Human perceptions of and interactions with wild canids on cattle ranches in central Brazil S TACIE M. BICKLEY,FREDERICO G. LEMOS,MICHAEL P. GILMORE F ERNANDA C. AZEVEDO,ELIZABETH W. FREEMAN and N UCHARIN S ONGSASEN Abstract Local attitudes towards carnivores often reflect the Keywords Attitudes, Brazilian savannah, canid conserva- degree of damage they are perceived to cause. Consequently, tion, Cerrado, human–canid interactions, predation understanding the interactions between people and these Supplementary material for this article is available at species is essential to conservation efforts. This study inves- https://doi.org/./S tigated local perceptions of three Cerrado canid species and current chicken management practices, to identify the po- tential damage they cause and how this relates to peoples’ attitudes towards these species. Results from structured in- Introduction terviews at ranches in Goiás, Brazil, highlighted that gen- eral knowledge about Cerrado canids differed significantly mongst terrestrial mammals, carnivores are the most by species, with interviewees unable to correctly answer Athreatened group and the most challenging to conserve questions about the hoary fox Lycalopex vetulus and crab- (Karanth & Chellam, ). People tend to see carnivores, eating fox Cerdocyon thous in comparison to the maned particularly large species such as the jaguar Panthera onca wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus. Chicken coops were identified and lion Panthera leo, as a direct threat. These species com- as the most effective method for preventing predation, yet pete for land and game and sometimes prey upon livestock only % of respondents employed this method. Using a (Sillero-Zubiri & Laurenson, ). Intolerance for carni- perceived predation measure, interviewees reported chicken vores has led to the persecution, decline and local extinction predation by all three Cerrado canids even though most of of some species (Treves & Karanth, ). Although some these events were stated to occur during the day, outside the carnivore populations are increasing as a result of conserva- species’ active periods. Reported predation events were a tion initiatives (e.g. LaRue et al., ), encounters between strong predictor of attitude. Participants who experienced people and carnivores will probably increase as the human predation events reported they did not like having a population continues to grow. Cerrado canid on their property. However, % of the re- Factors such as age, education, and knowledge about spondents agreed that Cerrado canids should nevertheless carnivores can affect people’s attitude and willingness to be protected. Our findings support the need to incorporate conserve a species. For example, older respondents hold a the human dimension in canid and broader carnivore con- more negative view of jaguars than younger individuals servation issues. (Zimmermann et al., ), and ranchers who have com- pleted fewer years of school show stronger negative attitudes towards the species than those with higher education (Cavalcanti et al., ). The more knowledge a person has of a species, the more likely they are to protect it or STACIE M. BICKLEY*† (Corresponding author) Environmental Science and Policy, view wildlife positively (Kellert, ), although more George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA knowledgeable individuals, such as hunters, may have E-mail [email protected] less favourable attitudes towards carnivores (Ericsson & FREDERICO G. LEMOS‡ and FERNANDA C. AZEVEDO Cerrado Mammals Conservation Program, Special Academic Unit of Biotechnology, Federal Heberlein, ). Therefore, the knowledge and attitudes University of Goiás/Catalão, Goiás, Brazil of people living with wildlife need to be assessed and inte- MICHAEL P. GILMORE and ELIZABETH W. FREEMAN School of Integrative Studies, grated into conservation strategies. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA Attitudes towards carnivores may also reflect the degree NUCHARIN SONGSASEN Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National of negative interaction between a person and a species Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia, USA (Kellert, ). In South Africa, for example, negative atti- *Current Address: Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered tudes towards the African wild dog Lycaon pictus are related Wildlife, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45220, USA to the economic costs of livestock and wild game predation †Also at: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, (Lindsey et al., ). Domestic livestock are ideal prey for Front Royal, Virginia, USA ‡ carnivores as they are often abundant and easy to catch in Also at: Natural Resources Ecology and Conservation Postgraduate Program, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil comparison to other prey (Palmeira et al., ). Ranchers Received June . Revision requested September . troubled by livestock predation have a range of pro- Accepted March . First published online January . tection techniques available to them (Smith et al., ; This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.93, on 02 Oct 2021Oryx at, 2020,07:39:56 54(4),, subject 546– 553to the© 2019Cambridge Fauna Core & Flora terms International of use, available doi:10.1017/S0030605318000480 at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605318000480 Perceptions and interactions 547 Sillero-Zubiri et al., ; Sillero-Zubiri & Switzer, ). have a more positive attitude towards them, () the method Some of these strategies are non-invasive (e.g. flags on perceived most effective for preventing predation of domes- fencing), whereas others may result in the carnivore’s tic animals would be the most frequently implemented, and death (e.g. shooting). Managers must appraise the expend- () respondents who experienced predation of chickens iture of money and time, effectiveness, legality and cultural would have a more negative attitude towards predators. appropriateness of each technique. Most research on human–carnivore interactions and at- titudes towards these species has focused on larger species. Study area – Human canid interactions are well documented for large This study was carried out in the Limoeiro region, a farming species such as the grey wolf Canis lupus (Treves et al., area within the municipality of Cumari, Goiás state, in cen- ), Ethiopian wolf Canis simensis (Yihune et al., ), tral Brazil (Fig. ) that comprises contiguous private cattle coyote Canis latrans (Draheim, ) and maned wolf ranches and small-scale agriculture operations (e.g. rubber Chrysocyon brachyurus (Emmons, ), but less so for trees, corn and sugarcane; collectively c. km ). The land- small canids other than the red fox Vulpes vulpes scape is dominated by exotic pasture (Urochloa spp.; %), (Moberly et al., ). Of the species of canids, live with the remaining area being a mosaic of natural gallery in South America (Sillero-Zubiri, ). Knowledge of in- and seasonal forests (%) and open Cerrado sensu stricto teractions with these species is limited to a few studies of (%; Lemos, ). The climate is tropical with two well- the Andean fox Lycalopex culpaeus (Travaini et al., ), defined seasons, cold/dry (May–September) and hot/wet South American grey fox Lycalopex griseus (Silva- (October–April; Alvares et al., ), with mean tempera- Rodrígues et al., ), hoary and crab-eating foxes tures of and °C, respectively, and a mean annual pre- Lycalopex vetulus and Cerdocyon thous (Lemos et al., cipitation of , mm (CPTEC/INPE, ). a) and bush dog Speothos venaticus (DeMatteo, ). The maned wolf, crab-eating fox, and hoary fox are sym- patric in the Cerrado ecosystem (Juarez & Marinho-Filho, Methods ; Jácomo et al., ; Lemos, ). The Cerrado was once an expansive grassland, but intense agriculture and Surveys ranching has severely altered the landscape (Klink & Moreira, ; Klink & Machado, ). Because of these Fifty ranches in the Limoeiro region that raised domestic – activities, the hoary fox (endemic to the Cerrado) and the fowl were opportunistically surveyed during June August maned wolf are currently categorized as Vulnerable in . The selected respondent at each ranch was at least Brazil (Lemos et al., ; Paula et al., ), even though years old and was directly responsible for managing the do- these species are categorized as Least Concern (Dalponte mestic fowl: either the owner (rancher, %) or the hired & Courtenay, ) and Near Threatened (Paula and ranch hand (cowboy, %). Each respondent was asked to DeMatteo, ), respectively, on the IUCN Red List. The sign a consent form before starting the interview, was as- crab-eating fox remains common throughout its range sured confidentiality, and could discontinue or withdraw and is categorized as Least Concern both globally from the interview at any time. All interviews were con- (Lucherini, ) and in Brazil (Beisiegel et al., ). ducted in Brazilian Portuguese, with the assistance of a na- In such a highly fragmented landscape, native prey spe- tive speaker, and recorded. cies may be uncommon and domestic livestock becomes an accessible alternative prey for carnivores. Abade et al. ( ) Questionnaire reported that in the Cerrado ecosystem the perceived loss of domestic fowl (chickens, ducks, geese and guinea fowl) was We used a structured questionnaire developed to evaluate the an unwelcome