Evaluating coexistence with jaguars in the Bolivian Amazon

In the Bolivian Amazon, people have always shared the space with jaguars. Recent changes in land use, have resulted in increased interactions with these felids, which frequently end up with their killing. Retaliation by... [ view full abstract ]

In the Bolivian Amazon, people have always shared the space with jaguars. Recent changes in land use, have resulted in increased interactions with these felids, which frequently end up with their killing. Retaliation by cattle ranchers for livestock losses has been an issue, and the recent increase in the harvesting of forest products - Brazil nut and açai - has resulted in more frequent encounters with jaguars. Often times, scared of being attacked, the harvester reacts in a defensive behavior by killing the jaguar. This arguably threatens jaguar population sustainability, although jaguar numbers are unknown to the area. A behavioral change program was initiated with an assessment of the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and level of killings that shape this relationship. Face-to-face interviews (n=169) were conducted with residents of 5 communities within the
Manuripi Amazonian Wildlife National Reserve. Then, after 4 workshops, the research team went back to the communities and interviewed 67 of the original participants. The workshops included a range of activities, from informal presentation on jaguars and their behaviors to participatory planning exercises. At the end of the last workshop, individuals voluntarily expressed their commitment to mitigate the illegal killing of jaguars by posing in a photo wearing a jaguar paw mitt on their hand. Efficiency and efficacy of the intervention were assessed by measuring input/output of the intervention and its effects on the determinants the
human behavior of killing jaguars, respectively. Results from pre and post tests revealed increased positive feelings towards jaguars, decreased perception of risk, and more people stating that jaguar population size should remain the same or slightly increase in the next 5 years. We recognize that the ultimate measure of success of a program to promote human-jaguar coexistence, or program effectiveness, would be the negative impact on jaguar killing and subsequent increase in jaguar population size. Nonetheless, in face of the challenges of detecting changes in jaguar populations size (e.g. jaguar detectability and timeframe of changes), we argue that reliable measures of effects on the personal and social determinants of jaguar killing would enable us to evaluate and monitor human-jaguar coexistence.