Carnivore coexistence in southern Ethiopia looks partly like a husbandry problem, not only a wildlife-attitude problem
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
A semi-structured survey of 920 household heads in seven villages documented reported livestock depredation primarily by spotted hyenas and then leopards. Conservation perceptions varied with depredation experience, herd size, education, gender and residence length, while poor husbandry was identified as a problem and enhanced guarding was widely favored as a response.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Human–carnivore coexistence is shaped by the actual operating conditions of livestock keeping. Conservation messaging alone is unlikely to substitute for reducing avoidable losses, strengthening husbandry and designing mitigation around how people experience risk.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is a perception and self-report study, not direct monitoring of carnivore abundance or verified depredation events. Associations may reflect reporting and social factors, and the findings come from one southern Ethiopian landscape.
SOURCE
Environmental and Sustainability Indicators · Original evidence
View original evidence ↗
A seven-village survey links conservation perceptions to lived depredation risk and points toward guarding and livestock-management capacity as part of the coexistence equation.
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