Abstract
In the modern context of the strict protection of large carnivores, the competition for resources between local community dwellers and these animals has become an important challenge for ensuring coexistence—the key for conservation success. To assess the perceptions of this intricate relationship, six local communities from Central Romania, located in areas with high-density brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) population and frequent conflicts, were investigated. A large proportion of the respondents (69%) showed various forms of intolerance (e.g., relocation, punishment, or killing) towards aggressive bears. However, the cognitive evaluation score derived from the level of interaction with bears showed a non-significant (p = 0.470) segregation by tolerance levels, suggesting that not only the tangible costs (direct damage) but rather the psychological costs of fear, danger, or risk are more important drivers of negative attitudes towards bears. Furthermore, the prevalent experienced emotions towards an inoffensive bear (fear, terror, and hate, which represent 73%) underline the general preference for living in “separate worlds”. This requires that bears should avoid humans and their settlements, a goal unlikely to be achieved under the current strict protection regime. Therefore, an alternative strategy that ensures mutual avoidance of the two players may be more appropriate for successful human–bear coexistence.
Highlights
One of the most important interactions inside natural ecosystems which affects the amount of available vital resources for a certain individual or species is competition
The present study aims to analyze the perceptions of dwellers from local communities embedded in the bear habitat landscapes based on their direct and indirect interaction with the animals placed under strict protection
Active sustainable management practiced in the past had some features which deserve to be mentioned: (i) it was planned ahead and continuously monitored; (ii) harvests sought to control densities based on the habitat carrying capacity and to keep conflicts to a low level
Summary
One of the most important interactions inside natural ecosystems which affects the amount of available vital resources (i.e., the “habitat” [1] or the “growing space” [2]) for a certain individual or species is competition. This fight for the same resources can be fierce and generally brings conflict between different species, which must be carefully managed in order to ensure the coexistence of both players. The coexistence between wild animals and humans has become very important especially in the modern context of large carnivore conservation. The conflict is a side effect of conservation itself and coexistence might be affected
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