Human–wildlife coexistence is often far from straightforward, with predators particularly hard hit: their numbers tend to fall sharply in areas close to human settlements, fields and pastureland.
This is not, however, a simple case of inevitable decline but a question of choices, Postdoctoral Researcher
Torrents-Ticó’s study compared spotted hyaena populations at two Kenyan sites, both shared with humans, grazing livestock and wild prey. While spotted hyaenas were mostly limited to the southern regions of Sibiloi National Park, they ranged across a wide area in the Laikipia conservancies regardless of human and livestock presence.
The crucial difference between the two sites, Torrents-Ticó notes, lies in human attitudes towards spotted hyaenas.
“Whereas herders in Sibiloi carried firearms and used lethal measures against spotted hyenas, those in Laikipia protected their livestock without killing predators. In other words, the distribution of spotted hyaenas was determined not by the number of livestock or humans, but by the level of human tolerance."
Torrents-Ticó suggests that the observations bring a new perspective to the human–nature relationship.
“Human attitudes and actions can directly influence the distribution of predators. Predators tend to avoid areas where they face high human intolerance, but where they are allowed to exist, coexistence with humans is more likely to succeed.”
In Finland, the findings may offer a new angle on the debate on wolves and other large predators living alongside humans, and underline just how significant human attitudes are to the survival of predator populations.
The study ‘