Shoot, shovel and shut up: cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe

Liberg, Olof; Chapron, Guillaume; Wabakken, Petter; Pedersen, Hans Christian; Hobbs, N. Thompson; Sand, Håkan

doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1275

Cited by 262 publications

(313 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Before a scent-marking pair of wolves can be detected by the monitoring program, both animals must survive during the process of dispersion, meet each other, and settle down. Poaching is a major driver of large carnivore population dynamics in human-dominated landscapes, including wolves in Scandinavia (Liberg et al 2011). Bears and wolves show preference for forested areas (May et al 2008), which may facilitate poaching compared to lower altitudes with less persistent snow cover and thus less detectable carnivores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolves, people, and brown bears influence the expansion of the recolonizing wolf population in Scandinavia

Ordiz

Milleret²,

Kindberg

et al. 2015

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Interspecific competition can influence the distribution and abundance of species and the structure of ecological communities and entire ecosystems. Interactions between apex predators can have cascading effects through the entire natural community, which supports broadening the scope of conservation from single species to a much wider ecosystem perspective. However, competition between wild large carnivores can hardly be measured experimentally. In this study, we analyzed the expansion of the Scandinavian wolf (Canis lupus) population during its recovery from the early 1990s. We took into account wolf-, habitat-, human-and brown bear (Ursus arctos)-related factors, because wolf expansion occurred within an area partially sympatric with bears. Wolf pair establishment was positively related to previous wolf presence and was negatively related to road density, distance to other wolf territories, and bear density. These findings suggest that both human-related habitat modification and interspecific competition have been influential factors modulating the expansion of the wolf population. Interactions between large carnivores have the potential to affect overall biodiversity. Therefore, conservation-oriented management of such species should consider interspecific interactions, rather than focusing only on target populations of single species. Long-term monitoring data across large areas should also help quantify and predict the influence of biotic interactions on species assemblages and distributions elsewhere. This is important because interactive processes can be essential in the regulation, stability, and resilience of ecological communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolves, people, and brown bears influence the expansion of the recolonizing wolf population in Scandinavia

Ordiz

Milleret²,

Kindberg

et al. 2015

Ecosphere

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“…In Scandinavia, the public has periodically opposed the protection of large carnivores (Bjerke & Kaltenborn 1999;Bjerke et al 2000;Sjölander-Lindqvist 2007) followed by extensive illegal hunting of all large carnivore species (Andren et al 2006;Persson et al 2009;Liberg 2012). In particular, farmers and hunters felt they were excluded from participation and involvement in carnivore management by central authorities (Ericsson & Heberlein 2003;Skogen 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental attitudes associated with large-scale cultural differences, not local environmental conflicts

Gangaas¹,

Kaltenborn

Andreassen³

2014

Envir. Conserv.

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SUMMARYSpecies and ecosystems are under constant pressure from a rapidly-growing human population. Human tolerance of carnivores, including the willingness to live in areas with these predators, is key to the success of large carnivore conservation. In the Scandinavian Peninsula, large carnivore populations conflict with human activity; low tolerance among local people may lead to illegal hunting. A survey of 2521 Scandinavian respondents to measure environmental value orientation, using the new environmental paradigm (NEP) scale and attitudes toward large carnivores, revealed attitudes towards the presence of carnivores were not related to carnivore abundance. Nor was there a significant relationship between environmental value orientation and personal experiences with loss of domestic sheep or hunting dogs. Environmental values were mainly explained by country differences; Swedes had a more ecocentric value orientation than Norwegians. Significantly more Norwegians (45 %) than Swedes (19 %) responded that there were too many carnivores in their country. Historic differences in how government is perceived between Norway and Sweden may result in different attitudes towards illegal hunting and towards carnivores. Specifically, Norwegians may hold a more anthropocentric view, based on a suspicion of central authorities, whereas Swedes may hold a more ecocentric view.

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“…Despite the importance of assessing the magnitude of illegal trade and its impacts on local populations of commercially and ecologically valuable species (13,14), it is cryptic and therefore notoriously difficult to quantify (15). Few approaches provide robust delineation of mortality drivers, such as natural mortality versus illegal offtake rates, although this information is critical for diagnosing population trends and risks and formulating regulatory frameworks (16,17 (18).…”

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confidence: 99%

Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants

Wittemyer

Northrup²,

Blanc

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

311

326

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Illegal wildlife trade has reached alarming levels globally, extirpating populations of commercially valuable species. As a driver of biodiversity loss, quantifying illegal harvest is essential for conservation and sociopolitical affairs but notoriously difficult. Here we combine field-based carcass monitoring with fine-scale demographic data from an intensively studied wild African elephant population in Samburu, Kenya, to partition mortality into natural and illegal causes. We then expand our analytical framework to model illegal killing rates and population trends of elephants at regional and continental scales using carcass data collected by a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species program. At the intensively monitored site, illegal killing increased markedly after 2008 and was correlated strongly with the local black market ivory price and increased seizures of ivory destined for China. More broadly, results from application to continental data indicated illegal killing levels were unsustainable for the species between 2010 and 2012, peaking to ∼8% in 2011 which extrapolates to ∼40,000 elephants illegally killed and a probable species reduction of ∼3% that year. Preliminary data from 2013 indicate overharvesting continued. In contrast to the rest of Africa, our analysis corroborates that Central African forest elephants experienced decline throughout the last decade. These results provide the most comprehensive assessment of illegal ivory harvest to date and confirm that current ivory consumption is not sustainable. Further, our approach provides a powerful basis to determine cryptic mortality and gain understanding of the demography of at-risk species.poaching | overharvest | population estimation | extinction | endangered species consumption

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Shoot, shovel and shut up: cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe

Cited by 262 publications

References 35 publications

Wolves, people, and brown bears influence the expansion of the recolonizing wolf population in Scandinavia

Wolves, people, and brown bears influence the expansion of the recolonizing wolf population in Scandinavia

Environmental attitudes associated with large-scale cultural differences, not local environmental conflicts

Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants

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