A range of species exploit anthropogenic food resources in behaviour known as ‘raiding’. Such behavioural flexibility is considered a central component of a species’ ability to cope with human-induced environmental changes. Here, we study the behavioural processes by which raiding male chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) exploit the opportunities and mitigate the risks presented by raiding in the suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. Ecological sampling and interviews conducted with ‘rangers’ (employed to manage the baboons’ space use) revealed that baboons are at risk of being herded out of urban spaces that contain high-energy anthropogenic food sources. Baboon-attached motion/GPS tracking collars showed that raiding male baboons spent almost all of their time at the urban edge, engaging in short, high-activity forays into the urban space. Moreover, activity levels were increased where the likelihood of deterrence by rangers was greater. Overall, these raiding baboons display a time-activity balance that is drastically altered in comparison to individuals living in more remote regions. We suggest our methods can be used to obtain precise estimates of management impact for this and other species in conflict with people.

Conservation conflict is widespread, damaging, and has proved difficult to manage using conventional conservation approaches. Conflicts are often “wicked problems,” lacking clear solutions due to divergent values of stakeholders, and being embedded within wickedly complex environments. Drawing on the concept of wicked environmental problems could lead to management strategies better suited to tackling conflict. However, it is unclear whether managers are embracing ideas from the wicked problems concept. There is currently a lack of guidance for applying strategies to tackle particular wicked problems, such as conservation conflict. We explored the suitability of wicked problems‐inspired management, using eight contemporary conflict case studies. Conservation conflict was managed predominantly using conventional approaches suited to tackling single objectives in simple environments, rather than balancing competing objectives in complex environments. To deal with different characteristics of wickedness, we recommend that managers develop strategies combining distributed decision‐making, diverse opinions, pattern‐based predictions, trade‐off‐based objectives, and reporting of failures. Recent advances in conservation conflict research have focused on improving interactions among stakeholders. We believe that such stakeholder‐focused approaches would dovetail with the whole‐system focus of a wicked problems framework, allowing conservationists to move toward a holistic strategy for managing conservation conflict.

Growing human populations are increasingly competing with wildlife for limited resources and this can result in chronic human-wildlife conflict. In the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, chacma baboons Papio ursinus are habitual raiders of urban and rural areas, foraging on a variety of human-derived foods. Raiding behaviour is considered a threat to human health and safety, may result in damage to property, and has adverse welfare and conservation impacts on baboons. To mitigate this conflict, Cape Town municipality employs field rangers with paintball markers that 'herd' baboons away from the urban edge. While this strategy is successful in reducing the time baboons spend in urban spaces, baboons still raid successfully. Here, we use direct observation and GPS data to investigate how one troop uses the peri-urban space and exploits human-derived foods in urban areas and on farmland. We contrast this behaviour with the individual management strategies adopted by field rangers which we assessed in individual interviews. We find that baboons utilize space (1) where inter-individual variation in field ranger management strategy is highest, (2) that is close to refuges in forested habitat and (3) that is close to the urban edge. Overall, this suggests adaptive space use by the baboons, whereby they minimize distances to refuges and potential food rewards, while exploiting uncertainty in risk variability that arises due to inter-individual differences in ranger management strategy. Together these results highlight the need for ranger consensus to reinforce management efficiency when dealing with a highly adaptive primate.Adaptive space use by baboons G. Fehlmann et al.

Understanding the behavioral ecology of wildlife that experiences negative interactions with humans and the outcome of any wildlife management intervention is essential. In the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) search for anthropogenic food sources in both urban and agricultural areas. In response, the city of Cape Town and private farmers employ "rangers" to keep baboons within the Table Mountain National Park. In this study, we investigated the success of rangers' intervention in keeping baboons in their natural habitat. Based on our findings in year one, we recommended adjustments to the rangers' management strategy in year two. We recommended improved consensus of actions toward baboons (that is, when/where to herd them), and the construction of a baboon-proof fence around one of the farms that provided a corridor to urban areas. During the 2 months following recommendations, these interventions combined resulted in a significant reduction in the time baboons spent in both urban and agricultural land. Our case study illustrates the importance of integrating research findings into ongoing management actions to improve both human livelihoods and baboon conservation through an adaptive management framework. We expect similar approaches to be beneficial in a wide range of species and contexts. This article should prove useful to conservation practitioners and researchers, researchers in behavioral ecology with an interest in conservation, as well as management agencies.