Abstract
This paper studies the human–wildlife interaction in Central Kerala, India, and attempts to understand local people’s attitude toward wildlife and conservation. Data were collected from April 2009 to March 2014. A structured questionnaire survey was carried out among people living in the fringe areas of the forest (n = 210). Self–reported household crop loss was modelled as a function of agricultural, demographic and environmental factors. Wild pig (Sus scrofa) (57.1 %) was the main crop foraging species, followed by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) (12.9 %). It was reported that 36 % of farmers’ annual income was lost due to crop foraging by wild animals. Leopard (Panthera pardus) (69.76 %), Indian rock python (Python molurus) (13.95 %), dhole (Cuon alpinus) (9.3 %) and stray dogs (6.97 %) were responsible for the attacks on livestock. The factors that influenced crop loss according to the farmers were the extent of agriculture land that they owned (coefficient = 0.968), the distance to reserve forest from crop fields (–0.009), and age of respondents (0.78). Due to people’s awareness concerning the importance of wildlife, reports on human–wildlife interaction in the newspapers and strict enforcement of wildlife laws, people’s attitude towards conservation of wildlife was good, and they were not taking any negative precautions against wild animals.
Highlights
Negative interaction between humans and wildlife occurs "when animals pose a direct and recurring threat to the livelihood or safety of people, leading to the persecution of that species"
Govind and Jayson (2018a) identified the species of wild animals involved in crop foraging in Central Kerala, and estimated the actual economic loss incurred by the farmers due to these animals
Sixty questions were included in the questionnaire pro–forma, mainly focusing on the details of the area, respondents characteristics, crops cultivated, crop foraging animals, methods for controlling crop foraging, livestock–lifting by carnivores, human–casualties due to wild animals, people’s degree of dependence on agriculture, local beliefs regarding wildlife, local knowledge about wildlife laws, local people’s opinion to mitigate human–wildlife interaction, and importance of conserving wildlife
Summary
Negative interaction between humans and wildlife (human–wildlife conflict) occurs "when animals pose a direct and recurring threat to the livelihood or safety of people, leading to the persecution of that species" (http://www.hwctf.org). In Kerala, negative interaction between humans and wildlife is a contentious issue, with crop foraging by wild animals representing a major problem (Veeramani and Jayson, 1995; Veeramani et al, 2004; Jayson and Christopher, 2008) Due to activities such as the large–scale conversion of forest into monoculture plantations, shifting cultivations, hydroelectric projects and encroachments, the accessible habitat of wild animals is reduced in the State (Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, 2011). This has increased the risk of conflict where humans and wildlife co–exist. We attempted to study the human–wildlife interaction in Central Kerala, India, and to understand the people's attitude to the conservation of wildlife
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
