Human-wildlife conflicts are widespread around the world and result in property damage, disease spillover, financial loss, and decreased tolerance of wildlife. Increasing elk (Cervus canadensis) populations and land-use changes in the western United States are challenging resource managers tasked with managing conflict. Lethal and non-lethal management actions are commonly used to remove elk from conflict zones where they are not desired. We used radio-collar location data collected from female elk in 2 study areas in Montana, USA, from 2017–2020 to evaluate population- and individual-level responses to management actions (i.e., hunting, hazing) and environmental factors (i.e., weather, season, time of day). First, we used a generalized linear model with a logit link to evaluate the effects of hunting, hazing, time period, seasonality, and weather on the proportion of collared elk that used a conflict zone. Second, we used an ordinary linear model to assess the influence of hunting, hazing, seasonality, and weather on the duration of time that individual elk remained away from conflict zones. The proportion of elk using conflict zones was reduced by hunting, modestly reduced by hazing and increasing snowpack for 1 study area, increased at night, and decreased by a seasonal trend across months. The time individual elk remained away from conflict zones increased with the number of hazing events that occurred during an event and showed a modest seasonal trend increasing across months. For 1 study area, time away increased with the number of hunting days during an event and increasing snowpack, but the increase was biologically trivial. Our results indicate mixed responses of elk to hunting and hazing actions and provide evidence that management actions can influence elk use of conflict areas. Agencies trying to reduce conflicts may want to consider a combination of hunting and hazing, while accounting for site-specific characteristics to keep elk away from conflict zones. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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麋鹿对管理猎杀和欺凌的反应

人类与野生动物之间的冲突在世界范围内普遍存在，并导致财产损失、疾病蔓延、经济损失和对野生动物的容忍度下降。增加麋鹿 ( Cervus canadensis)) 美国西部的人口和土地利用变化正在挑战负责管理冲突的资源管理者。致命和非致命管理行动通常用于将麋鹿从不需要的冲突地区移走。我们使用 2017-2020 年从美国蒙大拿州 2 个研究区域收集的雌性麋鹿无线电项圈位置数据来评估种群和个人对管理行为（即狩猎、欺凌）和环境因素（即天气，季节，一天中的时间）。首先，我们使用带有 logit 链接的广义线性模型来评估狩猎、欺凌、时间段、季节性和天气对使用冲突区的颈圈麋鹿比例的影响。其次，我们使用一个普通的线性模型来评估狩猎、欺凌、季节性、和天气对个别麋鹿远离冲突地区的持续时间。使用冲突区的麋鹿比例因狩猎而减少，在 1 个研究区域因雾霾和积雪增加而略有减少，在夜间增加，并随着几个月的季节性趋势而减少。个别麋鹿远离冲突地区的时间随着事件期间发生的欺凌事件数量增加而增加，并且在几个月内呈现出适度的季节性增长趋势。对于 1 个研究区域，时间间隔随着事件期间狩猎天数和积雪增加而增加，但这种增加在生物学上是微不足道的。我们的结果表明麋鹿对狩猎和欺凌行为的反应不一，并提供证据表明管理行动可以影响麋鹿在冲突地区的使用。试图减少冲突的机构可能需要考虑将狩猎和欺凌相结合，同时考虑到特定地点的特征，以使麋鹿远离冲突地区。© 2021 野生动物协会。