Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ehsan Moqanaki ¹
• Pouyan Behnoud ²
• Peyman Moghaddas ³
• Ali Shams ⁴
• Atie Taktehrani ⁵
• Navid Gholikhani ⁵
• Sadegh Khosravi ⁶

¹ College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, US

² Islamic Azad University Tehran North Branch

³ Islamic Azad University Lahijan Branch

⁴ University of Cape Town

⁵ Iranian Cheetah Society

⁶ Qazvin Department of the Environment

Abstract

Wolf (Canis lupus), Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) cooccur in a human-dominated landscape across the Alborz Mountains in Iran. Understanding how people perceive risks associated with negative interactions with these large carnivores can contribute to promoting greater coexistence, which not only human interests are met but also species’ persistence is ensured. We used semi-structured interviews and exploratory questionnaire surveys to assess local knowledge, perceptions, and experience of two groups of village residents in Qazvin Province in north-central Iran (198 respondents from 153 villages). The sampling method and target group had an impact on the results. Most (80%, n = 66) local informants consisting of livestock herders and farmers living inside two protected areas considered the wolf to be the main threat to their livelihood. However, 74% (n = 86) of village council members from all over the Qazvin Province considered free-ranging domestic dogs (C. familiaris) as the main concern in their villages. Respondents’ experience and perceptions of risks associated with the three large carnivore species varied considerably among species and between protected and unprotected areas. We revealed significant differences in large carnivore damage claims between the two groups of respondents. The highest probability of damage claims was estimated for respondents living in protected areas, which was attributed to wolves (median and 95% Bayesian credible interval = 0.94, 0.83 – 0.99) and, to a lesser extent, leopards (0.11, 0.01 – 0.26). In conservation social research, combining multiple sampling methods to engage with different target groups within a community can help building the scientific knowledge required to improve conservation outcomes.

Keywords

• Human-wildlife interactions
• wildlife damage
• large carnivores
• conflict
• key informants