Data_Sheet_1_Emotions and Cultural Importance Predict the Acceptance of Large Carnivore Management Strategies by Maasai Pastoralists.pdf

Management strategies to reduce human-carnivore conflict are most effective when accepted by local communities. Previous studies have suggested that the acceptance depends on emotions toward carnivores, the cultural importance of carnivores, and livestock depredation, and that it may vary depending on the types of strategies and carnivores involved. However, no study so far considered these factors simultaneously to compare their influence on the acceptance of management strategies. We quantified the predictive potential of these factors on the acceptance of three management strategies frequently applied to mitigate human-carnivore conflict: no action, relocation, and lethal control. We interviewed 100 members of the Maasai community in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. We used structured, closed questionnaires and focused on the three large carnivores involved in the most depredation regionally: spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), lions (Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus). We found that the majority of respondents accepted no action and rejected relocation and lethal control for all three carnivores. The acceptance of the management strategies was strongly influenced by the emotion joy and by the cultural importance of carnivores, and the effects of joy and cultural importance were stronger than the effect of livestock depredation. We conclude that authorities should evaluate the emotions and cultural importance that local communities associate with carnivores when seeking to gain acceptance of management strategies and account for differences between species. Finally, we recommend that future human-carnivore coexistence studies should consider the socio-psychology of local communities and be done longitudinally to detect shifts in cultural, emotional, and ecological factors over time.

针对缓解人兽冲突的管理策略，其有效性在很大程度上取决于当地社区的认同。过往研究指出，这种认同与否取决于人们对食肉动物的感性认知、食肉动物在文化中的重要性，以及家畜遭受的掠食损失，并且这种认同可能因策略类型和涉及的食肉动物种类而异。然而，迄今为止，尚无研究将上述因素综合考虑，以比较它们对管理策略接受度的影响。本研究量化了这些因素对三种常用于缓解人兽冲突的管理策略（不采取行动、搬迁和致死控制）接受度的预测潜力。我们对坦桑尼亚恩戈罗恩戈罗保护区内的100名马萨伊社区成员进行了访谈。我们采用了结构化的封闭式问卷，重点关注在区域范围内造成最多损失的三大食肉动物：斑点鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta）、狮子（Panthera leo）和豹（Panthera pardus）。我们发现，大多数受访者接受不采取行动的策略，而对于所有三种食肉动物，他们都拒绝了搬迁和致死控制。管理策略的接受度受到快乐情感的强烈影响，以及食肉动物在文化中的重要性，而快乐情感和文化重要性对接受度的影响强于家畜遭受的损失影响。我们得出结论，当局在寻求管理策略的认同时，应评估当地社区对食肉动物的感性认知和文化重要性，并考虑到不同物种之间的差异。最后，我们建议未来的研究应考虑当地社区的社会心理学，并采用纵向研究方法，以检测文化、情感和生态因素随时间的变化。