Human–Wild Animal Conflict

Abstract

Wildlife species have faced the impacts of human dominion over the world throughout history. More recently, there has been increased global protection for endangered species as a result of greater awareness and concern for biodiversity. Conservationists are becoming increasingly concerned about the pervasive issue of conflicts between human and wildlife interests, especially as it relates to large carnivores that have the potential to harm both cattle and people. Pre-conflict mitigation refers to proactive measures like fences while post-conflict mitigation refers to compensation payments for lost animals. Both can be used to lessen conflicts between wild animals and livestock owners. The goal of compensation programs is to raise people’s understanding of wildlife. But compensation programs are frequently criticized for being insufficient, difficult, and expensive. Compensation programs must be part of a comprehensive approach that includes options for controlling offending animals, proactive mitigation measures, and, in some cases, broader financial incentives for changes in land use practices in order to be more effective. The latter method has been used in India and several African countries. This chapter deals with various human-animal conflicts and their mitigation strategies. Despite these problems, conservation is likely to become increasingly utilized as biodiversity becomes increasingly threatened and methods of ameliorating threats lag behind.