The ecological benefit of tigers (Panthera tigris) to farmers in reducing crop and livestock losses in the eastern Himalayas: Implications for conservation of large apex predators

Thinley, Phuntsho; Rajaratnam, Rajanathan; Lassoie, James P.; Morreale, Stephen J.; Curtis, Paul D.; Vernes, Karl; Leki, Leki; Phuntsho, Sonam; Dorji, Tshering; Dorji, Pema

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.01.015

Cited by 35 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Such benefits of wolf presence on wildlife disease control have been recently documented (Tanner et al ., ). In Bhutan, a study showed that the presence of an apex predator, the tiger ( Panthera tigris ), had indirect economic benefits through reduced losses in crops or livestock (Thinley et al ., ). This benefit, however, must be balanced against the losses of human lives tigers can cause (Löe & Röskaft, ).…”

Section: Consequences Of Wolf Recoverymentioning

confidence: 97%

Deer, wolves, and people: costs, benefits and challenges of living together

2020

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Human-driven species annihilations loom as a major crisis. However the recovery of deer and wolf populations in many parts of the northern hemisphere has resulted in conflicts and controversies rather than in relief. Both species interact in complex ways with their environment, each other, and humans. We review these interactions in the context of the ecological and human costs and benefits associated with these species. We integrate scattered information to widen our perspective on the nature and perception of these costs and benefits and how they link to each other and ongoing controversies regarding how we manage deer and wolf populations. After revisiting the ecological roles deer and wolves play in contemporary ecosystems, we explore how they interact, directly and indirectly, with human groups including farmers, foresters, shepherds, and hunters. Interactions with deer and wolves generate various axes of tension, posing both ecological and sociological challenges. Resolving these tensions and conflicts requires that we address key questions using integrative approaches: what are the ecological consequences of deer and wolf recovery? How do they influence each other? What are the social and socio-ecological consequences of large deer populations and wolf presence? Finally, what key obstacles must be overcome to allow deer, wolves and people to coexist? Reviewing contemporary ecological and sociological results suggests insights and ways to improve our understanding and resolve long-standing challenges to coexistence. We should begin by agreeing to enhance aggregate benefits while minimizing the collective costs we incur by interacting with deer and wolves. We should also view these species, and ourselves, as parts of integrated ecosystems subject to long-term dynamics. If co-existence is our goal, we need deer and wolves to persevere in ways that are compatible with human interests. Our human interests, however, should be inclusive and fairly value all the costs and benefits deer and wolves entail including their intrinsic value. Shifts in human attitudes and cultural learning that are already occurring will reshape our ecological interactions with deer and wolves.Biological Reviews 95 (2020) 782-801

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Section: Consequences Of Wolf Recoverymentioning

confidence: 97%

Deer, wolves, and people: costs, benefits and challenges of living together

2020

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“…Further, as the apex predator in the system tigers may impose a "landscape of fear" on other carnivores such as leopards and wolves, meso-predators such as jackals (Canis aureus), and ungulates that occur in the study area. This may influence the spatial and temporal patterns of conflicts between these species and local communities (Thinley et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may influence the spatial and temporal patterns of conflicts between these species and local communities (Thinley et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural lands offer seasonal habitats to tigers in a human‐dominated and fragmented landscape in India

2020

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Conserving wide‐ranging large carnivores in human‐dominated landscapes is contingent on acknowledging the conservation value of human‐modified lands. This is particularly true for tigers (Panthera tigris), now largely dependent on small and fragmented habitats, embedded within densely populated agroecosystems in India. Devising a comprehensive conservation strategy for the species requires an understanding of the temporal patterns of space use by tiger within these human‐modified areas. These areas are often characterized by altered prey communities, novel risks resulting from high human densities and seasonally dynamic vegetative cover. Understanding space use within these areas is vital to devising human‐tiger conflict prevention measures and for conserving landscape elements critical to maintain functional connectivity between populations. We documented seasonal space‐use patterns of tigers in agricultural lands surrounding protected areas in the Central Terai Landscape (CTL) in northern India. We estimated the probability of space use and its drivers by applying dynamic occupancy models that correct for false‐positive and false‐negative errors to tiger detection\non‐detection data within agricultural areas. These data were generated by conducting local interviews, sign surveys, and camera trapping within 94 randomly selected 2.5‐km2 grid cells. We found that agricultural areas were used with high probability in the winter (0.64; standard error [SE] 0.08), a period of high vegetative cover availability. The use of agricultural lands was lower in the summer (0.56; SE 0.09) and was lowest in the monsoon season (0.21; SE 0.07), tracking a decline in vegetative cover and available habitat across the landscape. Availability of vegetative cover and drainage features positively influenced space use, whereas use declined with increasing distance to protected areas and the extent of human settlements. These findings highlight the role of agricultural areas in providing seasonal habitats for tigers and offer a basis for understanding where tigers and humans co‐occur in these landscapes. These findings help expand our current understanding of what constitutes large carnivore habitats to include human‐dominated agricultural areas. They underscore the need for greater integration of land‐sharing and land‐sparing initiatives to conserve large carnivores within human‐dominated agroecosystems.

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“…For example, predation on wild herbivores reduces crop losses (Thinley et al. 2018) and grazing competition (Prowse et al. 2015).…”

Section: Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing inequality and intolerance in human–wildlife coexistence

Jordan

Smith

Appleby

et al. 2020

Conservation Biology

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Millennia of human conflict with wildlife have built a culture of intolerance toward wildlife among some stakeholders. We explored 2 key obstacles to improved human-wildlife coexistence: coexistence inequality (how the costs and benefits of coexisting with wildlife are unequally shared) and intolerance. The costs of coexisting with wildlife are often disproportionately borne by the so-called global south and rural communities, and the benefits often flow to the global north and urban dwellers. Attitudes and behaviors toward wildlife (tolerance versus intolerance) vary with social and cultural norms. We suggest more empathetic advocacy is needed that, for example, promotes conservation while appropriately considering those who bear the costs of conflict with wildlife. To achieve more equitable cost-sharing, we suggest limiting the costs incurred by those most affected or by sharing those costs more widely. For example, we advocate for the development of improved wildlife compensation schemes, increasing the scale of rewilding efforts, and preventing wildlife-derived revenue leaching out of the local communities bearing the costs of coexistence.

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The ecological benefit of tigers (Panthera tigris) to farmers in reducing crop and livestock losses in the eastern Himalayas: Implications for conservation of large apex predators

Cited by 35 publications

References 43 publications

Deer, wolves, and people: costs, benefits and challenges of living together

Deer, wolves, and people: costs, benefits and challenges of living together

Agricultural lands offer seasonal habitats to tigers in a human‐dominated and fragmented landscape in India

Addressing inequality and intolerance in human–wildlife coexistence

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