Division of Conservation Ecology, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India.
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, South Africa.
Conserv Biol. 2022 Oct;36(5):e13974. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13974. Epub 2022 Aug 4.
Fear-induced generalization of threats to noninimical stimuli is a behavioral tendency of humans to minimize exposure to potential threats. In human-carnivore conflict zones, people often generalize their fear of predation by obligate carnivores to nonobligate carnivores despite differences in species' predation rates. We investigated the effect of a perceived threat of large obligate carnivores to livestock on tolerance and perception of striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in an area of high human-carnivore conflict. We surveyed 197 households through asemistructured questionnaire to determine people's perception and tolerance of striped hyenas in Sathyamangalam and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves after identification of the current distribution range of hyena determined through camera trap and sign surveys. Through the random forest algorithm, we modeled the level of tolerance of striped hyena as a function of loss of livestock to predation and from disease, the perceived threat of predation by hyena, and other socioeconomic attributes. Animal husbandry was a major source of income but was severely affected by livestock loss due to predation and disease. Sixty-nine percent of people were uncertain about predatory behavior of hyena; out of that, 23% reported a negative conservation attitude. Only 6 instances of hyena depredation on livestock and 2 on dogs were reported. Our model confirmed that economic instability associated with increased loss to predation and disease, livestock dependency, and a decrease in family annual income negatively affected people's tolerance of hyena. Perceptual uncertainty related to predatory behavior of hyena also negatively affected people's tolerance. In our study area, economic instability and perceptual uncertainty led to generalization of fear of large carnivores to a nonobligate predator. Such generalization may affect the attitude of people toward many other species. Understanding the role of economic instability and perceptual uncertainty should facilitate conservation of species, such as the hyena, that are vulnerable to false generalization.
对非敌对刺激物的威胁产生恐惧性泛化是人类减少潜在威胁暴露的一种行为倾向。在人与食肉动物冲突地区，尽管物种的捕食率存在差异，人们仍常常将对专职捕食者的捕食恐惧泛化到非专职捕食者身上。我们调查了大型专职食肉动物对牲畜的感知威胁对高人类-食肉动物冲突地区条纹鬣狗（Hyaena hyaena）容忍度和认知的影响。我们通过半结构化问卷对 197 户家庭进行了调查，以确定在 Sathyamangalam 和 Mudumalai 老虎保护区确定鬣狗当前分布范围后，人们对条纹鬣狗的认知和容忍度，该分布范围是通过相机陷阱和标志调查确定的。通过随机森林算法，我们将条纹鬣狗的容忍度水平建模为因捕食和疾病而导致的牲畜损失、鬣狗捕食的感知威胁以及其他社会经济属性的函数。畜牧业是主要的收入来源，但由于捕食和疾病导致牲畜损失严重，畜牧业受到严重影响。69%的人对鬣狗的捕食行为不确定；其中，23%的人对保护持消极态度。仅报告了 6 起鬣狗对牲畜和 2 起对狗的捕食事件。我们的模型证实，与捕食和疾病导致的损失增加、牲畜依赖以及家庭年收入减少相关的经济不稳定会降低人们对鬣狗的容忍度。与鬣狗捕食行为相关的认知不确定性也会对人们的容忍度产生负面影响。在我们的研究地区，经济不稳定和认知不确定性导致了对大型捕食者的恐惧泛化到非专职捕食者。这种泛化可能会影响人们对许多其他物种的态度。了解经济不稳定和认知不确定性的作用应有助于保护鬣狗等易受错误泛化影响的物种。
