Public Attitudes toward Black Bears (Ursus americanus) and Cougars (Puma concolor) on Vancouver Island

Abstract

The sharp increase in the human population of Vancouver Island; the urban development policy favoring forest fragmentation and smaller, scattered settlements; and the relatively sizable population of large predatory mammals have contributed to one of the highest human-large predator contact zones in North America. Although some studies have evaluated public attitudes toward larger carnivores from urban/rural, gender, and generational perspectives, few have focused on black bears and cougars on the British Columbia coast. In this study, four hundred people in the densely populated southeast corner of Vancouver Island were interviewed about their attitudes toward black bear and cougar presence and behavior. The majority of interviewees had positive attitudes toward both bears and cougars, and were opposed to the shooting of carnivores, preferring trapping and removal. Contrary to expectation, few respondents saw carnivores as threats to livestock, companion animals, or children. Both black bears and cougars were perceived as serving useful functions as part of the island’s heritage and cultural development (through hunting, tourism, and recreation).

The Relevance of Age and Gender for Public Attitudes to Brown Bears (Ursus arctos), Black Bears (Ursus americanus), and Cougars (Puma concolor) in Kamloops, British Columbia

“…However, little comparative research has been done (McCrory & Paquet, 2005). In both the current study and Campbell and Lancaster (2010), the majority of people were against shooting (even of brown bears and cougars), reflecting polls reported by Marktrend Research (2009) and Gailus, Moola, and Connnolly(2010).…”

“…The general finding that most participants selected trapping and removal for all three species is in line with the main tenet of the Bear Smart conservation program, that effective management (e.g., trapping and removal, and environmental management) is better than shooting. In the current study, shooting of black bears was somewhat popular, especially among younger people-a surprising contrast to participants' attitudes on Vancouver Island (Campbell & Lancaster, 2010), where shooting was by far the option least favored by both men and women. This age difference contradicts the common assumption that younger people show greater tolerance toward predators than older people.…”

“…However, if we combine the participants who chose trapping and removal with those who chose tolerance as a measure of participants who chose "toleration," it is clear that the usual response from participants was toleration toward all three species. Opinions about a species' usefulness may translate into a preference for effective conservation rather than killing bears and cougars (Campbell & Lancaster, 2010;Gailus et al. 2010), but this potential translation of a person's perception of an animal as serving a useful function into a conservation-oriented attitude toward that species was present only toward bears in the current study.…”

“…The negativity toward cougars is based on their prédation threat to companion animals and children (McKee, 2003). Consequently, cougars are perceived as more dangerous than black bears (Campbell & Lancaster, 2010), and studies have found that more people (especially men) approve of cougar hunting than black bear hunting (Teel, Krannich, & Schmidt, 2002). North American women are more afraid than men of cougars (Thornton 6¿ Quinn, 2009;Kellert, 1989Kellert, , 1994 and bears (Morzillo, Mertig, HoUister, Garner, & Liu, 2010), yet women are more supportive than men of bear and cougar conservation (Thornton & Quinn, 2009;Teel, Krannich, & Schmidt, 2002;Kellert, 1989).…”

Crayfish in Czech cultural space: the longest documented relationship between humans and crayfish in Europe

“…There exist positive or negative attitudes towards different animals (Campbell and Lancaster, 2010;Schlegel and Rupf 2010), but, as a non-stereotypically charismatic animal, crayfish is generally seen by people within the Czech cultural space in a positive light (e.g. Krupauer, 1968).…”