Chinese scientists propose human-wildlife conflict resolution strategy

XINING -- Chinese scientists have shared new insight regarding human-wildlife conflict resolution by establishing a temporal livestock management strategy, according to the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (NWIPB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Published in the journal Integrative Zoology, the study sheds light on the common global challenge of ensuring both sustainable development and biodiversity protection, the institute said.

"Livestock predation by large carnivores is a global conservation challenge that fuels human-carnivore conflict and hinders coexistence with agropastoral communities. Understanding carnivore activity patterns and implementing temporal segregation are evidence-informed strategies for mitigating such conflict risks," said Lian Xinming, a researcher with the NWIPB.

Domestic livestock grazing occupies about one-third of the Earth's land area and significantly affects sympatric wildlife. This high overlap in space utilization also leads to constant conflict between local herdsmen and wild animals.

In underdeveloped areas where agriculture and animal husbandry serve as pillar industries, retaliatory hunting caused by human-wild animal conflict has become one of the key driving factors in the decline of some wild animal populations, posing a serious threat to the long-term survival of many endangered species, Lian noted.

Various strategies have been developed and improved in the bid to avoid economic losses and casualties caused by human-animal conflict. With a focus on exploring non-fatal mitigation strategies, the research team conducted a long-term field investigation and study in the Sanjiangyuan area, which is known as "China's water tower," located in the country's northwestern Qinghai province.

Snow leopards, wolves, lynxes and brown bears are the main large carnivores that come into conflict with humans in this region. The first three species mostly prey on domestic animals, while brown bears mainly damage houses and even cause human casualties.

Over a ten-year period from 2014 to 2024, scientists installed 422 infrared cameras and collected relevant monitoring data in this region, covering a cumulative monitoring area amounting to 2,580 square kilometers. They obtained a large amount of valid photos of snow leopards, wolves, brown bears and lynxes, respectively.

Employing kernel and conditional circular kernel density estimation, they analyzed the diel activity patterns of these four large carnivores and aimed to identify seasonal variations between cold and warm periods, thereby enabling the identification of high-risk intervals for potential conflict between these species and humans.

The analysis showed that all four large carnivores were primarily nocturnal with species-specific peak activity times. The wolf exhibited distinct seasonal diel activity patterns, unlike the other species. Notably, temporal risk assessment of livestock predation identified species-specific high-risk windows.

The study indicates that implementing targeted livestock management strategies during such high-risk periods is key to reducing the risk of livestock being preyed upon.

In addition, in the case of brown bears, the night, especially from 20:42 to 02:36 the next morning, is the most dangerous period in terms of the risk of this species entering the homes of herdsmen. During this time, people should heighten their vigilance. Also, people should raise dogs and use sound, light and electricity equipment to promptly detect and drive away brown bears, the study recommends.

"Based on field investigation and analysis, our study proposes that by integrating spatial utilization zoning and regulating grazing time based on the temporal activity patterns of specific species, the encounter probability of people with offending carnivores can be greatly reduced. Thus, the strategy can sustain mitigating human-animal conflict in a more scientific manner," Lian said.