TY - JOUR
AU1 - Jain, Vinni
AU2 - Karanth, Krithi K.
AB - Otter populations are declining across Asia, especially outside protected areas. In landscapes shared by humans and otters, it is vital to understand the factors affecting human-otter coexistence. We conducted 551 questionnaire surveys and used mixed methods to evaluate human-otter interactions and people’s attitudes towards otters across a 3,300 km2 forest-agriculture mosaic near Kanha National Park in Central India. Otter presence was reported from 94% of grid cells, and most (65.7%) respondents reported encountering otters at least once. The majority of interactions (74.9%) were neutral with no impacts on people, 19.4% were negative due to otter-caused damage, and 7.3% were positive. Using a multinomial logistic regression, we found that fishers, especially those who earned a higher percentage of their total income from fishing, were more likely to report negative interactions. Annually, the mean reported monetary loss due to otters (INR 13,145/USD 165) was ~ 10% of the mean income from fishing. Using a multiple linear regression, we found that higher education levels, frequent encounters with otters, and increased distance from protected areas were associated with positive attitudes, while fishing was associated with negative attitudes. Our thematic analysis showed that among those who faced negative impacts due to otters, 20.6% had high levels of tolerance, 29.9% had low levels of tolerance, and the remaining held neutral or ambivalent views. Though we found positive attitudes even amongst those who faced losses, our results highlight the need for targeted mitigation strategies and education programs to to reduce negative impacts and improve coexistence in shared landscapes.
TI - Living alongside otters: examining human-otter interactions and attitudes towards otters in Central India for conservation in shared landscapes
JF - Biodiversity and Conservation
DO - 10.1007/s10531-023-02640-9
DA - 2023-07-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/living-alongside-otters-examining-human-otter-interactions-and-9ckgFLP9Lh
SP - 3001
EP - 3020
VL - 32
IS - 8-9
DP - DeepDyve
ER -