Abstract
The endangered Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) populations have been decreasing in Portugal due to a combination of factors such as habitat destruction and human persecution. This is particularly worrying in Central Portugal, where packs are highly fragmented, isolated, and with few individuals. Human-Wildlife-Conflicts occur in this area due to high levels of livestock depredation, an outcome of the low diversity and density of wild prey. As a consequence, human persecution is relatively high and is considered a main threat to wolves’ survival. Through studying public attitudes towards these wolf populations and discerning prevalent patterns, insights can be gained to guide management strategies in mitigating these factors. A total of 222 questionnaires were collected from populations inhabiting Central Portugal, divided into three interest groups (general public, livestock owners, and hunters).We estimated Attitude, Fear, and Knowledge Indexes regarding the wolf. Attitudes towards wolves were positive, with the fear being neutral but the knowledge being low; attitudes tend to be more positive with the decrease of fear and the increase of knowledge, and fear tends to decrease with the increase of knowledge. The main factor negatively influencing attitudes was fear, although age seemed to have more influence on livestock owners’ attitudes. The factors influencing fear included gender, knowledge, and personal experience with wolves. These findings can be used to target specific groups with environmental awareness initiatives, aiming to increase knowledge and reduce sources of fear. It is crucial to develop tailored conservation measures considering stakeholders’ viewpoints to effectively protect the Iberian wolf.
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Funding
We are grateful to the respondents who contributed to this study. Rita Torres was supported by a research contract (2021.00690.CEECIND) from the FCT. Ana M. Figueiredo was supported by a PhD grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/144582/2019), co-financed by the European Social Fund POPH-QREN program. Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020), cE3c (UIDB/00329/2020) and CHANGE (LA/P/0121/2020), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. This work was also supported by the River2Ocean project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000068), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020). This study had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) by national funds through the strategic projects “Financiamento Programático” UIDB/04050/2020 awarded to CBMA.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Data collection was made by RM and analysis were performed by RM and LMR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AMV and RM, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Valente, A.M., Martins, R., Figueiredo, A.M. et al. Friend or foe, what do the locals say? Attitudes towards the endangered Iberian wolf in Central Portugal. Biodivers Conserv 33, 1645–1664 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02819-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02819-8