Successful wildlife management requires public support. Following farmers’ complaints, we surveyed Greek residents to understand management preferences when wild boars and badgers raid crops or transfer disease. Farmers, hunters and the general public preferred less intrusive strategies for reducing crop damage, whereas they accepted lethal control to avoid disease transmission. Hunters were more supportive of the management of non-game badgers than game wild boars. Photograph by Vasilios Liordos.

Livestock depredation by tiger is a serious issue in a human-dominated conservation landscapes. The present study aimed to evaluate the intensity of livestock depredation by tiger in a biological corridor of Bhutan and its implication for the people’s perception towards conservation. We recommend developing a conservation management plan for the biological corridor, with conflict-mitigation measures and an awareness education program as priority actions. Photograph by Letro Letro.

Reliable estimates of population size are necessary for crocodile management and conservation, but these are usually derived from inaccurate methods such as relative abundance indexes. We designed a monitoring protocol for the vulnerable black caiman in Ecuador, which accounts for technical aspects not considered before, is repeatable in space and time and can be easily implemented by park rangers and local field assistants. We show why estimates of black caiman population should adopt the proposed protocol and prescind from the commonly used inaccurate relative abundance indexes. Photograph by Adrián Naveda-Rodríguez/WCS.

Camera-trap imagery can be used to identify individuals on the basis of natural patterning or scars, yet studies to utilise such techniques have been almost entirely exclusive to mammals. We used camera-trap imagery to individually identify Australia’s largest species of lizard, the perentie (Varanus giganteus), and report high observer confidence in individual identification accuracy. The findings of our study have provided a promising indication of the potential uses for camera traps in studying large lizards, and in herpetological research in general. Photograph by Harry Moore.

Camera traps paired with baits and scented lures can be used to monitor mesocarnivore populations, but not all attractants are equally effective. This study determined the effects of human scent, four traditional mesocarnivore attractants and the interaction between attractants and human scent in luring mesocarnivores to camera traps. Recommendations for multi- and single-species camera trap studies are discussed. Photograph by Bracy W. Heinlein (game camera).

Tourism operations can potentially have negative effects on wildlife if not managed appropriately. This study investigated the effects of tourism on little penguins by comparing reproductive and survival parameters of two managed populations and found that there was no measurable difference between the two. Slight differences occurred as a result of the presence of un-monitored nests within one population. Photograph by Philippa Agnew.