Farmers' Perception of Leopard (Panthera Pardus) Conservation in a Human Dominated Landscape in Northern Ethiopian Highlands

Abstract

Attitudes toward large carnivores were surveyed in two sub districts May Anbesa (relatively high leopard density are)
and Egriwonber (area with no leopard) in the northern Ethiopian highlands. This district is a completely human dominated
landscape, where conflict has manifested in terms of livestock depredation. Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), leopard (Panthera
pardus) and common jackal (Canis aureus aureus) are common in this landscape but all other large carnivores are virtually
absent. A structured survey instruction was prepared in the form of an interview-based questionnaire containing 23 items
arranged in three sections: attitudes and perceptions; management issues; and economic impact. We interviewed 519 randomly
selected households (core area, n=317 and control area, n=202). Majority of the respondents (64.6%) had positive feelings and
only 10.2% had negative feelings in the core area, whereas majority of the respondents (52.3%) had neutral feelings and only
9.1% negative feelings towards leopard in the control area. The mean attitude score in both areas was 3.53: neutral to positive.
The majority of respondents (72.3%), including 88.6% in the core area and 46.5% in the control area, thought that compensation
should be paid to farmers whose livestock had been killed by leopards. Only 34.7% of all participants, including 25.9% in the
core area and 48.5% in the control area, agreed that killing of leopards should be strictly regulated. Farmers of the core area
reported losses of 85 domestic animals due to leopard depredation causing an estimated financial loss of about US$ 51,673
over the last five years, or an annual mean of 0.4% of stock worth US$ 10,334. Of all the respondents in core area only 12% of
the people had suffered from leopard depredation. Goats were the most depredated livestock species (49.4%). The findings
indicate that tolerance for depredation is high for that further efforts could improve support for carnivore conservation.