@article{e85bbc285fdd4c01a358f899d4e74525,
title = "An experimental test of community-based strategies for mitigating human–wildlife conflict around protected areas",
abstract = "Natural habitats are rapidly being converted to cultivated croplands, and crop-raiding by wildlife threatens both wildlife conservation and human livelihoods worldwide. We combined movement data from GPS-collared elephants with camera-trap data and local reporting systems in a before–after-control-impact design to evaluate community-based strategies for reducing crop raiding outside Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. All types of experimental fences tested (beehive, chili, beehive and chili combined, and procedural controls) significantly reduced the number of times elephants left the Park to raid crops. However, placing beehive fences at a subset of key crossing locations reduced the odds that elephants would leave the Park by up to 95% relative to unfenced crossings, and was the most effective strategy. Beehive fences also created opportunities for income generation via honey production. Our results provide experimental evidence that working with local communities to modify both animal behavior and human attitudes can mitigate conflict at the human–wildlife interface.",
keywords = "African savanna elephant, Loxodonta africana, beehive fences, chili fences, crop raiding, human-dominated landscapes, keystone species, movement corridors",
author = "Branco, {Paola S.} and Merkle, {Jerod A.} and Pringle, {Robert M.} and Lucy King and Tosca Tindall and Marc Stalmans and Long, {Ryan A.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work and its participants were supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (IOS‐1656642 to R.A.L.; IOS‐1656527 to R.M.P.). We also thank the University of Idaho, Gorongosa Project, Rufford Foundation, Campizondo Foundation, Artipopart, Save the Elephants, Sr. Jean‐Marc Gr{\"u}n and Victoria Branco for the financial support. We are grateful to our field assistants Castiano Lencastro, Michel Souza and Elyce Gosselin. We also thank Janet Rachlow, Joyce Poole and Petter Granli for their comments and support. The data that support the findings of our study are publicly available in the Dryad Digital Repository (doi 10.5061/dryad.m63xsj3xd). Funding Information: This work and its participants were supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (IOS-1656642 to R.A.L.; IOS-1656527 to R.M.P.). We also thank the University of Idaho, Gorongosa Project, Rufford Foundation, Campizondo Foundation, Artipopart, Save the Elephants, Sr. Jean-Marc Gr?n and Victoria Branco for the financial support. We are grateful to our field assistants Castiano Lencastro, Michel Souza and Elyce Gosselin. We also thank Janet Rachlow, Joyce Poole and Petter Granli for their comments and support. The data that support the findings of our study are publicly available in the Dryad Digital Repository (doi 10.5061/dryad.m63xsj3xd). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",
year = "2020",
month = jan,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/conl.12679",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "13",
journal = "Conservation Letters",
issn = "1755-263X",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons Inc.",
number = "1",
}