Translocation in relict shy-selected animal populations: Program success versus prevention of wildlife-human conflict

Abstract

Past human persecution of wildlife has acted as a major selection agent shaping many animal features including behaviour. A major component of behaviour with diverse consequences for conservation is the shyness/boldness continuum. Shyer individuals are often geographically restricted, less prone to wander out of their ecological refuges but, on the contrary, less likely to experience human-induced mortality and lead to human-wildlife conflict. In this essay we discuss how the success of translocations may interact both positively and negatively with animal personalities, based on several case studies of re-introductions and reinforcements involving remnant mammal and bird populations. Although shyness may be inconvenient to conservationists when dealing with raptor translocations in which eventual dispersal may be a desired trait in the long run, a trade-off may emerge between boldness and prevention of human-wildlife conflict when dealing with large carnivores. Some other trade-offs may also occur, such as that between boldness and desired philopatry at the initial stage of re-introductions.