Wildlife Acceptance

Methods

This indicator focused on understanding local community residents’ attitudes, beliefs and wildlife acceptance, specifically related to bison and beaver. Surveys were run across the project area and surroundings, using closed-ended questions using a five-point Likert scale, related to the following topics:

• Attitudes, beliefs and values towards bison and beaver, in general and in the local area
• Attitudes, emotions and beliefs towards bison and beaver reintroduction
• Acceptability of ways to manage human interactions with bison and beaver
• Factual knowledge about bison and beaver characteristics and behaviours

Demographic data about the respondents was also collected.

Data was collected annually from 2019 – 2022, across different communities in Argeș, Brașov, Sibiu and Vâlcea counties.

Surveys in 2019 and 2020 were administered using hard copies. During Foundation Conservation Carpathia’s activities in schools in the region, questionnaires were distributed among students to take home as homework and be completed by a parent or guardian. Data collection in 2021 and 2022 used an electronic version of the survey. For this follow-up data collection, any residents (not just parents of schoolchildren) were randomly and invited to participate by completing the survey with the guidance of a field agent.

A total of 1080 adults completed the survey (323 in 2019, 148 in 2020, 309 in 2021 and 300 in 2022). Overall, 56% were female and 43% were male.

Results

Attitudes toward bison remained stable during the 2019-2022 period, except for 2020, when attitudes were significantly more positive (Fig. 1). In contrast, attitudes toward beavers became less positive over time (Fig. 1), with decreases in the reported importance of their existence in the area both currently and for future generations.

Figure 1: Change in attitudes towards bison and beavers over time. Scores are on a Likert scale ranging from Strongly dislike (1) to Strongly like (5). Positivity towards beavers declined significantly, while positivity towards bison remained stable.

On average, participants’ fear towards bison decreased significantly from 2019 to 2022, particularly in relation to personal safety and spread of diseases, while fear of property damage remained stable (Fig. 2). For beavers, fears for personal safety and the spread of diseases decreased, while fear of property damage increased.

Figure 2: Change in fears related to the reintroduction of bison and beavers. Scores are on a Likert scale ranging from Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (5).

In relation to costs and benefits of reintroductions, overall respondents perceived more benefits than costs of reintroducing bison. From 2019 to 2022 there was a steady increase in the belief that bison would cause damage to trees. However, there was a decline in perceptions that bison would be a threat to people. In contrast, respondents on average perceived higher costs than benefits of reintroducing beavers. Beliefs that there would be an increase in hunting and tourism opportunities declined from 2019-2022, while perceptions that beavers would damage crops, farmland and fishing ponds, and impact forestry, increased during the period.

There was an increase in positive attitudes and support for bison reintroduction, as well as increasing consensus, but a decrease in support and consensus for beaver reintroduction (Fig. 3).

Figure 3: Changes in support for reintroduction of bison and beavers. Scores are on a Likert scale ranging from Strongly disapprove (1) to Strongly approve (5).

Looking at interventions to manage human-wildlife interactions, for both bison and beaver the support for stronger interventions (monitoring the situation, frightening the animal away, and killing the animal) increased over time, with lower support for doing nothing. Respondents were more likely to support killing beavers than bison.