This study explores the perception of wolverines, a carnivore in decline, by youths in northern Canada, the future generation of stakeholders. To accomplish this, we analysed 165 drawings from children and 22 interviews with Indigenous adults in the Northwest Territories and Quebec. Overall, children primarily drew wolverines in healthy environments, with only a minority depicting the wolverine’s environment negatively. All children demonstrated a basic understanding of the wolverine’s physical appearance and biology/ecology, with few differences in how the wolverine was depicted among the different research areas. Among interviewed adults, the ecological role played by wolverines was less prominent among the themes explored by Naskapi participants than was their role as a thief or pest, when contrasted to Dene participants. These results indicate that information about wolverine habitat or biology is still being acquired by children in areas where wolverines are extirpated, but that a lack of exposure to this species may negatively influence children’s understanding of its ecological role. These results suggest that informing the public about this carnivore’s ecological role may improve public support and, therefore, the likelihood of successful conservation programmes.
An incorrect version of figure 2 was published with the place names in French instead of English. The correct figure is given below.Finally the acknowledgments section was omitted. This should have read:
The public’s level of knowledge and opinions towards certain species can greatly impact their willingness to support present or future conservation or management programs. When public opinion is mixed, as is often the case with wild carnivores, an accurate assessment of perceptions and knowledge can identify areas of concern and help guide public outreach efforts. When such outreach programs focus on children they can be particularly effective for two reasons: 1) the opinions of children towards wild animals are often more flexible than the ingrained beliefs of adults, and 2) it is the younger generation that will be called upon to support long-term conservation efforts in the future. To assess the degree of knowledge and the current state of opinion among children towards a little known and often negatively perceived Arctic species, the wolverine (Gulo gulo), we conducted surveys with school children between the ages of 8 – 12 years old in seven schools within the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories. Results from 151 completed surveys confirm that the majority of children lack general knowledge about this species, though the overall level of knowledge was higher in small, rural communities than the larger capital city of Yellowknife. Negative values were among the most commonly expressed values we observed, but so too was an appreciation for the ecological role that wolverines play in nature. The results of this study can be used to implement new educational programs aimed at increasing the overall level of acceptance of the wolverine and similar carnivores, and to encourage the public’s willingness to support conservation efforts for this often negatively perceived species.
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