Determinants of herder attitudes towards the Vulnerable snow leopard Panthera uncia in Yushu Prefecture, China
CHARL O TTE E. HAC K E R,YUNCHUAN DAI,YIFAN CHE NG,YU ZHANG YUGUANG ZHANG,LAN CE J. MILLE R and J AN E. JANECKA
Abstract Yushu Prefecture in Qinghai Province provides some of the largest known stretches of habitat for the Vulnerable snow leopard Panthera uncia in China. People living in these areas are dependent on agropastoralism. Support from local communities is necessary for effective long-term conservation action for snow leopards, but loss of livestock to snow leopards can create financial burdens that induce negative attitudes and encourage retaliatory kill- ing. We assessed factors driving herders’ attitudes towards snow leopards and their conservation. We found that her- ders had higher agreement with positive than with negative statements about snow leopards despite nearly half report- ing livestock loss to snow leopards within the last 5 years. No retaliatory killing was reported. Herders with more years of formal education and fewer livestock losses were more likely to have positive attitudes whereas those with lower importance of snow leopards to their religion, fewer livestock losses, and fewer years of education were more like- ly to have negative attitudes. Understanding themultifaceted mechanisms responsible for positive views towards species is imperative for reaching conservation goals. Our findings ascribe to the importance of increased education and adher- ence to Tibetan beliefs in promoting conservation tolerance towards snowleopards inQinghai Province, but also indicate a need for further research into the impact of livestock loss.
Keywords Carnivore, China, human–wildlife conflict, livestock, Panthera uncia, snow leopard, survey, Tibetan Plateau
Supplementary material for this article is available at
doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319001315
Introduction
interactions between humans and animals that have negative outcomes, such as economic loss (Pettigrew et al., 2012), retaliatory killings as a response to livestock predation (Oli et al., 1994), human mortality (Treves & Karanth, 2003) and disease (Thirgood et al., 2005). Such outcomes threaten large mammals and are anticipated to increase in severity (Kansky & Knight, 2014). Felids are often affected despite their low densities because they occupy large home ranges and attack domestic animals and humans (Treves & Karanth, 2003). Because many felids are threatened, kill- ings can be detrimental to their populations (Woodroffe & Ginsberg, 1998). Such loss can have macroecological im- pacts as large felids influence trophic cascades downwards, and increase biodiversity (Miller et al., 2001). Carnivores place financial burden on herders via live-
H CHARLOTTE E. HACKER (Corresponding author,
orcid.org/000-0002-4641-
3631) and JAN E. JANECKA Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282, USA E-mail
hackerc@duq.edu
YUNCHUAN DAI,YIFAN CHENG,YU ZHANG and YUGUANG ZHANG Chinese Academy of Forestry, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environmental and Protection, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
LANCE J. MILLER Chicago Zoological Society—Brookfield Zoo, Center for the Science of Animal Care and Welfare, Brookfield, USA
Received 6 March 2019. Revision requested 8 May 2019. Accepted 29 October 2019. First published online 2 June 2020.
stock depredation, leading to negative attitudes, retaliatory killing, and disagreements between community members and agencies seeking to protect wildlife (Treves & Karanth, 2003). Livestock loss is, however, preventable by non-lethal means(Ogadaetal., 2003). Predator proof corrals have been successful in India (Jackson & Wangchuk, 2004), Africa (Lichtenfeld et al., 2015) and North America (Cluff &Murray, 1995). Increased human activity has been effec- tive in Kenya (Ogada et al., 2003), and shifting campsites decreased loss in Mongolia (Mijiddorj et al., 2018). Guard dogs Canis familiaris have been used to alert herders and ward off predators (Ogada et al., 2003). In addition, post- predation interventions, such as livestock insurance, can reduce financial loss and negative perceptions, although these are often insufficient (Jackson & Wangchuk, 2004; Hemson et al., 2009). The success of mitigation strategies largely depends on community participation (Jackson & Wangchuk, 2004). Effective implementation requires research on the attitudes of local stakeholders (Dickman, 2010; Kansky & Knight, 2014). Although values direct attitudes, attitudes precede and direct behaviour (Vaske & Manfredo, 2012) and thus knowledge of the attitudes of herders is necessary for in- ferring actions towards carnivores. Attitudes are influenced by many factors, including knowledge, social norms, eco- nomic constraints and religious affiliation (Dickman, 2010).
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 783–790 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001315
umans, livestock, predators and prey share common resources (Aryal et al., 2014). This overlap leads to
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