A Study On Human-North China Leopard Conflict In Jinzhong,Shanxi Province,china

Large carnivores prey on livestock,which is the most common conflict between humans and wild animals.The conflict between humans and carnivores,directly and indirectly,lead to the reduction and even extinction of a variety of endangered carnivores.From 2015 to 2020,this study assessed the conflict between humans and North China leopard resulting from livestock depredation in and around Tieqiaoshan Provincial Nature Reserve in Jinzhong,Shanxi Province.The main research contents of this paper include:characterizing the seasonal variation of humanleopard conflict relationships;evaluating which are the main livestock species predated upon by North China leopard and quantifying economic losses to local residents;feasibility analysis of effective humanleopard conflict management;document community residents’ attitudes towards wildlife conservation and livestock damage compensation schemes.The main results obtained are as follows:1)The results showed a significant difference(P=0.015)in the number of livestock predated by the North China leopard in different seasons.The predation intensity was the highest in spring,followed by summer.Moreover,the North China leopard killed more cattle than other livestock types;a significant difference(P=0.02)was observed between cattle and other livestock species.Most livestock predation events by North China leopard occurred in the morning and evening,which may relate with leopard activity pattern.2)According to the market price estimation of predated livestock,residents living in and around the reserve suffered high economic losses,ranging between RMB 5000 and 10,000 per year.The attitudes of residents towards livestock predation by North China leopard varied according to the economic activities of the locals.About 76%of the livestock keepers reported that the leopard was "very dangerous",and only 8%of the arable farmers thought that the leopard was "very dangerous.3)Although the government has established a compensation system for livestock predation by the North China leopard,local perceptions of this sy stem varied.Approximately 94.6%of residents thought that the amount of compensation from the regional government was not enough.Based on this study,it is suggested to establish a nature conservation system with the participation of local residents,so that they can understand the predation behavior of North China leopard,improve conservation awareness,and more effectively alleviate the conflict between humans and livestock depredation by leopards.