Natural Enemies: People-wildlife Conflicts in Anthropological PerspectiveJohn Knight Wild animals raid crops, attack livestock, and sometimes threaten people. Conflicts with wildlife are widespread, assume a variety of forms, and elicit a range of human responses. Wildlife pests are frequently demonized and resisted by local communities while routinely 'controlled' by state authorities. However, to the great concern of conservationists, the history of many people-wildlife conflicts lies in human encroachment into wildlife territory. In Natural Enemies the authors place the analytical focus on the human dimension of these conflicts - an area often neglected by specialists in applied ecology and wildlife management - and on their social and political contexts. Case studies of specific conflicts are drawn from Africa, Asia, Europe and America, and feature an assortment of wild animals, including chimpanzees, elephants, wild pigs, foxes, bears, wolves, pigeons and ducks. These anthropologists challenge the narrow utilitarian view of wildlife pestilence by revealing the cultural character of many of our 'natural enemies'. Their reports from the 'front-line' expose one fact - human conflict with wildlife is often an expression of conflict between people. |
Contents
1 Introduction | 1 |
the historical dimension | 36 |
shapeshifting among the Baka of Congo | 50 |
4 Chimpanzees as political animals in Sierra Leone | 78 |
5 Wild pigs pigmen and transmigrants in the rainforest of Sumatra | 104 |
indigenous perceptions of wildlife protection in Nepal | 124 |
the problem of bears in Japan | 145 |
Other editions - View all
Natural Enemies: People-Wildlife Conflicts in Anthropological Perspective John Knight Limited preview - 2013 |
Natural Enemies: People-wildlife Conflicts in Anthropological Perspective John Knight Limited preview - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
African animal rights Anthropology Asahi Shinbun Baka Bantu bear attacks bearhunter behaviour biodiversity birds black bear boundary Cambridge cannibalism Chapter chimpanzee colonial conservation conservationism conservationists crop crop-raiding cultural damage discourse Douglas Ecology elephants environment environmental farmers farming fear forest fox-hunting groups Hegins herd herders hounds human hunters hunting Ingold ivory jackal Japan Japanese Kalous killed Kuma Labor Day Labor Day Shoot labour leopard lions livestock London Maita Malawi Mandingo migrants mòkìlà monkey moral mountain National Park nature neo-shamans people-wildlife conflicts perception perspective pest control pig-man pigeons political population problem protection Pygmy reindeer relations rice ritual Routledge ruddy duck ruddy duck campaign rural Saami schema shamanic shapeshifting sharing Sierra Leone social society species suggest Sumatra symbolic Tamang threat tion Tokyo tsukinowaguma tusks University Press Upper Guinean forests village white-headed duck wild animals wild pigs wild predators wildlife pestilence witchcraft wolf wolves