Assessing farmer’s experience and perception to crop feeding long-tailed macaques in West Sumatra, Indonesia: Implication for coexistences and conservation

Abstract

Understanding the extent of human-macaque negative interaction due to crop damage is crucial to develop conservation and conflict management strategies. In this study, we investigated conflicts between human and long-tailed macaque (LTM) over crop feeding in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. We conducted an interview survey with a total 200 farmers near protected and unprotected sites to explore the extent of crop feeding affect farmers' and how their attitudes toward conservation of the LTM. Our result showed that most farmers on both sites experienced agronomic damage attributed to crop feeding LTM. Most farmers from both sites reported that crop feeding occurs daily and more frequently in the morning. The financial losses were the main concern of most farmers at both sites. However, we found that the majority of farmers still promote the conservation of the LTM; the farmers considered that the macaques had the right to live. Amongst socio-economic characteristic, regression analysis indicated that coexistences between human and LTM appeared to be related with crop feeding experienced. Conservation supports were largely determined by age and education. The mitigation suggested by the farmers, compensation losses from the government were most desirable. Our findings aid in developing communication strategies for reducing the human-macaque conflicts and improving conservation efforts.