The influence of childhood nature experience on attitudes and tolerance towards problem-causing animals in Singapore

Abstract

Low vegetation cover in cities result in urbanites generally receiving less exposure to nature compared to people living in rural areas. Consequently, childhood experiences in a city tend to be less nature-oriented, leading to a detachment from nature in adulthood. However, some cities may have pockets of green spaces that harbour wildlife, and interactions between people and the wildlife around them may have an influence on wildlife conservation attitudes. To investigate the relationships between childhood nature experience and attitudes towards wildlife, we carried out a survey on 1004 Singapore residents about their attitudes and tolerance towards three types of wildlife commonly encountered in Singapore. Structured equation models (SEMs) were used to model the relationship between childhood experience, attitudes towards wildlife, and tolerance levels in three scenarios of increasing damage severity to humans. We found that most respondents had low childhood nature experience, and had neutral/negative attitudes towards all three types of wildlife. Childhood experience was the strongest predictor of wildlife attitude, which varied with age, gender, education level and type of wildlife. Attitude towards wildlife was the strongest predictor of tolerance in all scenarios, while tolerance decreased with increasing severity of damage. Our findings point to the importance of childhood nature experience in shaping adult perceptions of wildlife and their willingness to coexist with wildlife. Given that Singapore is continually developing on forested land for residential and commercial purposes, wildlife encounters are predicted to increase in the future. With proper planning and education, residents near wildlife habitats can learn to live with and appreciate the wildlife around them.