Geographical personality gradient in herbivorous animals: Implications for selective culling to reduce crop damage

Abstract

AbstractTraditional lethal techniques used to mitigate wildlife damage have targeted entire populations through the use of random harvesting. However, recent literature has suggested that controlling population size by random harvesting is not the only mean to mitigate human‐wildlife conflicts. Controlling problem individuals may also be important because individuals with behavioral characteristics such as greater boldness and low neophobia are predicted to cause more damage to crops. Reducing the number of bold individuals may therefore mitigate crop damage, but a method to selectively cull bold individuals has not been determined. Hence, this study aimed to demonstrate their distribution in native habitats because if bold and shy individuals prefer different habitats, selective culling could target areas preferred by bold individuals. To detect differences in neophobia (i.e., shyness/boldness), 17 visible flash and invisible infrared flash sensor cameras were randomly placed in forest areas based on the assumption that neophobic (shy) sika deer (Cervus nippon) would be deterred by visible flash cameras (a novel stimulus). The relationship between camera flash type and the probability of detection (i.e., of being photographed by a camera) was used as an index of shyness/boldness. Geographical information system and regression analyses showed that bold individuals preferred forested areas near farmland. These results indicate that selective lethal control could be conducted in forest areas near farmlands to mitigate crop damage.