Playback of felid growls mitigates crop-raiding by elephants<i>Elephas maximus</i>in southern India

Thuppil, Vivek; Coss, Richard G.

doi:10.1017/s0030605314000635

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…High tech acoustic deterrents remain problematic too. Audio playbacks of threatening sounds like wild cat growls, human shouts, and vocalizations from elephant matriarchal groups have only been tested as short-term and short-distance elephants repellents (Thuppil and Coss, 2016;Wijayagunawardane et al, 2016). Some studies show that elephants quickly learn to tolerate these sounds and return to raid crops (Sikes, 1971;Moss, 1988).…”

Section: Acoustic Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the installation and regular monitoring and maintenance of these playback systems present logistical challenges in remote areas. Although reportedly 65-100% effective in the tests performed (Thuppil and Coss, 2016), the potentially negative feedbacks of audio playbacks on other species merit further assessment before wider adoption (Gamage and Wijesundara, 2014;Zeppelzauer et al, 2015). Recent studies in Africa show promising results using bio-acoustic methods such as beehive fences to deter elephants, and have the added benefit of providing pollinators and honey (King et al, 2011(King et al, , 2017.…”

Section: Acoustic Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions

et al. 2019

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Human-elephant conflict is a major conservation concern in elephant range countries. A variety of management strategies have been developed and are practiced at different scales for preventing and mitigating human-elephant conflict. However, human-elephant conflict remains pervasive as the majority of existing prevention strategies are driven by site-specific factors that only offer short-term solutions, while mitigation strategies frequently transfer conflict risk from one place to another. Here, we review current human-elephant conflict management strategies and describe an interdisciplinary conceptual approach to manage species coexistence over the long-term. Our proposed model identifies shared resource use between humans and elephants at different spatial and temporal scales for development of long-term solutions. The model also highlights the importance of including anthropological and geographical knowledge to find sustainable solutions to managing human-elephant conflict.

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Section: Acoustic Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acoustic Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions

et al. 2019

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“…Some of these tools rely on fear of humans or natural predators, including range riders and domesticated guardian dogs (VerCauteren et al, 2013;Kinka & Young, 2018), or artificial sensory cues of predators. For example, playbacks of felid growls reduced crop raiding by elephants (Elephas maximus) in India (Thuppil & Coss, 2016). In other cases, conflict mitigation tools are associated with novel or fear-inducing sensory stimuli.…”

Section: Instilling Fear To Mitigate Human-wildlife Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

An applied ecology of fear framework: linking theory to conservation practice

Gaynor

Cherry

Gilbert

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

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Research on the ecology of fear has highlighted the importance of perceived risk from predators and humans in shaping animal behavior and physiology, with potential demographic and ecosystem-wide consequences. Despite recent conceptual advances and potential management implications of the ecology of fear, theory and conservation practices have rarely been linked. Many challenges in animal conservation may be alleviated by actively harnessing or compensating for risk perception and risk avoidance behavior in wild animal populations. Integration of the ecology of fear into conservation and management practice can contribute to the recovery of threatened populations, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, invasive species management, maintenance of sustainable harvest and species reintroduction plans. Here, we present an applied framework that links conservation interventions to desired outcomes by manipulating ecology of fear dynamics. We discuss how to reduce or amplify fear in wild animals by manipulating habitat structure, sensory stimuli, animal experience (previous exposure to risk) and food safety trade-offs to achieve management objectives. Changing the optimal decision-making of individuals in managed populations can then further conservation goals by shaping the spatiotemporal distribution of animals, changing predation rates and altering risk effects that scale up to demographic consequences. We also outline future directions for applied research on fear ecology that will better inform conservation practices. Our framework can help scientists and practitioners anticipate and mitigate unintended consequences of management decisions, and highlight new levers for multi-species conservation strategies that promote human-wildlife coexistence. An applied ecology of fear framework Scientists and practitioners recognize the importance of considering animal behavior when designing conservation strategies for wild animal populations (Burt, 1943; Martin, 1998). Knowledge of habitat selection, mating systems and sociality, for example, have informed habitat and population management strategies (Festa-Bianchet & Apollonio, 2003; Blumstein & Fern andez-Juricic, 2010). Behaviors related to risk avoidance have also received some attention in the management arena, generally in the context of deterrents that aim to instill fear and flight responses in pest species to reduce undesired behaviors (Miller et al., 2016). However, proactive risk Animal Conservation (2020)ª 2020 The Zoological Society of London 1 Animal Conservation.

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“…This constraint has largely precluded the use of playback experiments in conservation biology (Pimm et al . ; Thuppil & Coss ), as well as studies of more elusive wildlife like large carnivores living in remote or heavily forested habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, the principal logistical constraint on conducting such experiments has been the need to have an observer present to locate subjects and operate the equipment, with the result that most playback experiments have been restricted to quantifying the responses of relatively common, diurnally active animals, that are not hyper-sensitive to the presence of humans. This constraint has largely precluded the use of playback experiments in conservation biology (Pimm et al 2015;Thuppil & Coss 2015), as well as studies of more elusive wildlife like large carnivores living in remote or heavily forested habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new Automated Behavioural Response system to integrate playback experiments into camera trap studies

et al. 2017

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Summary How animals respond to anthropogenic disturbances is a core component of conservation biology and how they respond to predators and competitors is equally of central importance to wildlife ecology. Camera traps have rapidly become a critical tool in wildlife research by providing a fully automated means of observing animals without needing an observer present, permitting data to be collected on rare or elusive species and infrequent events. Snapshots from camera traps revealing a species’ presence have been the principal data used to date to gauge behaviour; but, lacking experimental controls, such data permit only correlational analyses potentially open to confounding effects. Playback experiments provide a powerful means to directly test the behavioural responses of animals, enabling strong inferences and rigorous conclusions not subject to the potential confounds affecting the interpretation of snapshot data; the principal factor to date limiting the use of playback experiments being the need to have an observer present. We developed an Automated Behavioural Response system (ABR) comprising a custom‐built motion‐sensitive speaker system that can be paired with any commercially available camera trap, providing the means to conduct playback experiments directly testing the behavioural responses of any species that can be ‘caught’ on a camera trap. We describe field tests in Uganda, Canada and the USA, experimentally testing the effects of anthropogenic disturbances and interactions among large carnivores, in species as diverse as elephants, black bears, chimpanzees and cougars; experiments that would be completely infeasible without the ABR. We evaluate factors affecting the rate of successful data collection in the experiments in Uganda and Canada, and detail how we maximized the system's performance in the USA experiment. By integrating the power playback experiments provide to directly and rigorously test behavioural responses with the capacity camera trapping affords to study virtually any animal anywhere, the ABR can both greatly expand the range of research questions addressed by conservation biologists and wildlife ecologists and qualitatively improve the rigour of the resulting conclusions. We discuss various ways to optimize the ABR's performance in any circumstance, and the many novel research opportunities made available by this new methodology.

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Playback of felid growls mitigates crop-raiding by elephantsElephas maximusin southern India

Cited by 28 publications

References 23 publications

Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions

Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions

An applied ecology of fear framework: linking theory to conservation practice

A new Automated Behavioural Response system to integrate playback experiments into camera trap studies

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