽

Economic Loss ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Cropping Pattern ◽

Crop Losses ◽

Livestock Predation ◽

Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Wild Predators

Crop damage and livestock predation were a serious problem in three Village Development Committees (VDCs) situated adjacent to the Southwestern Part of the Royal Bardia National Park. The seriousness of crop and livestock losses varied considerably with the distance from the Park's border and the specific location of farms. This was explained by the variations in the distribution of animal wildlife inside the Park, the presence of natural and Man-made barriers, the availability of forested areas outside the Park, and the agricultural cropping pattern. Adjacent to the section of the Park with the highest animal densities, crop losses varied from 47% for Lentil to 24% for Wheat. Farther away, the extent of crop losses was reduced. In the ‘Far’ zone situated 2–8 km from the Park, only 3% of the Paddy was reported lost.Two wildlife species, Chital and Wild Boar, were responsible for roughly half of the total damage to crops by animals. Damage from a newly-introduced population of Rhinoceros unicornis was increasing, with Paddy (Rice) and Lentil the crops most affected by that species. The economic value of livestock loss to wild predators was estimated to be two percent of the value of total crop losses. The estimated value of grasses harvested by local villagers inside the Park, seen as ‘compensation’ for crop losses and denial of access to traditional resources, constituted only 10% of the total economic loss from crop losses and livestock predation.

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Widespread detection of antibodies to Leptospira in feral swine in the United States

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268814003148 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 143 (10) ◽

pp. 2131-2136 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

K. PEDERSEN ◽

K. L. PABILONIA ◽

T. D. ANDERSON ◽

S. N. BEVINS ◽

C. R. HICKS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Domestic Animals ◽

Pathogen Transmission ◽

Geographical Range ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Feral Swine ◽

Livestock Predation

SUMMARYAs feral swine continue to expand their geographical range and distribution across the United States, their involvement in crop damage, livestock predation, and pathogen transmission is likely to increase. Despite the relatively recent discovery of feral swine involvement in the aetiology of a variety of pathogens, their propensity to transmit and carry a wide variety of pathogens is disconcerting. We examined sera from 2055 feral swine for antibody presence to six serovars of Leptospira that can also infect humans, livestock or domestic animals. About 13% of all samples tested positive for at least one serovar, suggesting that Leptospira infection is common in feral swine. Further studies to identify the proportion of actively infected animals are needed to more fully understand the risk they pose.

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Occurrence of the Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica Kerr.1792) and the Damage on Plantation Crops in the Nilambur Forest Divisions of Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India

Agricultural Science Digest - A Research Journal ◽

10.18805/ag.d-4902 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (04) ◽

Author(s):

Riju P. Nair ◽

E. A. Jayson

Keyword(s):

Market Price ◽

Economic Loss ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Forest Division ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Southern Western Ghats ◽

Extent Of Damage ◽

Plantation Crops ◽

First Time

The damage to coconut and rubber plantations by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Nilambur Forest Division, Malappuram District was reported for the first time. The objectives of this study were to document the mode of attack and estimate the extent of damage by Indian crested porcupine in the plantation crops of the forest fringes. The study was carried out from June 2013 to May 2016 as part of the documentation of human-wildlife conflict in Malappuram District. Stratified random sampling, along with quadrat (10 m x 10 m) method was used to assess the crop damage. Estimation of the economic loss to farmers was carried out by using the market price of the coconuts during the period, collected from the website of Farm Information Bureau, Govt. of Kerala. The mean economic loss of crops damaged by Indian crested porcupine was Rs.1322.35/- per ha/annum. The debarking behavior of Indian crested porcupine on coconut palms (n=31), rubber trees (n=27) and consumption of newly formed bamboo culms (n=42) were also reported. No one has implemented proper mitigation measures against the Indian crested porcupine in the District.

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Determinants of Human-Elephant Conflict in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Southern India

10.21203/rs.3.rs-640008/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ashokkumar Mohanarangan ◽

Sakthivel Chinnaiyan ◽

Sudhakar Kaliyaperumal ◽

Swaminathan Shanmugavelu ◽

Ajay A Desai

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Finger Millet ◽

Local Community ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Crop Damage ◽

Crop Raiding ◽

Crop Species ◽

Protection Method ◽

Tiger Reserve ◽

The Village

Abstract Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a negative interaction between elephants and humans. HEC affects local community livelihood and the success of elephant conservation. The Asian elephant population and HEC were studied in the Niligiri Biosphere Reserve in the year 1992 (Balasubramanian et al. 1995) using this information as baseline data. We have studied HEC in the selected 14 villages located in the Moist Deciduous forest and Thorn forest areas of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve from Nov 2006 to Mar 2008, which were part of the earlier study. The data on crop species, elephant damages, protection method and land-use changes concerning HEC were collected fortnightly by direct enumeration and questionnaire survey. A total of 297 crop damage incidences were recorded. The crop-raiding pattern and the peaks in raiding are during monsoon periods were similar to the earlier study. A total of seven people were killed and six were injured by the attack of elephants in the ten years (1998 to 2008) and results in 1.3 incidences/year. The overall crop damage has declined from 2.1% in the early 1990s to 0.98%. The spatial location of HEC indicated that the mean damage percent was higher in the peripheral areas (1.51%) than in the center of the village (0.18%). There is a major shift from crops grown for food (finger millet) to commercial reasons. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the effective perimeter length (perimeter with cultivation) and total area of cultivation had a primary influence on the crop damage, followed by the area of degradation around the village and percent edible crops in the boundary. Further, logistic regression on crop-raiding incidences with the independent predictors indicated that among habitats in the MDF the crop-raiding incidences were 95% higher than that of TF. Palatable crop species plantain, paddy, finger millet and vegetable crops were 391% raided more frequently than the non-palatable species. Crops with protection methods were 22% less frequently damaged than the crops without any protection. Thus changes in the crop species, improved protection and land-use changes have reduced HEC in the adjacent areas of Mudumalai TR. The resettlement of villages from the core area of reserve in MDF would greatly reduce HEC in MTR.

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Reintroduced wolves and hunting limit the abundance of a subordinate apex predator in a multi-use landscape

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2020.2202 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 287 (1938) ◽

pp. 20202202

Author(s):

L. Mark Elbroch ◽

Jake M. Ferguson ◽

Howard Quigley ◽

Derek Craighead ◽

Daniel J. Thompson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Model ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Apex Predator ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Grey Wolf ◽

Apex Predators ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Top Down ◽

Species Abundances

Top-down effects of apex predators are modulated by human impacts on community composition and species abundances. Consequently, research supporting top-down effects of apex predators occurs almost entirely within protected areas rather than the multi-use landscapes dominating modern ecosystems. Here, we developed an integrated population model to disentangle the concurrent contributions of a reintroduced apex predator, the grey wolf, human hunting and prey abundances on vital rates and abundance of a subordinate apex predator, the puma. Increasing wolf numbers had strong negative effects on puma fecundity, and subadult and adult survival. Puma survival was also influenced by density dependence. Overall, puma dynamics in our multi-use landscape were more strongly influenced by top-down forces exhibited by a reintroduced apex predator, than by human hunting or bottom-up forces (prey abundance) subsidized by humans. Quantitatively, the average annual impact of human hunting on equilibrium puma abundance was equivalent to the effects of 20 wolves. Historically, wolves may have limited pumas across North America and dictated puma scarcity in systems lacking sufficient refugia to mitigate the effects of competition.

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