Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of Livestock Predation by Carnivores: Human–Wildlife Conflict in Northwest Yunnan, China

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Alleviating human–carnivore conflict is central to large carnivore conservation and is often of economic importance, where people coexist with carnivores. In this article, we report on the patterns of predation and economic losses from wild carnivores preying on livestock in three villages of northern Baima Xueshan Nature Reserve, northwest Yunnan during a 2-year period between January 2010 and December 2011. We analyzed claims from 149 households that 258 head of livestock were predated. Wolves (Canis lupus) were responsible for 79.1 % of livestock predation; Asiatic black bears (Selenarctos thibetanus) and dholes (Cuon alpinus) were the other predators responsible. Predation frequency varied between livestock species. The majority of livestock killed were yak–cattle hybrids or dzo (40.3 %). Wolves killed fewer cattle than expected, and more donkeys and horses than expected. Wolves and bears killed more adult female and fewer adult male livestock than expected. Intensified predation in wet season coincided with livestock being left to graze unattended in alpine meadows far away from villages. On average, carnivore attacks claimed 2.1 % of range stock annually. This predation represented an economic loss of 17 % (SD = 14 %) of the annual household income. Despite this loss and a perceived increase in carnivore conflict, a majority of the herders (66 %) still supported the reserve. This support is primarily due to the benefits from the collection of nontimber resources such as mushrooms and medicinal plants. Our study also suggested that improvement of husbandry techniques and facilities will reduce conflicts and contribute to improved conservation of these threatened predators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agarwala M, Kumar S, Treves A, Naughton-Treves L (2010) Paying for wolves in Solapur, India and Wisconsin, USA: comparing compensation rules and practices to understand the goals and politics of wolf conservation. Biol Conserv 143:2945–2955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagchi S, Mishra C (2006) Living with large carnivores: predation on livestock by the snow leopard (Uncia uncia). J Zool 268:217–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballard WB, Whitman JS, Gardner CL (1987) Ecology of an exploited wolf population in south-central Alaska. Wildl Monogr 98:1–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Conforti VA, de Azevedo FCC (2003) Local perceptions of Jagurs (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) in the Iguacu National Park area, south Brazil. Biol Conserv 111:215–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cozza K, Fico R, Battistini ML, Rogers E (1996) The damage–conservation interface illustrated by predation on domestic livestock in central Italy. Biol Conserv 78:329–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dar NI, Minhas RA, Zaman Q, Linkie M (2009) Predicting the patterns, perceptions and causes of human–carnivore conflict in and around Machiara National Park, Pakistan. Biol Conserv 142:2076–2082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickman AJ, Macdonald E, Macdonald D (2011) A review of financial instruments to pay for predator conservation and encourage human–carnivore coexistence. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:13937–13944

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller TK (1989) Population dynamics of wolves in north-central Minnesota. Wildl Monogr 105:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Gazzola A, Bertelli I, Avanzinelli E, Tolosano A, Bertotto P, Apollonio M (2005) Predation by wolves (Canis lupus) on wild and domestic ungulates of the western Alps, Italy. J Zool 266:205–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodrich JM (2010) Human–tiger conflict: a review and call for comprehensive plans. Integr Zool 5:300–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham K, Beckerman AP, Thirgood S (2005) Human–predator–prey conflicts: ecological correlates, prey losses and patterns of management. Biol Conserv 122:159–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemson G, Maclennan S, Mills G, Johnson P, Macdonald D (2009) Community, lions, livestock and money: a spatial and social analysis of attitudes to wildlife and the conservation value of tourism in a human–carnivore conflict in Botswana. Biol Conserv 142:2718–2725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain S (2000) Protecting the snow leopard and enhancing farmers’ livelihoods. Mt Res Dev 20:226–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inskip C, Zimmermann A (2009) Human–felid conflict: a review of patterns and priorities worldwide. Oryx 43:18–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RM (1991) Snow leopards and other wildlife in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve of Tibet. Snow Line IX:9–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RM, Ahlborn G, Gurung M, Ale S (1996) Reducing livestock depredation losses in the Nepalese Himalaya. In: Proceeding of 17th vertebrate pest conference, University of California, Davis, pp 241–247

  • Jackson R, Mishra C, McCarthy T, Ale S (2010) Snow leopards: conflict and conservation. In: Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ (eds) The biology and conservation of wild felids. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 417–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson JP, Redford KH (1993) Humans and big cats as predators in the Neotropics. Symp Zool Soc Lond 65:367–390

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan MM (2009) Can domestic dogs save humans from tigers Panthera tigris? Oryx 43:44–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kissui B (2008) Livestock predation by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and their vulnerability to retaliatory killing in the Maasai steppe, Tanzania. Anim Conserv 11:422–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolowski J, Holekamp K (2006) Spatial, temporal, and physical characteristics of livestock depredations by large carnivores along a Kenyan reserve border. Biol Conserv 128:529–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel K, Pletscher DH (1999) Species-specific population dynamics of cervids in a multipredator ecosystem. J Wildl Manag 63:1093–1982

    Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Buzzard P, Jiang X (2013) Habitat associations of four ungulates in mountain forests of southwest China, based on camera trapping and dung counts data. Popul Ecol. doi:10.1007/s10144-013-0405-2

  • Mattioli L, Apollonio M, Mazzarone V, Centofanti E (1995) Wolf food habits and wild ungulate availability in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park, Italy. Acta Theriol 40:387–402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C (1997) Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian trans-Himalaya: conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environ Manag 24:338–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, Prins HHT, Van Wieren SE (1997) Overstocking in the trans-Himalayan rangelands of India. Environ Conserv 28:279–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, Allen P, McCarthy T, Madhusudan MD, Bayarjargal A, Prins HHT (2003) The role of incentive programs in conserving the snow leopard. Conserv Biol 17:1512–1520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, Da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Namgail T, Fox JL, Bhatnagar YV (2007) Carnivore-caused livestock mortality in Trans-Himalaya. Environ Manag 39:490–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak S, Mysłajek RW, Jędrzejewska B (2005) Patterns of wolfCanis lupus predation on wild and domestic ungulates in the Western Carpathian Mountains (S Poland). Acta Theriol 50:263–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okarma H (1991) Marrow fat content, sex and age of red deer killed by wolves in winter in the Carpathian Mountains. Holarct Ecol Indic 14:169–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Okarma H (1995) The trophic ecology of wolves and their predatory role in ungulate communities of forest ecosystems in Europe. Acta Theriol 40:335–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oli MK (1991) The ecology and conservation of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, p 155

    Google Scholar 

  • Oli MK, Taylor IR, Rogers ME (1994) Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation on livestock: an assessment of local perceptions in the Annapurna conservation area, Nepal. Biol Conserv 68:63–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson BD, Kasiki SM, Selempo E, Kays RW (2004) Livestock predation by lions (Panthera leo) and other carnivores on ranches neighboring Tsavo National Parks, Kenya. Biol Conserv 119:507–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson RO, Woolington JD, Bailey TN (1984) Wolves of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Wildl Monogr 88:1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew M, Xie Y, Kang A, Rao M, Goodrich J, Liu T, Berger J (2012) Human–carnivore conflict in China: a review of current approaches with recommendations for improved management. Integr Zool 7:210–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redpath SM, Thirgood SJ (1999) Numerical and functional responses in generalist predators: hen harriers and peregrines on Scottish grouse moors. J Anim Ecol 68:879–892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sangay T, Vernes K (2008) Human–wildlife conflict in the Kingdom of Bhutan: patterns of livestock predation by large mammalian carnivores. Biol Conserv 141:1272–1282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB, Li H, Lu H, Ren JR, Qiu MJ, Wang HB (1987) Status of large mammals in the Taxkorgan Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Biol Conserv 42:53–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB, Junrang R, Mingjiang Q (1988) Status of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, China. Biol Conserv 45:179–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekhar NU (1998) Crop and livestock depredation caused by wild animals in protected areas: the case of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Environ Conserv 25:160–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sogbohossou EA, de Iongh HH, Sinsin B, de Snoo GR, Funston PJ (2011) Human–carnivore conflict around Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, northern Benin. Oryx 45:569–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorn M, Green M, Dalerum F, Bateman PW, Scott DM (2012) What drives human–carnivore conflict in the North West Province of South Africa? Biol Conserv 150:23–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treves A, Karanth KU (2003) Human–carnivore conflict and perspectives on carnivore management worldwide. Conserv Biol 17:1491–1499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treves A, Jurewicz RR, Naughton-Treves L, Rose RA, Willging RC, Wydeven AP (2002) Wolf depredation on domestic animals in Wisconsin, 1976–2000. Wildl Soc Bull 30:231–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Treves A, Naughton-Treves L, Harper EK, Mladenoff DJ, Rose RA, Sickley TA, Wydeven AP (2004) Predicting human–carnivore conflict: a spatial model derived from 25 years of data on wolf predation on livestock. Conserv Biol 18:114–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treves A, Wallace R, White S (2009) Participatory planning of interventions to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts. Conserv Biol 23:1577–1587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsering D, Farrington J, Norbu K (2006) Human–wildlife conflict in the Chang Tang region of Tibet. WWF China–Tibet Program, Lhasa

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang SW, Macdonald D (2006) Livestock predation by carnivores in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Bhutan. Biol Conserv 129:558–565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Xie Y (2004) China species red list. Higher Education Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodroffe R, Ginsberg JR (1998) Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science 280:2126–2128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Worthy FR, Foggin JM (2008) Conflicts between local villagers and Tibetan brown bears threaten conservation of bears in a remote region of the Tibetan Plateau. Human Wildl Confl 2:200–205

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China for biodiversity survey in northwest Yunnan (Y001261051) and partly funded by China Exploration & Research Society (CERS), and the Symrise Corporation. The authors thank the Baima Xueshan Nature Reserve Management Office for their kind support. The authors are also grateful to Jin Lu, Yongsheng Zhang, Qingtao Li, Ji Du, and Bu A for their assistance in the field, and further like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions that helped in improving the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, 650223, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China

    Xueyou Li & Xuelong Jiang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Xueyou Li

  3. China Exploration and Research Society (CERS), Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Paul Buzzard

  4. Benzilan Management Office, Baima Xueshan Nature Reserve, Deqin, People’s Republic of China

    Yongchun Chen

Authors
  1. Xueyou Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul Buzzard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yongchun Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xuelong Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xuelong Jiang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Li, X., Buzzard, P., Chen, Y. et al. Patterns of Livestock Predation by Carnivores: Human–Wildlife Conflict in Northwest Yunnan, China. Environmental Management 52, 1334–1340 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0192-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0192-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation