Harassment-induced changes in lion space use as a conflict mitigation tool

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict represents a substantial threat to rural livelihoods and species persistence. Directed harassment (i.e., hazing) is one method for mitigating conflict, though gauging its effectiveness is often complicated by a lack of replication, controls, or effective contrasts. Herein we assessed whether African lions (Panthera leo) shifted their space use in response to a hazing program intended to deter lions from community lands adjacent to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Using GPS-collared lions (n = 16) from unique prides, we investigated the degree to which individuals exhibited (a) a large-scale response by shifting their home ranges away from community lands, or (b) a fine-scale response by increasingly avoiding areas near households post-program initiation. Responses between “at-risk” (those exposed to the program; n = 5) and “protected” (n = 11) lions varied, with at-risk males shifting their home ranges to include 12.08% more national park and 9.04% less community lands post-program (median), a shift not replicated by at-risk females nor protected lions. However, the majority of at-risk lions demonstrated increased attraction to households post-program. We demonstrated that while aversive stimulus approaches may alter large-scale space use by individual lions, constraints imposed by social structure and available habitat alternatives will affect the level of effort required to achieve program success.