Abstract
Human-wildlife conflict is widely known situation where people and wildlife share common resource. This study was conducted to investigate the perceived impact human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in the Choke Mountains, Ethiopia. Data were collected in 2014 and 2015 using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussion. Pearson correlation was used to test the relationship between different factors. Majority of respondents (56%) reported the existence of HWC manifested through both crop damage and livestock predation. Anubis baboon, bush pig and porcupine were identified as major crop raiders in the study area. The most prominent sheep predation was caused by common jackal (51.6%). The average crop loss per household per year was 1.56 ± 0.42 quintal. There was a strong negative correlation between the extent of crop damage event and distance of the study area from forest edge (r = -0.67, P < 0.05). The average sheep loss per household by the common jackal in the last five year was 2.12 ± 0.63. Fire wood collection in the study area is negatively correlated with distance from the natural forest (r =-0.58, P < 0.05). Encouraging local communities to prepare private grazing land from their own farmland and to keep intact the habitat of wildlife should be done. Key words: Choke Mountain, crop raiding, forest disturbance, predation.
Highlights
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a well-known phenomenon throughout sub-Saharan Africa
The major objective of the present study is to investigate the magnitude of human-wildlife conflict in Choke Mountains
The community living in Choke Mountains utilized AbaJemie forest as grazing land for their livestock and firewood collection
Summary
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a well-known phenomenon throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Human-wildlife conflict is becoming one of the most important threats to the survival of many wildlife species and is an increasingly significant obstacle to the conservation of wildlife (Madden, 2008). It is a serious issue in Africa and other developing areas of the world where rapidly growing human populations and expanding settlements are reducing the areas left for wildlife habitat and increasing the interactions between humans and animals (Blair, 2008; Mwamidi et al, 2012).
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