Ecology
Some lions live in the wild in places where animals are threatened by humans, and they have to live in constant fear. According to new studies published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, lions are having to drastically change their behavior and perception of the environment due to lethal collisions with a person.
“The so-called “fear zone” represents the relative levels of fear that animals experience at different sites,” says study author Marion Valeix from Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University.
She and her colleagues explained that most predatory animals live in fear that keeps them under constant stress. Currently, even high-level predators live in such fear if their habitat is close to an area dominated by humans.
The researchers studied the behavior, diet and habitat of lions that live in MakGadikgadi Pance National Park in Botswana, where large numbers of Burchell zebras and blue wildebeests live in different parts of the park depending on the season.
The park's protected areas are surrounded by pastures where people graze livestock. This creates a conflict between lions and humans, because when zebras and wildebeests leave areas where lions hunt, many predators begin to attack livestock because they are reluctant to leave familiar places for them.
The observation of lions has shown that predators behave in such a way that their behavior increases the risk of conflicts with humans. Although not all shepherds in Botswana have firearms, some still have firearms and kill lions.
Some lions, researchers say, survive clashes with armed men, thereby making an “indelible impression” on their relatives when injured. Scientists believe that the fear of lions is not innate, since cubs are quite curious, but as they grow up, they become afraid of humans.
Very few protected areas, such as Kalahari National Parks, offer conditions for lions where they don't encounter humans. There are fewer and fewer places like this in Africa.
Researchers hope that in Botswana, shepherds will monitor livestock at night and not leave them unattended, because cattle attract the attention of hungry lions at night. This will help reduce the number of collisions, as lions will avoid humans. Shepherds also ask for protected areas to be fenced.
However, scientists complain that in this difficult socio-economic period, such precautions are unlikely to be feasible. Conflicts between humans and lions began at a time when the first cattle appeared in these territories. However, today, as the population is growing, the number of livestock is also increasing, and people have a variety of means to combat predators, including firearms and poison. Predators do not have enough food in natural conditions, so they prey on human food. Humans are forced to fight large predators to protect their livestock.
Scientists believe that it is possible to find ways to have fewer victims on both sides. Fear benefits predatory animals because it makes them avoid encounters with humans in some areas. It is fear that can help reduce conflicts to a minimum.