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Pant B, Sharma HP, Dahal BR, Regmi S, Belant JL. Spatio-temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflicts and effectiveness of mitigation in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282654. [PMID: 37068090 PMCID: PMC10109493 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Human-wildlife interactions occur where human and wildlife coexist and share common resources including food or shelter. Increasing wildlife populations within protected areas also can increase interactions with humans living adjacent to these areas, resulting in conflicts including human casualty, livestock depredation, crop damage, and property loss. We analyzed six years human-wildlife conflict data from 2016-2021 in the buffer zone of Shuklaphanta National Park and conducted questionnaire survey to investigate factors influencing human-wildlife conflicts. Nineteen people were attacked by wildlife, primarily wild boar (Sus scrofa). Ninety-two livestock were killed by leopard (Panthera pardus), and among these most were sheep or goats killed near ShNP during summer. Crops were most frequently damaged by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), followed by wild boar. Greatest economic losses were from damage to rice, followed by sugarcane and wheat. Asian elephant was the only reported species to cause structural damage to property (e.g., homes). Majority of respondents (83%) considered that the mitigation techniques that are currently in practice are effective to reduce the conflicts. However, the effectiveness of the mitigation techniques are the species specific, we recommend use of more efficacious deterrents (e.g., electric fencing) for large herbivores and mesh wire fencing with partially buried in the ground. Effective collaboration among different tiers of government, non-governmental organizations, civil societies and affected communities are important to share the best practices and continue to apply innovative methods for impactful mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bindu Pant
- Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Hari Prasad Sharma
- Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | - Sandeep Regmi
- Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Jerrold L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
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Riego del Castillo V, Sánchez-González L, Campazas-Vega A, Strisciuglio N. Vision-Based Module for Herding with a Sheepdog Robot. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:5321. [PMID: 35891009 PMCID: PMC9317257 DOI: 10.3390/s22145321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Livestock farming is assisted more and more by technological solutions, such as robots. One of the main problems for shepherds is the control and care of livestock in areas difficult to access where grazing animals are attacked by predators such as the Iberian wolf in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, we propose a system to automatically generate benchmarks of animal images of different species from iNaturalist API, which is coupled with a vision-based module that allows us to automatically detect predators and distinguish them from other animals. We tested multiple existing object detection models to determine the best one in terms of efficiency and speed, as it is conceived for real-time environments. YOLOv5m achieves the best performance as it can process 64 FPS, achieving an mAP (with IoU of 50%) of 99.49% for a dataset where wolves (predator) or dogs (prey) have to be detected and distinguished. This result meets the requirements of pasture-based livestock farms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Riego del Castillo
- Departamento de Ingenierías Mecánica, Informática y Aeroespacial, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (V.R.d.C.); (A.C.-V.)
| | - Lidia Sánchez-González
- Departamento de Ingenierías Mecánica, Informática y Aeroespacial, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (V.R.d.C.); (A.C.-V.)
| | - Adrián Campazas-Vega
- Departamento de Ingenierías Mecánica, Informática y Aeroespacial, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain; (V.R.d.C.); (A.C.-V.)
| | - Nicola Strisciuglio
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands;
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Tee TL, van Manen FT, Kretzschmar P, Sharp SP, Wong ST, Gadas S, Ratnayeke S. Anthropogenic edge effects in habitat selection by sun bears in a protected area. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thye Lim Tee
- T. L. Tee and S. Ratnayeke (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3012-6264) ✉ , Dept of Biological Sciences, Sunway Univ., Malaysia
| | - Frank T. van Manen
- F. T. van Manen, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Petra Kretzschmar
- P. Kretzschmar, Dept of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Inst. for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany
| | - Stuart P. Sharp
- S. P. Sharp, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster Univ., UK
| | - Siew Te Wong
- S. T. Wong, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Sumbin Gadas
- S. Gadas, Sabah Wildlife Dept, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Shyamala Ratnayeke
- T. L. Tee and S. Ratnayeke (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3012-6264) ✉ , Dept of Biological Sciences, Sunway Univ., Malaysia
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Rayl ND, Merkle JA, Proffitt KM, Almberg ES, Jones JD, Gude JA, Cross PC. Elk migration influences the risk of disease spillover in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1264-1275. [PMID: 33630313 PMCID: PMC8251637 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Wildlife migrations provide important ecosystem services, but they are declining. Within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), some elk Cervus canadensis herds are losing migratory tendencies, which may increase spatiotemporal overlap between elk and livestock (domestic bison Bison bison and cattle Bos taurus), potentially exacerbating pathogen transmission risk. We combined disease, movement, demographic and environmental data from eight elk herds in the GYE to examine the differential risk of brucellosis transmission (through aborted foetuses) from migrant and resident elk to livestock. For both migrants and residents, we found that transmission risk from elk to livestock occurred almost exclusively on private ranchlands as opposed to state or federal grazing allotments. Weather variability affected the estimated distribution of spillover risk from migrant elk to livestock, with a 7%–12% increase in migrant abortions on private ranchlands during years with heavier snowfall. In contrast, weather variability did not affect spillover risk from resident elk. Migrant elk were responsible for the majority (68%) of disease spillover risk to livestock because they occurred in greater numbers than resident elk. On a per‐capita basis, however, our analyses suggested that resident elk disproportionately contributed to spillover risk. In five of seven herds, we estimated that the per‐capita spillover risk was greater from residents than from migrants. Averaged across herds, an individual resident elk was 23% more likely than an individual migrant elk to abort on private ranchlands. Our results demonstrate links between migration behaviour, spillover risk and environmental variability, and highlight the utility of integrating models of pathogen transmission and host movement to generate new insights about the role of migration in disease spillover risk. Furthermore, they add to the accumulating body of evidence across taxa that suggests that migrants and residents should be considered separately during investigations of wildlife disease ecology. Finally, our findings have applied implications for elk and brucellosis in the GYE. They suggest that managers should prioritize actions that maintain spatial separation of elk and livestock on private ranchlands during years when snowpack persists into the risk period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel D Rayl
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Grand Junction, CO, USA.,U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Jerod A Merkle
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Paul C Cross
- U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, MT, USA
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Wilson AE, Kearney S, Wismer D, Macbeth B, Stenhouse G, Coops NC, Janz DM. Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Abbey E. Wilson
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences University of Saskatchewan 44 Campus Drive Saskatoon SaskatchewanS7N 5B3Canada
| | - Sean Kearney
- Department of Forest Resource Management University of British Columbia 2424 Main Mall Vancouver British ColumbiaV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - Dan Wismer
- Grizzly Bear Program Foothills Research Institute 1176 Switzer Drive Hinton AlbertaT7V 1V3Canada
| | - Bryan Macbeth
- British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development 2080 Labieux Road Nanaimo British ColumbiaV9T 6J9Canada
| | - Gordon Stenhouse
- Grizzly Bear Program Foothills Research Institute 1176 Switzer Drive Hinton AlbertaT7V 1V3Canada
| | - Nicholas C. Coops
- Department of Forest Resource Management University of British Columbia 2424 Main Mall Vancouver British ColumbiaV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - David M. Janz
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences University of Saskatchewan 44 Campus Drive Saskatoon SaskatchewanS7N 5B3Canada
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