Assessing the relationship between illegal hunting of ungulates, wild prey occurrence and livestock depredation rate by large carnivores

Abstract

1. Illegal hunting of ungulates can reduce the prey base of carnivores, which can increase human-carnivore conflict (HCC) through livestock depredation. However, the relationship between ungulate poaching, wild prey abundance and livestock depredation has rarely been empirically studied.2. We surveyed 18 sites across the Hyrcanian forest in northern Iran; a global biodiversity hotspot under pressure from illegal hunting of ungulates, prey depletion, livestock grazing and HCC. We conducted three field surveys across 1,204 km in 93 4 × 4 km cells to count signs of ungulate poaching as well as encounters with livestock and prey species of the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor and the grey wolf Canis lupus. We documented sheep/goat and cattle depredation from interviews with 201 herders and analysed the effects of illegal hunting of ungulates, forest cover, IUCN categories of reserves, elevation, distance to villages, and wild prey and livestock encounter rates on carnivore depredation rates using generalized linear models.3. Illegal hunting of ungulates was the most influential depredation predictor. An increase in the illegal hunting of ungulates by one sign/km significantly increased depredation by up to four times. We also found significantly lower levels of ungulate poaching in national parks (IUCN category II) compared to protected areas (V), wildlife refuges (IV) and no-hunting areas, though poaching signs were frequently found in most cells (58%). Encounters with livestock was inversely linked to wild prey species, but positively coupled with signs of ungulate poaching. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our study reveals that: (a) an increase in the intensity of illegal hunting of ungulates can intensify livestock depredation by carnivores; (b) future efforts in reducing human-carnivore conflict to acceptable levels require a combination of law enforcement, prey recovery approaches and mitigation measures; (c) it is essential to understand the root causes of poaching to help minimize human-carnivore conflict (HCC). K E Y W O R D Sgrey wolf, human-carnivore conflict, illegal hunting, livestock, Persian leopard, poaching, protected areas, ungulate | 367Journal of Applied Ecology SOOFI et al.

Relative influence of wild prey and livestock abundance on carnivore‐caused livestock predation

“…Density of wild herbivore prey is known to be a critical determinant of carnivore density (Carbone & Gittleman, 2002; Karanth et al., 2004; Suryawanshi et al., 2017). However, the role of wild herbivore density in determining the extent of livestock predation by carnivores is debatable (Bagchi & Mishra, 2006; Khorozyan et al., 2015; Meriggi et al., 1996; Meriggi & Lovari, 1996; Soofi et al., 2019; Suryawanshi et al., 2017). Studies investigating the impact of livestock abundance on predation levels have shown higher intensities of depredation in areas of higher livestock densities (Pimenta et al., 2018).…”

Diet and wild ungulate preferences of wolves in northwestern Anatolia during winter

“…Studies have shown that where wolves are extirpated, ungulate numbers might rise dramatically, causing reduction of biological and morphological diversity in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (Ripple et al, 2014). On the other hand, where ungulate numbers and biodiversity are dramatically reduced by anthropogenic factors (e.g., poaching, habitat destruction and alteration, excessive farming and grazing by livestock) wolves can be a major cause of human-wildlife conflict (Tuğ, 2005; Soofi et al, 2019).…”

Identifying priority areas for restoring mountain ungulates in the Caucasus ecoregion

“…As elsewhere, spatial data on poaching is unavailable in the Caucasus, preventing us from including poaching directly in our models. Yet poaching is a key threat to mountain ungulates in this region (Ghoddousi et al, 2019; Soofi et al, 2019; Zazanashvili & Mallon, 2009), as these species are preferred by poachers and easy to hunt (Ghoddousi et al, 2019), and because poaching is linked to transhumance grazing still found across large areas in the Caucasus (Gavashelishvili et al, 2018). Most extant bezoar goat populations we identified are confined to protected areas, even within otherwise larger patches of habitat (Figure 3, Figure S1, Supporting Information).…”