Toward Human-Carnivore Coexistence: Understanding Tolerance for Tigers in Bangladesh

Fostering local community tolerance for endangered carnivores, such as tigers (Panthera tigris), is a core component of many conservation strategies. Identification of antecedents of tolerance will facilitate the development of effective tolerance-building conservation action and secure local community support for, and involvement in, conservation initiatives. We use a stated preference approach for measuring tolerance, based on the ‘Wildlife Stakeholder Acceptance Capacity’ concept, to explore villagers’ tolerance levels for tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans, an area where, at the time of the research, human-tiger conflict was severe. We apply structural equation modeling to test an a priori defined theoretical model of tolerance and identify the experiential and psychological basis of tolerance in this community. Our results indicate that beliefs about tigers and about the perceived current tiger population trend are predictors of tolerance for tigers. Positive beliefs about tigers and a belief that the tiger population is not currently increasing are both associated with greater stated tolerance for the species. Contrary to commonly-held notions, negative experiences with tigers do not directly affect tolerance levels; instead, their effect is mediated by villagers’ beliefs about tigers and risk perceptions concerning human-tiger conflict incidents. These findings highlight a need to explore and understand the socio-psychological factors that encourage tolerance towards endangered species. Our research also demonstrates the applicability of this approach to tolerance research to a wide range of socio-economic and cultural contexts and reveals its capacity to enhance carnivore conservation efforts worldwide

Does the Familiarity of Road Regulation Contribute to Driving Violation? A Simulated Study on Familiar and Unfamiliar Road Intersections among Young Chinese Drivers

Road accidents represent the primary cause of death among young drivers. To understand the emerging issue of young drivers’ involvement in traffic accidents abroad, risk-taking behaviors were investigated in familiar and unfamiliar driving situations. Twenty-two young Chinese drivers completed a road regulation test followed by a simulated test drive. The number of traffic violations and accidents in familiar and unfamiliar driving intersections were correlated to road regulation knowledge, risk perception scores and to self-assessment of driving skills. Significant number of mistakes was found in risk-taking situations, regardless of the familiarity of the situation, especially for drivers that presented high ratings of self-assessed driving skills. Results show that risk-taking behaviors while driving in unfamiliar conditions are mediated by psychological factors, like self-assessment of being a good driver, more than the actual knowledge of road regulation rules. Implications for international driving can be considered for future research development