The influence of superstitions and emotions on villagers’ attitudes towards striped hyena in southwestern Iran

The intensity of human-carnivore conflict in socio-ecological systems may primarily be determined by people’s attitudes and perceptions of carnivore-related threats. Direct or indirect threats posed by large carnivores to human interests may eventually lead to negative attitudes that can trigger retaliatory bahaviour against them. We studied local people’s attitudes towards striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), the nature and extent of the human-hyena conflict, and the socio-cultural drivers of the conflicts in 19 rural communities in southwestern Iran. We employed structural equation modelling to assess socio-cultural factors affecting attitudes towards striped hyenas. The findings of 300 interviews showed significant differences in local people’s superstitious attitudes regarding gender, age, and education. More than 40% of the participants had encountered hyenas, and on average, each respondent lost 0.44 livestock in the past five years due to hyena attacks. However, livestock depredation by the hyena was low (13.3%) compared to the damage inflicted by all carnivores (73%). While the respondents indicated some degrees of fear, hatred to hyena was relatively low and they generally showed positive attitudes towards the species. Women and older people expressed the highest and respondents with higher education the least superstitious beliefs. Attitude score of respondents toward hyenas was correlated negatively with hatred for hyenas and positively with knowledge about them, but socio-demographics effects on attitudes towards hyenas were not statistically significant. Self-reported livestock loss was a relatively good predictor of hatred and fear. Herders who had not protected their livestock reported carnivore attacks at least once. We conclude that superstitions can potentially negatively affect hyena persistence, but can be reduced by improving the educational level of local people.