The monkey is not always a God: Attitudinal differences toward crop-raiding macaques and why it matters for conflict mitigation

Attitudinal differences toward wildlife have important implications for conflict management and when the species in question have strong cultural and religious associations, conflict mitigation becomes a challenging endeavor. We investigated farmers’ attitudes toward two different crop-raiding macaq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2018-10, Vol.47 (6), p.711-720
Main Authors: Anand, Shaurabh, Binoy, Vilakkathala Vijayan, Radhakrishna, Sindhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental Management
Farmers
Macaca mulatta
Monkeys & apes
Physical Geography
Regional analysis
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Species
Wildlife
Wildlife management
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Summary:Attitudinal differences toward wildlife have important implications for conflict management and when the species in question have strong cultural and religious associations, conflict mitigation becomes a challenging endeavor. We investigated farmers’ attitudes toward two different crop-raiding macaque species, the rhesus macaque in northern India, and the bonnet macaque in southern India. Apart from regional differences in attitudes, we also assessed temporal changes in attitude toward the rhesus macaque. We carried out household surveys using a semistructured questionnaire to collect data. Our findings reveal that respondents in southern and northern India differ significantly in their views regarding species sanctity and preference for mitigation options. Although people’s perceptions of the rhesus macaques had changed over time in northern India, farmers were still unwilling to cause harm to the macaques. We discuss the underlying causes of these observed differences in attitude and their impact on the management of human–macaque conflict.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-017-1008-5