Living with Leopards: Community conflicts in northern Kenya

Leopards are listed as Vulnerable by IUCN, with human-leopard conflict as the greatest source of direct mortality for declining leopard populations. The dynamics of co-existence and conflict between people and wildlife is an... [ view full abstract ]

Leopards are listed as Vulnerable by IUCN, with human-leopard conflict as the greatest source of direct mortality for declining leopard populations. The dynamics of co-existence and conflict between people and wildlife is an omnipresent stressor on communities in Kenya, and especially charged when such negative interaction revolves around pastoralist loss of livestock to carnivores. With most wildlife living outside of government protected areas, Kenya has promoted the conservancy system to build community ownership and, in turn, protection of their biodiversity. However, limited rangeland resources and economic vulnerability from livestock loss bring an urgent need for greater understanding of human-leopard interactions

This research is pursued in partnership with two conservancies in northern Kenya, one community-owned and is part of the Northern Rangelands Trust (Namunyak), and one private conservancy (Loisaba). A field team of community research associates conducted approximately 500 interviews in Fall 2016 to collect baseline data about community attitudes towards leopards, levels of conflict, and opinions on leopard management in these two places. In comparison to other megafauna species, leopards were viewed unfavorably in both conservancies, cited as the second least favorite species by 47% of the respondents (after hyena as the majority response). Results indicate low tolerance and potential for conflict with leopards bordering the private conservancy.

This preliminary data has informed a second-round of data collection on human-leopard conflict in mid-2017, which utilizes close-ended questionnaires to test the relationship between livestock loss, risk perceptions, attitudes, and scenario-based behavioral intentions in these communities. Historical conflict with the conservancy game scouts will be mapped and camera trap and sign surveys will estimate current leopard distribution and abundance. Coupled-systems maps that overlay leopard presence with community tolerance will identify potential conflict hotspots, and developed as a management tool. Given the current extreme drought in northern Kenya and historical uptick in human-carnivore conflict after drought events, this research has implications for the future of carnivore management in pastoralist systems undergoing a changing environment.