Conflict Misleads Large Carnivore Management and Conservation: Brown Bears and Wolves in Spain.

ABSTRACT: Large carnivores inhabiting human-dominated landscapes often interact with people and their properties, leading to conflict scenarios that can mislead carnivore management and, ultimately, jeopardize conservation. In northwest Spain, brown bears Ursus arctos are strictly protected, whereas sympatric wolves Canis lupus are subject to lethal control. We explored ecological, economic and societal components of conflict scenarios involving large carnivores and damages to human properties. We analyzed the relation between complaints of depredations by bears and wolves on beehives and livestock, respectively, and bear and wolf abundance, livestock heads, number of culled wolves, amount of paid compensations, and media coverage. We also evaluated the efficiency of wolf culling to reduce depredati

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Gil A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4790950 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature