Wildlife Encounters Research Articles

The influence of human and marine wildlife presence on white shark behaviour in nearshore areas

Abstract The co-occurrence of people and sharks within nearshore areas raises concerns about human safety. Unprovoked shark bites are one of the most renowned negative human–wildlife encounters. White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are implicated in most fatal unprovoked shark bites globally, but there is limited knowledge of white shark behaviour in the presence of people. We used drone-based methods to analyse human–shark and wildlife–shark interactions. We found a higher probability of a white shark interaction with a nearby person (0.81) in comparison to an animal (0.65). Fishers had the highest, and swimmers had the lowest probability of a white shark interaction. White sharks exhibited investigative behaviour in most interactions, with directional changes towards a nearby person or animal in 85.9% and 94.0% of interactions, respectively. There was a higher probability for white sharks to increase their speed towards animals (0.16) than people (0.01). The likelihood of white sharks altering their speed or direction when people were present depended on human activity. Overall, our study highlighted the value of drone technology in providing insights into white shark behaviour. It also supported the contention that, while people and white sharks coexist within nearshore areas, the probability of a negative human–wildlife encounter remains low.

Analysis of wildlife threat findings based on the SMART patrol application at Pemerihan Resort, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park

Monitoring, managing, and maintaining conservation areas are challenges faced by various parties. The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is an application used to measure, collect, evaluate, and improve the effectiveness of location-based monitoring and conservation activities and has been implemented at the Pemerihan Resort, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS). Based on the SMART application, the research aims to analyze the findings of threats and wildlife on active patrol routes. The methods used are documentary studies and field observations. The data obtained from the documentary study is in the form of data from forest patrols for two years (2020-2022), then processed, classified, and analyzed into data on threat findings and wild animal encounter data directly or through signs of presence, which is then verified through field observations. The research results show that the data found from the SMART application during four patrol periods from 2020-2022 consisted of 143 threat findings and 841 wild animal encounters. The highest threat finding was animal hunting, with 56 findings (39%), and the lowest was logging, with three findings (2%). Twenty-three wild animal encounters were found directly or through signs of presence such as tracks, feces, scratches, and food remain. The highest wildlife encounter was the sambar deer (Rusa unicolor). The high threat findings indicate much human activity in the Pemerihan Resort Area, TNBBS, which can disturb wildlife and its habitats.

Маркування ведмедем (Ursus arctos) дерев у Чорнобильському біосферному заповіднику

For the first time in the Ukrainian Polissia and the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (ChREBR), a concentrated linear distribution of bear-marked spruce trees was found at the abandoned estates of the village of Opachychi along the second terrace of the Prypiat River floodplain. Individual sightings of bears (Ursus arctos) in the Ukrainian Polissia have been known since the 1990s, but there are no reliable data on the reproduction of this species. The abundance of bears in Belarus has increased in recent years, which leads to the possibility of females coming to the Polissia from the north. Dried spruce trees without resin were not marked by the bear, and the animal moved on to live trees. Friction and more intensive marking of trees was recorded mainly in the eastern direction. Most of the marked spruce trees were upright with no branches to the height of the marking. The intensive marking behaviour of bears in 2023 in the ChREBR can be considered as the appearance of a female, as signalling to a female, and as a sign of dominance towards a male competitor. Two adult males were observed near one of the marked trees (data from amateurs). Special field surveys are needed to identify females with cubs to confirm or refute the hypothesis that the intensity of bear marking can be used in the event of the presence of a female bear in oestrus. Along the bear-marked trees in the village of Opachychi of the ChPEBR, an ecological trail and a visitor centre of large carnivores and herbivores should be created, which would be popular destinations. It is advisable to arrange a location for wildlife observations in an abandoned house for photo and video shooting, as is usually done in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain. In such tours, the effectiveness of the observation is not guaranteed and only preliminary statistics of wildlife encounters are provided. For this purpose, it is advisable to create two feeding areas for predatory mammals with dry food, as well as a salt marsh and a feeding trough for ungulates. The majority of the ChREBR territory has a low incidence of markings. The bear in the Polissia, as elsewhere in Europe, is expanding its range naturally, but at a slow pace due to the low intensity of female dispersal. Tree marking by bears was also observed in Chernihiv Oblast, in the Mizhrichynskyi Regional Landscape Park. It is advisable to release several bears in the ChEBR to create a reproductive centre for this species in the Polissia.

Community-Based Tourism as a Sustainable Approach to Tourism Development in Jibhi Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Summary The Jibhi Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India, has vast potential for community-based tourism (CBT), offering unique village experiences with quality accommodation. CBT empowers locals to generate income and share their culture, showcasing handicrafts, local cuisines, and authentic experiences. Celebration of Jibhi’s religious festivals and traditional rituals add a niche cultural perspective of the valley. The pristine environment mostly attracts nature enthusiasts, bird watchers, and hikers. Jibhi’s prospects include cultural experiences, village stays, wildlife encounters, nature-based tourism, agro-tourism, wellness, art, and adventure. Information © The Authors 2024

Vulnerability and fascination with wildlife encounters and psychological restoration in local natural settings

ABSTRACT People often visit natural settings for recreation and psychological restoration. This study aims to improve understanding of how exposure to and experiences of mammalian wildlife in local natural settings can permit and promote recreation and restoration. Randomly sampled residents in three regions of Sweden (N = 303) with varying presence of fear-relevant species (wolf, wild boar) and fear-irrelevant species (roe deer, squirrel) completed a questionnaire. Squirrel and roe deer were rated significantly higher than wolf and wild boar for anticipated positive feelings and restoration outcomes, and significantly lower for negative feelings and avoidance of natural settings. The possibility of exposure explained little of the variation in the restoration variables, whereas the experiences anticipated with an animal encounter contributed substantially to explanation. Vulnerability seems to counteract the restorative benefit of fascination. Wildlife conservation efforts and public health initiatives may find practical utility in distinguishing between potential exposure and anticipated experience when designing interventions.

Wildlife and public perceptions of opportunities for psychological restoration in local natural settings

Abstract Wildlife might be important to psychologically restorative values and disvalues of nature, as interactions with wildlife could trigger both positive and negative feelings. Research on positive experiences of human–wildlife interactions has largely involved participants who voluntarily sought out wildlife experiences or it has addressed encounters with non‐threatening animals in urban green spaces. Less is known about the opportunities for psychological restoration in landscapes shared with mammals that are perceived to pose a threat to human activities and health. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the role of wildlife in public perceptions of the restorative potential and experience of psychological restoration in local natural settings. Twenty‐eight participants (15 women, 13 men, 18–75 years) took part in focus group interviews subject to a reflexive thematic analysis. As an analytical framework, we used a theoretical model for how people appraise the relevance, implications, coping potential and norm congruence of human–wildlife interactions and how such appraisals may support or hinder the restoration experienced in local natural settings. Relevance appraisals revealed shifts in consideration of the presence of wildlife from an integrated part of the natural scenery (background) to a distinct figure (foreground). Implication appraisals revealed that wildlife encounters would hinder the experienced psychological restoration if the animal was appraised as dangerous, disgusting, causing a nuisance or destructive. Wildlife encounters would promote restoration if the animal displayed attractive traits, features or fascinating behaviour or movements, and if it opened engaging interaction situations. Coping strategies perceived as feasible to deal with negative implications of wildlife involved avoidance of the local natural setting, preparatory behaviour displayed before a visit and precautionary behaviour displayed during the visit. Important public health effects might be gained if wildlife policy and management explicitly consider what animals mean to the perceived restorative potential of local natural settings. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

‘There’s not a lot of places for them to go’: rural and remote family perspectives on children’s independent mobility

ABSTRACT Children’s independent mobility (CIM) is the freedom of children to move around their neighbourhood or community without adult supervision. The aim of this study was to explore experiences with CIM from the perspectives of children and their parents living in rural and remote areas of British Columbia, Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 parent–child dyads or triads (45 participants). Child participants aged 7–12 were invited to create and describe drawings, maps, or take images of their independent mobility. Artwork and interview transcripts were analysed following an inductive thematic approach and mapped to the social-ecological model. We developed four themes to describe rural and remote family perspectives on CIM: (1) natural places, spaces, and forces; (2) embracing informal and unstructured play destinations; (3) decision-making and knowing when they are ready; (4) neighbourhood and community environments. Children identified several environmental characteristics impacting their independent mobility including wildlife, seasonal weather patterns, and lack of destinations. Parents reported the environment of rural communities, including neighbourhood cohesiveness and people looking out for each other, as being supportive of CIM. To promote CIM in rural and remote areas, efforts should focus on providing education on wildlife encounters, creating safe and interesting destinations for play, and consider children’s safety and connectivity in road design.

Toward Antarctification? Tourism and place-making in Antarctica

ABSTRACT Antarctic tourism has been growing increasingly and diversifying over the past two decades. In parallel, Antarctic tourism scholarship has particularly focused on tourism development and management. This industry- and policy-focused research has neglected to address how these developments affect place-making processes in Antarctica. This article is grounded in conceptual developments of ‘Arctification’, a phenomenon that appears to have significant impacts on the making of the Arctic as a place (to visit) using specific narratives in tourism. Thus, this study expands these conceptual developments to Antarctic tourism by investigating tourism’s role in place-making in Antarctica through ‘Antarctification’. Four types of narratives emerge from tourism promotion materials constituting the core of Antarctification: Antarctica as a place (1) of exploration, (2) that is wild and empty, (3) of superlatives, and (4) needing environmental stewardship and ambassadorship. The use of these narratives locks Antarctica into particular imaginaries designed to attract visitors. Identifying these dominant narratives is critical, as they may markedly impact conservation agendas, Antarctic wildlife encounters, icescapes, and heritage.

Developing safety competence among Arctic tour guides in training: the case of the encounters

Guiding tourists in the Arctic requires to possess the ability to utilize their knowledge and skills on safety concerns related to harsh climate, self-sufficiency, and wildlife encounters. Several tour guide training programs are offered across the Arctic with an aim to develop competent guides to facilitate tourists’ safety and experiences, yet there is limited research on guide training program. This empirical research, based on yearlong longitudinal study in Svalbard seek to explore safety competence development process among guides in training. Data gathering included participant observation in the classroom and during fieldwork. Research based on five encounters illustrates the learning process in a real-life context. Findings indicate that experiential learning approach could be used as an effective tool in facilitating students’ safety competence development. The research contributes to the knowledge on tour guides' safety training, giving findings into guides' education in extreme environments. Recommendations for further research on the guide’s safety training are discussed.

Wild views on sale: commercialization of visual encounters in Namibian wildlife conservation

ABSTRACT Nature conservation in Namibia today depends on the commercialization of wildlife, which combines conservation efforts with touristic and thus market-oriented targets. In our paper, we frame this trade as an economy of the visual, in which the production of visual encounter value and the sale of particular visual experiences with wild animals are essential. Employing a ‘posthuman political ecology of the visual’ we critically analyze guided game views and forced presentation of animals, and elucidate how the powerful constitution and reproduction of colonial, predominantly male, and bourgeois imaginaries is involved in the commercializing process. We conclude that commercialization of visual wildlife encounter leads to the hegemonic creation of a standardized and exclusive nature worth seeing and, hence, worth conserving. Besides, we expound the problems that commercializing visual encounter entails for the animals, their daily (and nightly) routines, their privacy and their freedom not to be seen.

The Life and Death of Freya the Walrus: Human and Wild Animal Interactions in the Anthropocene Era.

Freya the Walrus, who often climbed onto docked boats to sunbathe and frolic, was euthanized by the Norwegian Department of Fisheries in the Oslo fjord in August 2022, sparking international outrage and media attention. Since walruses are social animals, and since the Anthropocene era of climate change has displaced animals from their Arctic homes, forcing them to migrate, we can expect more human-animal interactions at such places as marinas, where Freya met her end. This paper asks and attempts to answer how we can make such interactions just going forward? In cases such as Freya's, we need to reconcile three competing interests: the animal's interest in living a flourishing life as best they can in a changing climate; the public's interest in a safe and fulfilling wildlife encounter with an animal they have come to know intimately enough to name and follow devotedly on social media; and interests in maintaining private property. Examining these interests through the philosophical lenses of co-sovereignty, capability, and individuality, however, will yield more just results for animals in similar situations of conflict and co-existence with humans in urban spaces. We argue that, going forward, state resources should be expended to safeguard the public from marina access if safety is a genuine concern, while private money should be spent by marinas to enact safe animal removal with a no-kill policy.

“Everyone can be a guide until something goes wrong”: adventure guides’ competencies and tourist safety in the Arctic

ABSTRACT Extreme weather, wildlife encounters, and rough terrain are integral to guided adventure tours in the Arctic. Guides are expected to ensure safety while facilitating adventurous tourist experiences. Although this balancing act is of vital importance, there has been limited research on the competencies needed to facilitate tourist safety. This study responds to this gap by identifying the competencies necessary to ensure tourist safety during guided trips in the Arctic environment, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between competencies and the situated knowledge of guides. The results are based on 16 in-depth interviews with guides leading adventure trips in Iceland, Svalbard, and Greenland. The research draws upon existing theoretical studies on outdoor leadership to relate to operational conditions of guides working in the Arctic. The findings indicate that various skill sets are needed to ensure safety, with emphasis on a balance between technical, interpersonal, and operational skills as well as situational knowledge. Recognizing competencies essential to facilitating tourist safety, the study introduces a safety competency framework that positions knowledge, acquired through experience and training, as a mediating factor between various skillsets. Lastly, recommendations for further research on the guide’s role in safety management and safety practices are presented.

Quantifying the Influence of Emotions on Management Acceptability for White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Emotions pervade human-wildlife relationships across social identities and cultures. Yet research on how emotions influence the cognitive processing of wildlife encounters remains sparse. In this study, we quantify the role of anticipated emotions in processing hypothetical encounters with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). In 2021, we surveyed Indiana residents about deer and deer management (n = 1.806). Under four hypothetical deer encounters, we estimated the structural relationships among respondents’ general attitudes toward deer, mutualism wildlife beliefs, scenario-specific emotions, and scenario-specific lethal control acceptability. Emotions mediated 14% of the effect of general attitudes on lethal control acceptability when encountering a fawn and completely mediated this effect when encountering a diseased deer. Our findings suggest that emotions work together with cognitions to process stimuli in a human-wildlife encounter and make a normative decision. Accounting for emotions in decision-making will help practitioners develop more effective and socially accepted approaches to wildlife conservation and management.

Estimating encounter probabilities among recreational trail user groups.

We provide managers of recreational trail systems with a quantitative, objective, and noninvasive method to monitor activity among trail user groups. This method can be altered both spatially and temporally to fit any recreational trail system's research questions. These questions may involve congestion, trail carrying capacity, or user group and wildlife encounters. Our method advances current knowledge of trail use dynamics by quantifying the extent of activity overlap between different user groups that may be prone to conflict. Managers can use this information to incorporate relevant management strategies to mitigate congestion and conflict for their own recreational trail system.

Hazardous human–wildlife encounters, risk attitudes, and the value of shark nets for coastal recreation

AbstractShark incidents are rare and graphic events, and their consequences can influence the behavior of beach users, including bathers, to a great extent. These incidents can be thought of as a fearsome risk that may lead decision makers to overreact or respond with inaction. This paper examines the reaction of recreational beach users, including bathers, to changes in the risk of shark incidents. In addition to valuing recreational visits to Durban Beach, South Africa, we study the reaction of beach visitors to a hypothetical scenario in which protective shark nets, deployed in coastal waters to protect bathers, are to be removed. To examine potential heterogeneity of the treatment effect in a travel cost‐contingent behavior model, we develop a semiparametric multivariate Poisson lognormal (MPLN) model to jointly analyze observed and stated visit counts. Results show that removing protective shark nets at Durban beach would decrease recreational visits by more than 20%. Applying the semiparametric MPLN model we further find that both the value of a recreational visit and the predicted change in visitation rates vary as a function of whether recreationists usually enter the water, whether they have heard of previous shark incidents, and their general risk attitude.

Large carnivore encounters through the lens of mobile videos on social media

AbstractUnderstanding local encounters with large carnivores is important for promoting sustainable coexistence. The use of smartphones and social media in geographically remote areas offers a novel avenue to study human–wildlife encounters from a local perspective. We conducted a content analysis of mobile videos on social media (n = 207) to characterize human encounters with snow leopards, gray wolves, and brown bears on the Tibetan Plateau in China. We also used ethnographic interviews to understand the backgrounds and motivations of videographers. Results show large carnivore encounters are not necessarily conflictual. Over half of encounters are neutral without observable interference between people and predators. The likelihood of a “negative encounter” is significantly associated with the target species, the distance between the videographer and the animal, the level of human influence in the surroundings, and the presence of other animals (i.e., dogs and livestock). Local Tibetan herders document unusual encounters with carnivores using videos for various reasons, but what is deemed unusual is context‐dependent and fluid. Our study demonstrates that social media videos can provide valuable insights into the diversity and complexity of human–wildlife interactions. We encourage conservationists to develop visual participatory programs to better engage local people in conservation knowledge production.

Wolves, Crows, Spiders, and People: A Qualitative Study Yielding a Three-Layer Framework for Understanding Human–Wildlife Relations

Human dimensions research has proposed a multitude of variables impacting the viability of wildlife populations. Extant approaches to systematizing these variables have mostly focused on human relations to only one animal species or taxon and are largely descriptive, rather than explanatory. In this study, we provide a three-layer framework for understanding people’s responses to a variety of human–wildlife encounters. We conducted a comparative qualitative study, interviewing 20 stakeholders on one of three ecologically disparate model animals. Through thematic analysis, we identified person-specific, species-specific, and overarching factors whose interplay shapes people’s reactions to encounters with wildlife. The person-specific factors, individual people’s biographic backgrounds and life themes, fuel the polarization of stances towards wildlife. The species-specific factors, people’s mental images of wild animals, explain the particular character of different human–wildlife relations. The overarching factors, fundamental questions regarding the place of humans in nature or motivations of control over animal agents, stir the intensity inherent in human encounters with wildlife. This three-layer framework amends existing proposals by providing a cohesive system and an in-depth portrayal of shared and specific factors and processes in various human–wildlife relations and by elucidating their interaction in influencing people’s responses to encounters with wild animals.

Land reversion and zoonotic spillover risk.

Deforestation alters wildlife communities and modifies human–wildlife interactions, often increasing zoonotic spillover potential. When deforested land reverts to forest, species composition differences between primary and regenerating (secondary) forest could alter spillover risk trajectory. We develop a mathematical model of land-use change, where habitats differ in their relative spillover risk, to understand how land reversion influences spillover risk. We apply this framework to scenarios where spillover risk is higher in deforested land than mature forest, reflecting higher relative abundance of highly competent species and/or increased human–wildlife encounters, and where regenerating forest has either very low or high spillover risk. We find the forest regeneration rate, the spillover risk of regenerating forest relative to deforested land, and how rapidly regenerating forest regains attributes of mature forest determine landscape-level spillover risk. When regenerating forest has a much lower spillover risk than deforested land, reversion lowers cumulative spillover risk, but instaneous spillover risk peaks earlier. However, when spillover risk is high in regenerating and cleared habitats, landscape-level spillover risk remains high, especially when cleared land is rapidly abandoned then slowly regenerates to mature forest. These results suggest that proactive wildlife management and awareness of human exposure risk in regenerating forests could be important tools for spillover mitigation.

Public perceptions and attitudes toward urban wildlife encounters – A decade of change

Europe is currently undergoing dynamic land use changes causing the expansion of urban habitat, which is driving wildlife species to colonise conurbations, resulting in an increased likelihood of human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Understanding people's attitudes toward wildlife is essential to manage these conflicts. This study assessed people's attitudes toward urban wildlife, the types of conflicts that existed, preferences for managing conflict situations, and determined any changes in perceptions of urban wildlife over a decade. A questionnaire survey of residents of Krakow, the second-largest city in Poland, was conducted in 2010 (n = 721) and repeated in 2020 (n = 887). We found that encounters with certain urban wildlife such as wild boars, red squirrels, roe deer, brown hares, and red foxes had increased significantly in 2020 compared to 2010. Respondents reported that wild boar and beavers did not show fear when encountering humans. Stone martens were considered the most nuisance wildlife species in 2010, while in 2020 wild boar were the most conflictual wildlife species. There were additional reports of conflicts with roe deer and red foxes. The most frequent HWC responses were personal anxiety, intrusion into property and destruction of crops, which increased significantly over the decade, independent of respondents' gender. Respondents preferred nonlethal methods to mitigate conflicts. The study provides valuable information and knowledge on changes in people's attitudes toward urban wildlife that can help with wildlife management in urban areas. Incorporating perception and attitude data from the public, along with a multi-stakeholder approach that includes wildlife professionals, in the planning and design of future urban environments is critical to minimise HWC.

Sensory and Emotional Components in Tourist Memories of Wildlife Encounters: Intense, Detailed, and Long-Lasting Recollections of Individual Incidents

To quantify the role of senses and emotions in creating memorable tourism experiences, we need measurement frameworks that match how memories are created. This study examines that process through directed-content qualitative analysis of tourist encounters with wildlife. Data are derived from: interviews with 20 experienced wildlife tourism experts in 12 countries; 3000 social media posts on tourism enterprise and wildlife encounter websites; and participant observations and records of 168 memorable encounters involving >100 wildlife species, >850 tourists, and ~10,000 h in total, ranging over five decades. Across all data sources, senses and emotions differed between tourist interests and personalities, wildlife species and behaviours, and encounter circumstances. All senses were reported, with the most frequent being sight, followed by sound and smell, and, rarely, touch or taste. Descriptions were fine-grained and complex. The emotions reported were awe, joy, wonder, delight, thrill, amazement, envy, aww (cute-emotion), surprise, elation, satisfaction, interest, boredom, disappointment, sadness, embarrassment, concern, pity, distress, disgust, anxiety, shock, alarm, fear, and panic. Some experiences generated powerful recalls persisting for decades. Short-term, intense, and finely detailed senses and emotions defined experiences, created memories, and determined satisfaction, wellbeing, and subsequent outcomes. More accurate methods are needed to measure and characterise senses, emotions, and memories in tourism experience.