Human–wildlife conflicts and their associated livelihood impacts in and around Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Human–wildlife conflict is one of the major challenges in conservation biology. Here, we investigated the human–wildlife conflicts and their impacts in and around Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia. We conducted semistructured interview for 300 people and five focus group discussions from November 2010 to January 2011. In addition, scats of 60 spotted hyenas were collected and analyzed. Totally, 12 carnivores, 6 herbivores, and 2 primate species posing a significant problem were identified. Intensive human–wildlife conflict was observed in Churchura, Sere, and Chebera villages which were very close to the park. The carnivore’s attacks during 2007–2011 had caused about 30.49% of livestock losses. The overall economic loss by wildlife attacks was estimated to be US$ 75,234 (US$ 83/household/year). Scat analysis confirmed a substantial contribution (59%) of livestock to spotted hyena’s diet. Thus, combined strategies like improving livestock husbandries and strengthen the capacity of managers are imperative to mitigate the problems