Abstract

Dagne Mojoa, Jessica Rothschuh and Mehari Alebachew

We conducted a household survey, supplemented with group discussions, to identify problematic wild animals and to assess the effects of Human-Wildlife Conflicts (HWC) in rural Ethiopia. Our findings show that monkeys, porcupines, apes, antelopes, warthogs and wild pigs are the major crop raiders in the area, while hyenas, foxes, pythons, eagles and ratel are the most common livestock predators. About 93% of the households reported that they faced damages to their property by at least one of these animals. Additionally, most of the respondent reported believing that wild animals have been contributing to the shortages of food in their family and affecting their natural resource management efforts. We conclude that HWC and farmers' perceptions of conflict in the area have had and continue to have remarkable impacts on the social, economic and environmental wellbeing in the area. Hence, different management options must be adopted to mediate the effects and minimize future conflicts