Human-carnivore-conflicts in Africa and Europe: similarities and differences

Humans and carnivores live together in most countries of the world. However, perceptions and sympathies of people towards carnivores differ substantially, depending on how people are affected by carnivores. In urban areas,... [ view full abstract ]

Humans and carnivores live together in most countries of the world. However, perceptions and sympathies of people towards carnivores differ substantially, depending on how people are affected by carnivores. In urban areas, humans often have a higher tolerance towards large carnivore species living further away, i.e. in rural areas because they hardly encounter them and are rarely affected by them. However, when these carnivores intrude into cities to search for food, people often change their mind and become less tolerant. On the other hand, pastoralists in rural areas are often directly confronted with large carnivores, particularly when their livestock is injured or killed by carnivores, thus they are often less tolerant. Human-carnivore interactions are therefore manifold as are solutions to mitigate conflicts or to encourage people to become involved into research projects. In this organised session we will look at the large variety of human perceptions towards large carnivore species in Europe and Africa and discuss similarities and differences. We start with a conceptual introduction on human-carnivore relationships discussing the current status of conventional thinking and outline why these approaches might need to be modified. We then give an example of a human-carnivore conflict with bears and wolves in Europe and one with spotted hyenas in Africa, and end with a case study that successfully mitigates human-carnivore conflicts by involving the affected stakeholder from the very beginning of the project. We will allow enough time for a final discussion with the audience, who is invited to share its own experience with human-carnivore conflicts in Europe and Africa and with involving citizens and stakeholders into projects.