Attitudes Toward Livestock-killing Carnivores in Northern Botswana

Conflicts with humans and retaliatory killings are main contributing factors to large carnivore population declines. Many governments and conservation organizations implement conflict mitigation strategies aimed at minimizing... [ view full abstract ]

Conflicts with humans and retaliatory killings are main contributing factors to large carnivore population declines. Many governments and conservation organizations implement conflict mitigation strategies aimed at minimizing retaliatory kills. These efforts can fail for a number of reasons, one of which includes a relatively poor understanding of attitudes and perceptions of those in conflict with local carnivores. The situation is exacerbated for species like the African lion (Panthera leo), which has been extirpated from ~83% of its historic range and is currently found mostly on protected lands. In Botswana, a government-run compensation program was established to mitigate human-carnivore conflicts. From October­­‑December 2014, Pride in Our Prides conducted 201 questionnaire-based interviews of villagers and cattle post farmers in the Eastern Panhandle of the Okavango Delta. This region is a multiuse area where people can live, farm, and use resources; however, it also lies in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area and is critical habitat for lion conservation. We interviewed local villagers and cattle post farmers about their livestock husbandry techniques; livestock losses; attitudes toward and knowledge of carnivores; knowledge and perceptions of wildlife, conservation, and human-carnivore conflict; and attitudes toward the government’s livestock compensation program. Half of all livestock owners claimed to have lost animals to predators in the previous year, and over 10% of all livestock owned was lost to predators in the same timeframe. Over 85% of respondents believe that domestic prey are the lions’ top food choice, but less than 60% protected their livestock at night in enclosures (kraals), and only 2% had herders with their livestock during the day. The majority of respondents had strong negative feelings towards lions and other carnivores. Additionally, the government-led livestock compensation program was not viewed favorably by local citizens. Alternatively, a proposed livestock insurance program received positive support but would not be sustainable because respondents were unwilling to commit sufficient resources. Conflict mitigation strategies need to address poor livestock husbandry standards and monetary losses caused by depredation events. Negative attitudes should be addressed through educational programs and empowering local communities to take ownership of carnivores by familiarizing them with the animals.