ABSTRACT

A vital role in mitigating human-elephant conflict (HEC) involves conservation education programs in local communities. It is therefore important to assess the types of information that make conservation education programs effective. Given the public’s fascination with animal minds, the elephant being a cognitively complex species, and the high occurrence of HEC surrounding Asian elephants, the current research assessed whether using information on elephant cognition in a conservation education program increased positive attitudes toward elephants/elephant conservation in Bannerghatta National Park (BNP). BNP, located in Karnataka, India, is an area reporting high HEC. Results indicated no significant difference in adult male villagers’ attitudes toward elephants/elephant conservation when exposed to one of two educational programs, one of which included information on elephant cognition. However, a significant difference in attitudes between the two programs and a control group was discovered, suggesting the importance of an educational intervention in the communities surrounding BNP.

摘要

在减轻人象冲突 (HEC) 方面的重要作用涉及当地社区的保护教育计划。因此，重要的是评估使保护教育计划有效的信息类型。鉴于公众对动物思维的迷恋，大象是一种认知复杂的物种，以及亚洲象周围 HEC 的高发生率，目前的研究评估了在保护教育计划中使用大象认知信息是否会增加对大象/大象保护的积极态度班纳加塔国家公园 (BNP)。BNP 位于印度卡纳塔克邦，是一个报告高 HEC 的地区。结果表明，成年男性村民在接受两种教育计划之一时对大象/大象保护的态度没有显着差异，其中之一包括有关大象认知的信息。然而，发现两个项目和对照组之间的态度存在显着差异，这表明在 BNP 周围社区进行教育干预的重要性。