How can we mitigate puma-livestock conflicts in Central Argentina?

Abstract

Our study area (27,300 km2) is located in the vast plains of southernmost part of Buenos Aires Province, central Argentina. This region was once occupied by a mosaic of natural grasslands and xeric woodlands, but the expansion of the agriculture frontier has left little land suitable for puma (Puma concolor) populations (Caruso et al. 2015). It has been documented that pumas do prey on livestock, likely in response to habitat transformation, wild prey depletion, and the availability of abundant domestic prey. In fact, 49% of ranchers interviewed over a 12-month period reported livestock losses by pumas and 65% of ranchers considered retaliatory and preventive killing as the most effective form of solving puma predation, which was adopted by many ranchers despite being illegal (Guerisoli et al. 2017). Thus, puma killing, coupled with habitat loss, have resulted in a seriously threatened puma population.To favor coexistence between human and carnivores, particularly pumas in these ranchlands, our team is implementing and testing two methods to reduce carnivore predation on livestock: protection dogs (LPD) and deterrent lights (Foxlights®). These tools are considered effective in previous methodical reviews to mitigate human-carnivore conflicts (Miller et al. 2016, Eklund et al. 2017, Van Eeden et al. 2018). They also were accepted as potentially suitable methods by ranchers that participated in workshops and interviews that we carried out in an earlier phase of this project.To ensure that the proposed conflict mitigation strategies are adopted by local ranchers, we are working in cooperation with ranch owners and governmental agencies. Since the beginning of the activities supported by a WFA grant, and despite the limitations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have delivered three LPDs and deployed Foxlights units in 14 ranches. We also lent Foxlights units to 3 additional ranches to help them mitigate the losses caused by puma predation on livestock. To evaluate performance of these tools, we are collecting predation reports of ranchers and presence records through camera trapping, of pumas and also Pampas foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus), a canid that is also blamed for preying on lambs. To understand how LPD interact with wild carnivores, we are also monitoring LPD movements via GPS collars and we live-trapped, radio-collared, and tracked 6 Pampas foxes.The Foxlights experimental tests have not been completed yet due to several methodological issues especially ranchers moving their sheep to other areas not covered by our devices, due to the unusual drought that affected the study area. Additionally, one rancher sold all his sheep before completing the experiments. However, preliminary results of the Fox-lights tests suggest that the frequency of Pampas fox records decreased after the deployment of Foxlights. Most of the ranchers were satisfied with this method because they noticed a reduction in sheep losses. Unfortunately, the sample size of puma records was too small to draw meaningful conclusions on the effect of Foxlights units.We also conducted outreach through virtual talks and interviews for local newspapers. We utilized the media to spread awareness of non-lethal tools for reduction of carnivore predation on livestock. We also talked about the importance of carnivores in providing ecosystem services that are relevant to local ranchers.Even though we were unable to implement a structured experimental design and have a limited sample size, we still suggest non-lethal methods for the local people to meet conservation goals while mitigating economic losses that threaten their livelihoods. Word-of-mouth communication among ranchers is important in this region and can be enough to affect change such as adopting new methods to deter predators rather than direct killing. Overall, this information will contribute to global efforts of assessing livestock protection methods, manage human-carnivore interactions, and ultimately facilitate coexistence in the ranchlands of central Argentina.