Abstract
Abstract Human‐wildlife conflicts are widespread, particularly with big cats which can kill domestic livestock and create a counteraction between conservation and local livelihoods, especially near protected areas. Minimisation of livestock losses caused by big cats and other predators is essential to mitigate conflicts and promote socially acceptable conservation. As big cats usually kill by throat bites, protective collars represent a potentially effective non‐lethal intervention to prevent livestock depredation, yet the application and effectiveness estimation of these tools are very limited. In this study, for the first time we measured the effectiveness of studded leather collars in protecting cattle from leopard (Panthera pardus) attacks. We conducted a randomised controlled experiment during 14 months to collar 202 heads and leave uncollared 258 heads grazing in forests and belonging to 27 owners from eight villages near three protected areas in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Our results show that none of collared cattle and nine uncollared cattle were lost to leopard depredation, meaning that collars caused a zero relative risk of damage and a perfect 100% damage reduction. Most losses occurred in summer and autumn due to lush vegetation attracting more cattle, long daytime allowing movements deep into leopard habitats and dense cover favouring leopard hunts from ambush. Losses were recorded in only six owners and four villages, suggesting local rarity and patchy distribution of leopards. We suggest that collars can be successfully applied to cattle freely grazing in habitats of leopards or other felids for a long time and thus remaining persistently exposed to depredation. As grazing cattle are usually not supervised by shepherds or dogs, collars can be the only practical protection tool. Production and sales of collars can become a sustainable small‐scale business for farmers to further boost conservation and rural livelihoods.
Highlights
Human–wildlife conflicts represent a globally widespread challenge for biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development, especially in rural and suburban areas (Thirgood, Woodroffe, & Rabinowitz, 2005)
Our results show that none of collared cattle and nine uncollared cattle were lost to leopard depredation, meaning that collars caused a zero relative risk of damage and a perfect 100% damage reduction
We describe the first-ever application of studded leather collars to protect livestock from big cats on an example of freely grazing cattle, which are often killed by leopards in deep forests of northern Iran
Summary
Human–wildlife conflicts represent a globally widespread challenge for biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development, especially in rural and suburban areas (Thirgood, Woodroffe, & Rabinowitz, 2005). Big cats, including the lion (Panthera leo), tiger (P. tigris), jaguar (P. onca), leopard (P. pardus), snow leopard (P. uncia), puma (Puma concolor) and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), are among the main drivers of such conflicts as they may kill livestock or ranched game species and, in rare occasions, cause human fatalities or serious injuries (Khorozyan, Ghoddousi, Soofi, & Waltert, 2015a; Krafte Holland, Larson, & Powell, 2018) These conflicts are expected to increase with the global rise of the human population, livestock numbers and an overlap of grazing grounds with natural habitats (Cardillo et al, 2004; Di Minin et al, 2016; Robinson et al, 2014). This is a serious challenge for conservation as protected areas are usually small, insufficient for wide-ranging big cats and have limited capacities for expansion (Di Minin et al, 2016)
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
