Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Adriana Consorte-Mccrea , Ana Fernandez , Alan Bainbridge , Andrew Moss , Anne-Caroline Prévot (1) , Susan Clayton , Jenny Anne Glikman , Maria Johansson , José Vicente López-Bao , Alistair Bath , Beatrice Frank , Silvio Marchini

1 CESCO - Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation

Addressing the biodiversity crisis requires renewed collaborative approaches. Large carnivores are ambassador species, and as such they can aid the protection of a wide range of species, including evolutionarily distinct and threatened ones, while being popular for conservation marketing. However, conflicts between carnivores and people present a considerable challenge to biodiversity conservation. Our cross disciplinary essay brings together original research to discuss key issues in the conservation of large carnivores as keystone species for biodiversity rich, healthy ecosystems. Our findings suggest the need to promote coexistence through challenging 'wilderness' myths; to consider coexistence/conflict as a continuum; to include

Keywords: conservation biology; human-wildlife conflict; large carnivores; ambassador species; zoos; biodiversity conservation

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences [q-bio]

Adriana Consorte-Mccrea, Ana Fernandez, Alan Bainbridge, Andrew Moss, Anne-Caroline Prévot, et al.. Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity. Journal for Nature Conservation, 2019, 37, pp.133-150. ⟨10.3897/natureconservation.37.39501⟩. ⟨mnhn-02934393⟩