Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 172, 66100 Drama, Greece.
Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 172, 66100 Drama, Greece.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Apr 15;621:670-678. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.311. Epub 2017 Nov 30.
Snakes are controversial animals, therefore a better understanding of public attitudes is critical for their effective protection and future survival. The attitudes towards snakes of 951 adults in Greece were investigated in personal interviews. Factor analysis revealed a dual mode of attitudes: respondents were highly intolerant of snakes, while they supported their conservation at the same time. Respondents had high knowledge about the behavior of snakes, medium knowledge of their biology and were strongly affected by folklore. Structural models revealed that tolerance was a positive mediator of conservation. Knowledge about snake behavior and biology was positively correlated with attitudes towards snakes. Moralistic and naturalistic attitudes were positively, and dominionistic attitudes negatively, correlated with snake tolerance and conservation attitudes. Younger, more educated people were more snake-tolerant than older, less educated people. Females were less snake-tolerant and more conservation-oriented than males. These findings increased the understanding of human attitudes towards snakes and helped identify factors critical for their conservation. As such they could be used to design environmental education programs incorporating both information-based and experiential activities that will improve attitudes, behaviors and, eventually, the chances for the survival of these uncharismatic animals.
蛇是具有争议性的动物，因此，更好地了解公众的态度对于它们的有效保护和未来的生存至关重要。本研究通过个人访谈调查了希腊 951 名成年人对蛇的态度。因子分析揭示了两种态度模式：一方面，受访者对蛇高度不能容忍，另一方面，他们同时支持对蛇的保护。受访者对蛇的行为有很高的了解，对其生物学有中等程度的了解，并且深受民间传说的影响。结构模型表明，宽容是保护的积极中介。对蛇的行为和生物学的了解与对蛇的态度呈正相关。道德主义和自然主义态度与蛇的容忍度和保护态度呈正相关，而统治主义态度则呈负相关。年轻人比老年人更能容忍蛇，教育程度更高的人比教育程度更低的人更能容忍蛇。女性比男性更不能容忍蛇，更倾向于保护蛇。这些发现增加了人们对人类对蛇的态度的理解，并有助于确定对蛇的保护至关重要的因素。因此，可以利用这些因素设计环境教育计划，将基于信息的活动和体验式活动结合起来，以改善态度、行为，并最终提高这些不受欢迎的动物的生存机会。
