Introduction: Land use change, and the expansion of human activities in wildlife natural habitats have currently intensified conflicts between humans and wildlife. In addition to the economy of indigenous communities, these conflicts are also related to security and wildlife protection and considered as one of the most important challenges in the management of protected areas. “Ors-e-Sistan” Protected Area (Hezar Masjed), located in the northeast of Khorasan Razavi province, is one of the important habitats of Persian leopards, gray wolves, wild boars and other wild animals. The existence of numerous villages, orchards, agricultural lands and extensive pastures inside and around this protected area, has provided the conditions for serious conflicts between humans and wildlife. To this end, this study aims to investigate strategies for reducing or preventing wildlife damage and propose effective solutions based on the experiences of local people and new methods.
Materials and Methods: In this study, data on wildlife attacks on humans, livestock, orchards and agricultural lands within the area and the 5 km buffer around it over a ten year period (2010-2020) were collected through the Department of Environmental Protection located in the cities of Kalat Naderi, Mashhad, and Chenaran and also the distribution of questionnaires among the indigenous peoples, and then analyzed in the next step.
Results: The results showed that over a period of ten years, 31 attacks on humans, 768 attacks on livestock and poultry, and 620 attacks on orchards and agricultural lands were reported by wild animals in the study area. Boar attacks, snake bites, and wolf and leopard attacks have been the most important causes of harm to humans, respectively. Furthermore, wolves with 75.9% and then leopards with 16.5% of the total attacks were recognized as the most important harmful species to livestock. Among livestock, sheep suffered the most mortalities from these attacks. Jackal and fox species have caused the most damage and casualties to rural poultry, respectively. Boars were responsible for more than 90% of attacks on orchards and agricultural lands. After wild boar, porcupine has caused the most damage to agricultural crops. Fruit trees, followed by wheat fields and summer crops, suffered the most significant damages from boar attacks, respectively. According to the results, among the methods to deal with damages, the use of scarecrow and fencing around fields for crops, the use of shepherds and herding dogs to deal with wild animal attacks on livestock and poultry, and the use of scarecrows in agricultural lands to drive away harm birds were considered as the first priority.
Discussion: The acceptance of some methods has been influenced by factors such as cost, environmental conditions, and the level of awareness of locals. These factors can be considered in the optimal management of conflicts in the study area to focus financial resources, educational programs, and protection facilities. Based on the obtained results, greater cooperation between environmental protection and natural resources departments in the field of managing and controlling the entry of livestock into protected areas and preventing the destruction of vegetation can reduce the movement of wild animals to villages and, as a result, their attacks on livestock.