In the 21st century, with urban areas rapidly encroaching on natural habitats, human-wildlife conflicts are becoming more frequent and widespread globally. In this context, effective communication ...may help to mitigate conflicts. Through a standardized content analysis of newspaper articles, we assessed the media coverage of a problematic (and flagship) brown bear (Ursus arctos) individual named M49 or ‘Papillon’, which attracted media attention in Italy and elsewhere. Across 311 media reports published between 2019 and 2021, we found a lack of pro-conservation messages and scientific-based explanations behind lethal and non-lethal management strategies. Moreover, we highlight an imbalance representation of stakeholders in the news articles, with politicians, managers and environmentalists being more represented compared to scientists, farmers or residents. The media frequently polarized the dialogue around bear management, exacerbating the conflict and potentially triggering the spread of misinformation and mistrust towards institution and scientists involved in species management. To promote coexistence, we suggest conservationists to motivate their management strategies with ecological explanations and amplify their messages through mass and social media. At the same time, to prevent conflictual situations, journalists should minimize polarizing contents and report more informative and balanced news.
•The media lacked pro-conservation messages and scientific-based explanations behind management of problematic individuals•The media discourse was frequently polarized, exacerbating the conflict•Addressing gaps in communicating management strategies is pivotal for promoting coexistence
Understanding how exposure and information affect public attitudes towards returning large carnivores in Europe is critical for human-carnivore coexistence, especially for developing efficient and ...de-escalating communication strategies. The ongoing recolonization of wolves (Canis lupus) in Germany provides a unique opportunity to test the role of different information sources and trust on people's attitudes towards wolves. We conducted a phone survey (n = 1250) and compared country-wide attitudes towards wolves with attitudes in a specific region where wolves initially recolonized and have been present since 2000. In particular, we investigate the relationship between information sources, trust and people's attitudes while accounting for factors like knowledge, exposure and socio-cultural determinants of respondents. We found significant differences in attitudes and knowledge about wolves as well as in the use and frequency of information sources between the two population samples. Higher knowledge, information from books and films, science-based information, and higher trust in information sources related positively with positive attitudes towards wolves. Comparatively, information from press or TV news was associated with more negative attitudes. Providing science-based information to the public and building trust in information is likely to be one measure, among others, to dampen extreme attitudes and improve people's appreciation of costs and benefits of human-carnivore coexistence. Management of conflictual situations emerging from large carnivore recolonization in Europe and beyond should consider incorporating assessments of people's use of and trust in information in addition to existing tools to pave new ways for constructive human-carnivore coexistence.
The role that apex predators play in ecosystem functioning, disease regulation and biodiversity maintenance is increasingly debated. However, the positive impacts of their presence in terrestrial ...ecosystems, particularly in human-dominated landscapes, remain controversial. Limited experimental insights regarding the consequences of apex predator recoveries may be behind such controversy and may also impact on the social acceptability towards the recovery of these species. Using a quasi-experimental design and state-of-the-art density estimates, we show that mesopredator abundances were reduced after the restoration of an apex predator, with evidence of resonating positive impacts on lower trophic levels. Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus reintroduction was followed by the reduction of the abundance of mesocarnivores (red foxes Vulpes vulpes and Egyptian mongooses Herpestes ichneumon by ca. 80%) and the recovery of small game of high socio-economic value (European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa). The observed mesopredator reduction resulted in an estimated 55.6% less rabbit consumption for the entire carnivore guild. Our findings have important implications for the social acceptability of Iberian lynx reintroductions, which crucially depend on the perception of private land owners and managers. Under certain circumstances, restoring apex predators may provide a sustainable and ethically acceptable way to reduce mesopredator abundances.
Large terrestrial carnivores are an ecologically important, charismatic and highly endangered group of species. Here, we assess the importance of prey depletion as a driver of large carnivore ...endangerment globally using lists of prey species for each large carnivore compiled from the literature. We consider spatial variation in prey endangerment, changes in endangerment over time and the causes of prey depletion, finding considerable evidence that loss of prey base is a major and wide-ranging threat among large carnivore species. In particular, the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), tiger (Panthera tigris), dhole (Cuon alpinus) and Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) all have at least 40% of their prey classified as threatened on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and, along with the leopard (Panethra pardus), all of these species except the Ethiopian wolf have at least 50% of their prey classified as declining. Of the 494 prey species in our analysis, an average of just 6.9% of their ranges overlap protected areas. Together these results show the importance of a holistic approach to conservation that involves protecting both large carnivores directly and the prey upon which they depend.
The ongoing recovery of terrestrial large carnivores in North America and Europe is accompanied by intense controversy. On the one hand, reestablishment of large carnivores entails a recovery of ...their most important ecological role, predation. On the other hand, societies are struggling to relearn how to live with apex predators that kill livestock, compete for game species, and occasionally injure or kill people. Those responsible for managing these species and mitigating conflict often lack fundamental information due to a long-standing challenge in ecology: How do we draw robust population-level inferences for elusive animals spread over immense areas? Here we showcase the application of an effective tool for spatially explicit tracking and forecasting of wildlife population dynamics at scales that are relevant to management and conservation. We analyzed the world’s largest dataset on carnivores comprising more than 35,000 noninvasively obtained DNA samples from over 6,000 individual brown bears (Ursus arctos), gray wolves (Canis lupus), and wolverines (Gulo gulo). Our analyses took into account that not all individuals are detected and, even if detected, their fates are not always known. We show unequivocal quantitative evidence of large carnivore recovery in northern Europe, juxtaposed with the finding that humans are the single-most important factor driving the dynamics of these apex predators. We present maps and forecasts of the spatiotemporal dynamics of large carnivore populations, transcending national boundaries and management regimes.
With populations of wild carnivores growing in Europe, public debates on human-wildlife conflicts are becoming polarized around economic damages and risks to human safety. This article explores the ...state of knowledge on the broader socio-economic impacts of four European large carnivore species (wolf, bear, lynx and wolverine). We have developed a comprehensive categorization of the socio-economic impacts of large carnivore presence, combining impact assessment approaches from project planning with a conceptualization of biodiversity values (e.g. Nature's Contributions to People). We distinguish 19 impact categories grouped according to 1) economic impacts, 2) health and well-being impacts, and 3) social and cultural impacts. A review of the academic literature since 1990 identified 82 articles that assessed the socio-economic impacts of the four European large carnivore species, 44 of which focused on Europe and 33 on North America. Our analysis of these articles reveals a bias towards investigations of negative economic impacts, in most cases of wolves. To contrast the information provided by science with perspectives from conservation practice, we conducted a survey among expert practitioners to elicit relevance ratings for the impact categories. Several categories considered relevant by the survey respondents are underrepresented in the academic literature. These include, in particular, positive impacts: benefits from wildlife tourism and commercial activities, benefits from game population control by large carnivores, benefits from regional and product marketing, cultural heritage and identity, educational and research benefits, and social cohesion. This incongruity between supply and demand for scientific information likely reinforces biased public debates and the negative public perception of large carnivores. We recommend a stronger research focus on the socio-economic benefits of large carnivores, drawing on diverse impact metrics.
Conserving predators on an increasingly crowded planet brings very difficult challenges. Here, we argue that community ecology theory can help conserve these species in human-dominated landscapes. ...Letting humans and predators share the same landscapes is similar to maintaining a community of predatory species, one of which is humans.
Large carnivores are threatened worldwide by a variety of human-driven factors, including persecution, which regularly results when they come into conflict with people. Although human activities are ...almost universally viewed as negatively affecting carnivore conservation, we contend that conservation outcomes for carnivores are improved when social and economic forces reduce the risks associated with these species and facilitate the acquisition of values favorable to their conservation. We make three specific propositions: (1) Societal tolerance for carnivores is affected by the distribution of risks and benefits associated with these species, (2) modernization and its associated social changes reduce the risks associated with large carnivores and their conservation, and (3) modernization induces lasting effects on conservation by changing societal values. We review existing evidence and present cross-sectional data showing that variation among nations in large carnivore conservation outcomes are related to three facets of modernization believed to reduce the risks associated with large carnivores.
Large mammal populations are rapidly recovering across Europe, yet people have not readapted to living with wild animals, resulting in human–wildlife conflict. We believe that society should unite to ...make the most of the instances of nature recovery, and propose science and education as the key to success.
Large mammal populations are rapidly recovering across Europe, yet people have not readapted to living with wild animals, resulting in human–wildlife conflict. We believe that society should unite to make the most of the instances of nature recovery, and propose science and education as the key to success.
Globally, fragmented landscapes and other anthropogenic pressures are causing declines in large carnivore populations. Conservation organizations are working to counteract these trends through the ...translocations of large carnivores, for example by reintroducing them to their historic ranges or by reinforcing existing populations to promote gene flow and resilience. This study analyses a dataset gathered from 33 translocation projects involving 297 individual animals across 22 countries in five continents, with 18 different large carnivore (>15 kg) species surveyed. An overall success rate (survival > six months) of 66 % for all individuals was shown for large carnivores, indicating an above average success rate when compared to the translocation of other terrestrial vertebrates. While captive-born individuals still fared worse than wild-born individuals, a 32 % increase in success rates was observed for releases of captive-born individuals within the last 14 years compared to a 17 % increase in success for releases of wild-born individuals. Despite the encouraging trends in metrics of success, only 37 % of study individuals were observed engaging in reproductive behavior. While this is likely an under-count, we caution against the conflation of translocation success with population establishment. We also identified key choices in the decision tree facing those implementing translocations, and analyzed associated metrics of success. Critical decisions include whether or not to use soft-releases, choosing younger animals, selecting unfenced release locations, and sourcing wild-born individuals – all of which can lead to a higher likelihood of success. As the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration gets underway, we hope this information can assist decision makers and practitioners in achieving more desirable outcomes for conservation translocation of large carnivores.
•An overall translocation success rate of 66 % was shown for large carnivores.•This study critically evaluates 18 species across 22 countries in 5 continents.•Using soft releases, younger animals, and wild-born individuals increased success.•A 32 % increase in success rate was observed for captive-born individuals since 2008.•Only 37 % of study individuals were observed engaging in reproductive behavior.
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