Coyote Management in Residential Areas: Human Dimensions Research Needs

To effectively meet the challenges of urban coyote (Canis latrans) management, wildlife professionals will need human dimensions (and ecological) research to fill information gaps associated with a typical program planning process. Most wildlife agencies use the steps of a rational decision-making approach to plan and develop their programs (i.e., they define goals, identify problems and opportunities, identify management objectives, develop management action alternatives, and implement and evaluate alternatives). We describe general human dimensions (HD) information needs associated with each step, and then suggest corresponding HD research priorities to support urban coyote management decisions. We suggest that HD research priorities include: (I) situational analysis to characterize impact perceptions, attitudes, experiences, and behaviors of key stakeholders in hot spots for human-coyote conflict; (2) investigations that shed light on the processes of coyotes\u27 habituation to humans and humans\u27 habituation to coyotes; (3) studies that allow managers to apply acceptance capacity concepts to objective setting; (4) locally-specific research to characterize acceptability of various management actions among key stakeholders; and (5) outcome evaluations to measure attitude, perception, and behavior change associated with management actions

How do Suburban Coyote Attacks Affect Residents’ Perceptions? Insights from a New York Case Study

Understanding the human dimensions of human-coyote conflicts in metropolitan areas has taken on greater importance as coyotes (Canis latrans) have established themselves as the top predator in many urban ecosystems across North America. Though uncommon, coyote attacks on humans do occur in metropolitan areas and often receive widespread media coverage. Little research has been done to clarify how media coverage of these uncommon events may influence urban residents’ attitudes toward coyotes. In 2010, two children in Westchester County, New York, were injured in coyote attacks. In fall 2010 and winter 2011, the authors replicated a 2006 telephone survey in two areas of Westchester County, to assess possible changes in residents’ coyote-related experiences, attitudes, and risk perceptions. We documented a substantial, short-term increase in local newspaper coverage about coyotes immediately after the attack. Over 90% of local residents were aware of July 2010 attacks and nearly all residents with awareness reported exposure to media coverage of the attacks (supporting the hypothesis that such media coverage can have an agenda-setting effect). In comparison to 2006 levels, we documented an increase in concern about problems coyotes may cause, concern about coyote-related safety threats to children, and a decline in the proportion of local residents who believed that coyote-related risk to children was acceptably low. The 2006-2010 data comparisons provide support for a media framing hypothesis (i.e., that exposure to media coverage about the attacks made thoughts of human safety more salient, contributing to at least a short-term influence on concern about coyotes). Yet, in early 2011, months after local media coverage of coyotes had returned to background levels, concern about coyotes and coyote-related threats to children remained significantly higher than 2006 levels (i.e., effects continued after media priming ceased). This result suggests that factors other than media priming are needed to explain elevated levels of concern. We hypothesize that awareness of a new impact associated with coyotes (i.e., safety risk to children) may have driven change in resident’s perceptions of coyote-related risk and tolerance for coyote presence. Findings suggest that interventionists with interests in promoting wildlife conservation in urban ecosystems have a window of opportunity in which coyote-related messages may be attended to by local residents. Through efforts to enhance self-efficacy and teach residents how they can reduce the likelihood of a negative interaction with coyotes, interventionists can help human residents learn to live with this mesopredator in urban ecosystems

Understanding Human-Wildlife Interactions In U.S. National Parks: The Role Of Emotion In Human Behaviors That Foster Habituation And Food Conditioning In Wildlife

Wildlife managers seek to influence human-wildlife interactions to maximize positive impacts for both wildlife and people. In many situations, in particular in protected areas such as national parks, wildlife may learn that people pose little threat and may be the source of a food reward, resulting in habituation or food conditioning. Managers are concerned about health and safety risks to people and wildlife associated with these phenomena. Communication often is a preferred management approach to address these issues, but it frequently fails to yield the desired effects on human behaviors. This ineffectiveness is in part due to a lack of information about human decision-making and behavior related to human-wildlife interactions that lead to habituation and food conditioning. I explored habituation and food conditioning in national parks using an iterative, multi-method approach that examined wildlife manager and park visitor perspectives about human-wildlife interactions. This included: workshops with wildlife researchers and managers; literature reviews; a content analysis of management documents; a survey of National Park Service staff; and visitor interviews at Acadia National Park in Maine. The collective efforts enabled me to identify key insights about human-wildlife interactions: (a) emotion is a critical catalyst of human decision-making and behavior in human-wildlife interactions; (b) it is difficult for wildlife managers to distinguish between habituation and food conditioning in a way that optimizes management; (c) context specificity influences people's emotional and behavioral response to wildlife; (d) people rely on their prior experience when making decisions related to interactions with wildlife; (e) people enjoy wildlife and wish to avoid having negative impacts on wildlife, but often their behaviors do not correspond with management recommendations; and (f) communication is reported to be a preferred management strategy for addressing human-wildlife interactions, but frequently this approach is neither effective nor systematically evaluated. These insights suggest that the ability of managers to influence human behavior in these contexts may be improved through the application of decision-making models and communication messages that integrate emotional components. I also contend that utilizing a novel framework called "conservation recreation" in wildlife management may influence human-wildlife interactions in a way that positively impacts wildlife conservation

Humans and Coyotes in Suburbia: Can Experience Lead to Sustainable Coexistence?

Click on the PDF for an Executive Summary and the full report. Visit the HDRU website for a complete listing of HDRU publications at: http://hdru.dnr.cornell.edu

Stakeholder insights into the human-coyote interface in Westchester County, New York

Click on the PDF for an Executive Summary and the full report. Visit the HDRU website for a complete listing of HDRU publications at: http://hdru.dnr.cornell.edu

Living with Coyotes in Suburban Areas: Insights from Two New York State Counties

Click on the PDF for an Executive Summary and the full report. Visit the HDRU website for a complete listing of HDRU publications at: http://hdru.dnr.cornell.edu

Living with Wildlife on the Rural-Urban Interface

CaRDI Research & Policy Brief Issue 3

New York Communities 2009: A Year of CaRDI Publications

CaRDI Reports Issue 1