Photo credit: Md Mokhlesur Rahman
By Md Mokhlesur Rahman, Russell A. Hill, and Ann M. MacLarnon.
Expanding human populations and the transformation of natural habitats for human use have intensified interactions between humans and wildlife, often resulting in conflict. One manifestation of this conflict can be through persecution and killings, but its contexts and impacts are not well understood.
We used two shooting incidents, less than a month apart, that led to multiple injuries and deaths in a group of chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) feeding on a garbage dump in Limpopo Province, South Africa, to explore the impacts of these unpredictable persecution events. We found significant disruptions to the baboons’ behaviour and physiology following the shootings, with immediate changes in ranging patterns such as faster morning departures and then abandoning the established sleeping site, increased travel distances and expanded ranging areas. We also found that both behavioural anxiety and physiological stress were elevated, with anxiety subsiding more quickly than stress levels, suggesting prolonged energetic and emotional costs. To mitigate stress, the baboons adapted by reducing aggression and increasing social behaviour, particularly among lower-ranked females. Nevertheless, the baboons continued to visit the garbage dump daily, where there was regular proximity to the dump workers and little apparent disruption to their commensal relationships.
The impacts of persecution may thus not be obvious in many contexts without longer-term behavioural or physiological data, and the relationships between people and wildlife may be more complex and nuanced than immediately evident.
Relational Thinking 