Assessing public attitudes towards bears and their management

Increasing global bear populations and human-bear conflicts have made it more imperative to understand public attitudes towards bears and management interventions. These conflicts can take different forms, including livestock... [ view full abstract ]

Increasing global bear populations and human-bear conflicts have made it more imperative to understand public attitudes towards bears and management interventions. These conflicts can take different forms, including livestock and crop depredation, attacks on humans and pets, and damage to property, and are increasing in frequency due to human encroachment and loss of habitat due to development. Presented with the challenges of weighing conflict and protection of bear populations, wildlife managers employ a variety of management interventions, such as public education initiatives and actions targeting nuisance bear behavior. Attitudes towards management interventions are important in determining whether the public will support such policies, as lack of support can lead to a breakdown in social trust and conflict between the public and managers. To address this need for greater understanding of public attitudes across different scales, we will be conducting a quantitative study in two phases, (1) a meta-analysis examining public attitudes towards bears and their management and human-bear conflict from studies around the world and (2) a survey of students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), as these students will become the next stakeholders and policymakers. The objectives of our study are to (1) synthesize and assess the global differences in public attitudes towards bears and their management and determine the factors associated with these trends, including personal experience with bears, socio-cultural influences, and stakeholder group membership and (2) evaluate university student attitudes towards bears and their management, and compare those attitudes to the meta-analysis results. Stakeholder group membership, personal experience with bears, socio-cultural factors, and residential status are hypothesized to influence attitudes towards bears and their management. The meta-analysis will be conducted using a strict search protocol and coding process to identify relevant primary studies. The survey will sample from the undergraduate and graduate student population at UWSP over a period of several months. Attitudes will be assessed through responses to proposed scenario questions and demographic information will be collected, including major, personal experience with bears, and stakeholder group membership. The results of this study will contribute to the greater body of literature that can be used to inform the best management options for bears and other large carnivores in a particular socio-demographic context.