When more pumas (Puma concolor) do not change perception: The mismatched response of ranchers to the presence of a top carnivore. Raw data

<p>Structured interviews with livestock ranchers were conducted in the proposed Torres del Paine UNESCO-Biosphere Reserve (Chilean Patagonia) in 2011 and 2018. We recorded information regarding their perceptions of puma presence, the potential danger pumas pose to livestock, livestock losses, and the need to control puma populations. In parallel, puma presene was surveyed and the potential distribution of the species in both periods was modelled using MaxEnt. Statisticak analyses were afterwards done to determine whether predicted puma presence explained ranchers’ perceptions of pumas or any change in their perceptions over the course of the study.
Puma distribution models predicted that the puma has expanded across the study area and that the likelihood of puma relative abundance within ranches increased over time. Despite this, ranchers did not change their perceptions of puma abundance or the losses they suffer from puma predation. Neither did they feel an increased need to manage the puma population. Furthermore, ranchers reported an increase in the perception that pumas are a threat to livestock in the second study period, but this perception was not linked to the likelihood of puma presence.</p>