IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Loe, J. | |
| Large carnivore related deaths: a conservation issue | |
| 2002 Full Book | |
Large carnivore attacks on humans (confrontations) draw attention from both media and stakeholders in debates on large carnivore management. Attack occurrences and the probability of their occurrences are often discussed in public. A need for knowledge on how to reduce numbers of confrontations, how to reduce the possibilities for them to occur, and how to reduce the fear of large carnivores is recognised in many areas in order to conserve large carnivores successfully. For many countries and regions succeeding in large carnivore conservation efforts the possibilities for confrontations to occur likely increases. A change in confrontation level affects the expressed fear levels and the possibilities for successful carnivore conservation more than a stable confrontation level. While fear of large carnivores is being increasingly analysed, there seem to be little available published statistical evidence that can give predictive validity when discussing issues related to numbers of confrontations. This enable beholders of different opinions to create impressions of carnivores based on believes and examples, rather than existing patterns. I reviewed the literature for patterns that are suggested to influence the numbers of confrontations and did statistical analyses on obtained information on variables identified as crucial to those patterns. A multiple regression analyse did confirm that low wild prey densities is related to the highest numbers of confrontations obtained and that high hunting pressure by man is related to the highest numbers of confrontations obtained. However, Low power of these results (power = 0.355) were detected post hoc. Furthermore, subadults of both lions and pumas were involved in confrontations more than their expected share in natural populations. My results had rejective value for several other suggested patterns. The results are tentative. Besides low power stemming from lack of available information, both imprecise and biased information is included in the analyses. In order to get more knowledge out of the confrontations that do occur, we need more precise information to analyse. There exist no common agreements on how to file and distribute information regarding carnivore attacks on humans. It might be needed to develop standardised methods on filing and distributing necessary information. This will help enabling comparison of obtained information between areas. The need and possibilities to develop and implement a carnivore attack file following the pattern of International Shark Attack File (ISAF) should be investigated as the importance of knowledge on how to reduce this conflict is likely to increase in many areas. |
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