Axelsson Linkowski, Weronika and Kvarnström, Marie and Westin, Anna and Moen, Jon and Östlund, Lars
(2017).
Wolf and Bear Depredation on Livestock in Northern Sweden 1827–2014: Combining History, Ecology and Interviews.
Land. 6
, 63
[Research article]
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Abstract
During the twenty-first century, large carnivores have increased in human dominated landscapes after being extinct or nearly extinct. This has resulted in increasing numbers of livestock killed by large carnivores. The intent of this paper is to give a land use-historical perspective on the recent livestock–carnivore conflict in boreal Sweden. More specifically we address: (1) depredation risks (livestock killed by carnivores) and (2) local knowledge of how to protect livestock from predation and whether it survived among pastoralists until the present. This study provides numeric information on carnivores, livestock and depredation, combined with oral information from summer farmers about livestock protection. We compare recent (since 1998) and historical (late nineteenth century) depredation rates in two Swedish counties. In Dalarna recent depredation rates are higher than historical rates while the opposite pattern is seen in Jämtland. Recent depredation rates in Dalarna are twice the recent rates in Jämtland, in contrast to the historical situation. Recent and historical depredation rates are of the same order. Summer farmers traditionally graze their livestock in forested areas where carnivores reside. Interviews show that traditional knowledge of how to protect livestock from carnivores was lost during the twentieth century, but recently new knowledge has developed leading to changes in summer farming practices. The carnivore–livestock situation today differs from the historical situation, not so much in levels of depredation, but mainly regarding the possibilities of farmers to face challenges associated with increasing carnivore populations.
Authors/Creators: | Axelsson Linkowski, Weronika and Kvarnström, Marie and Westin, Anna and Moen, Jon and Östlund, Lars | ||||||||
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Title: | Wolf and Bear Depredation on Livestock in Northern Sweden 1827–2014: Combining History, Ecology and Interviews | ||||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Land | ||||||||
Year of publishing : | 2017 | ||||||||
Volume: | 6 | ||||||||
Article number: | 63 | ||||||||
Number of Pages: | 24 | ||||||||
ISSN: | 2073-445X | ||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 6 Humanities > 601 History and Archaeology > History (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Ecology (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 5 Social Sciences > 504 Sociology > Social Anthropology | ||||||||
Keywords: | carnivores, livestock depredation, wolves, bears, traditional knowledge, summer farms | ||||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-88712 | ||||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-88712 | ||||||||
Additional ID: |
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Alternative URL: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/6/3/63/html | ||||||||
ID Code: | 24586 | ||||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap S - Faculty of Forest Sciences | ||||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Swedish Biodiversity Centre (S) > Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management | ||||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||||
Deposited On: | 21 Jun 2021 14:47 | ||||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 22 Jun 2021 07:23 |
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