Species perceived to be dangerous are more likely to have distinctive local names

Harith Farooq,Clementina Elias,Yolanda Guilengue,Yasalde Massingue,Johan Marais,Ivo Mucopote,Cristóvão Nanvonamuquitxo,Cláudio Bero,Alexandre Antonelli,Søren Faurby

doi:10.1186/s13002-021-00493-6

Abstract

BackgroundSpecies with direct uses, such as sources of food, shelter, building material and medicine tend to have more specific local names. But could the same apply for species that people fear?MethodsTo address this question, here we explore the behavior and perception of species diversity and dangerousness through a survey of 1037 households in nine villages in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. We compare people’s knowledge of snakes with that of lizards and amphibians.ResultsWe find that northern Mozambicans know four to five times more local names for snakes than for lizards and frogs, despite the local species richness of snakes being comparable to the diversity of lizards and frogs. We further find that local knowledge was on par with the academic literature regarding snakebite symptoms.ConclusionsOur results suggest that fear can increase the level of specificity in naming species among indigenous communities, which could lead to biases in the mapping and protection of species that include data from citizen reports.

Highlights

Species with direct uses, such as sources of food, shelter, building material and medicine tend to have more specific local names
In terms of deadly attacks, black mambas caused most fatalities by a large extent, followed by Puff Adders and Boomslangs. Since it may take a few days for adults to die from snakebites [38, 44], many of the causalities we report in Northern Mozambique may be fully avoidable, if there were enough antivenom and doctors trained in treating snakebites
Even though there is considerable indigenous knowledge in Northern Mozambique on snakebite symptoms and which species are dangerous, we found that high levels of deaths still result from bites by Black Mambas, Cobras, Boomslangs and Puff Adders

Summary

Introduction

Species with direct uses, such as sources of food, shelter, building material and medicine tend to have more specific local names. Local knowledge of biodiversity may tilt toward species that exhibit peculiar characters such as appearance, habitat, or utility [5, 6], including factors such as medical importance and economic value [7]. We refer to Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) as the accumulation, practices and beliefs about the natural world that are transmitted through generations, [8]. Humans interact with and change their environment in a variety of ways depending on their culture, needs and practice. Ethnozoologists, for instance, have provided fundamental contributions to our understanding of conservation and long-term human survival, given the traditional dependency of many societies on co-occurring animals for resources [11] as well as cultural (e.g., myths and legends) importance [12]

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Conclusion