The Tragedy of Becoming Common: Landscape Change and Perceptions of Wildlife

“Qualitative research examines “things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (Denzin and Lincoln 2000 , 3).”

“Nash (2001) argued that relative scarcity helped wilderness gain value, and a recent study shows that this type of valuation also applies to wildlife species (Courchamp et al. 2006).”

“…simultaneously conserving biodiversity appear incompatible (Kerr & Currie 1995; Forester & Machlis 1996; Czech et al. 2000), but little research addresses how social constructions of those material conditions shape biodiversity conservation (Herda-Rapp & Goedeke 2005; Chan et al. 2007; Leong 2010).”

“Some suggested hunting methods are even illegal, such as the use of dogs in hunting ungulates in several European countries (Apollonio, Andersen & Putman 2010) or killing of elephant cows and calves in breeding herds in South Africa (Scholes & Mennell 2008).”

“The need for social-ecological integration is readily apparent in the management of human-wildlife interactions (HWIs), defined as the spatial and temporal juxtaposition of human and wildlife activities where humans, wildlife, or both are affected (Leong, 2010; Peterson et al., 2010).”

“…are exacerbated, this can be a result of changes in local human-wildlife relations, including changing wildlife population distribution and density (Leong, 2009), changes in human and/or animal behavior (Naughton-Treves et al., 2017), and even institutional and policy changes that create social…”

“Thus, human decisions about landscape characteristics can result in attracting wildlife, and be iterative if humans reinforce those characteristics following wildlife-related events (Leong 2009).”

“For example, perceptions of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), black bear (Ursus americanus), beaver (Castor canadensis), and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have all been observed to morph as their populations and the subsequent frequency of interactions with humans have changed (Leong, 2009).”

“In turn, people may treat the animals as tame without exercising appropriate caution (Leong, 2009).”

“Thus, our study indicates that deer in the Raleigh area seem less abundant and/or habituated than some other eastern North American communities, where they can be pests in backyard gardens (Decker and Gavin 1987; Nielsen et al. 1997; Leong 2009).”

“The literature has to date interchangeably used the terms ‘‘knowledge’’ (e.g., Anadón et al. 2009; Kamgaing et al. 2019) and ‘‘perception’’ (e.g., Leong 2009) to refer to local reports of species abundances and trends.”

“their role as a natural resource and more on how they are part of our social environment (Leong 2010).”

“Both negative and positive interactions between wildlife and humans can spring up in lands where threatened species overlap with human settlements (Raymond and Olive 2008; Wallace et al. 2008; Leong 2010).”

“…may persist even in the face of conflicts (Krester, Curtis, Francis, Pendall, & Knuth, 2009), although species risk the “tragedy of becoming common” in which they come to be viewed as nuisance animals rather than wildlife (DeStefano & Deblinger, 2005; DeStefano & DeGraaf, 2003; Leong, 2009).”

“Different social constructions of animals reveal points of contention and (dis)agreements over their use, where they belong (e.g., in national parks, homes, zoos), and management goals and practices (Goedeke, 2005; Leong, 2008).”

“For example, how people understand an animal is based as much on the meanings they impose as it is on empirical reality (Leong 2009; DeMello 2012; Frank et al. 2019).”

“In addition, people place higher values on species when they are rare and a lower value on species perceived as common [45].”

“Leong (2010) found people described deer as ‘‘overabundant’’ when they had experienced negative impacts, but also when they were concerned about negative impacts for deer and believed ‘‘unnatural’’ conditions needed correction.”

“General attitudes about the environment or wildlife in general also affected support (e.g., Lauber, Knuth, Tantillo, & Curtis, 2007; Leong, 2010; Manfredo, Teel, & Bright, 2003; Skogen & Thrane, 2008; Zinn, Manfredo, & Vaske, 2000).”

“While Hardin’s metaphor has been widely embraced as a way of understanding various natural resource management strategies (cf. Brown and Harris 1992; Honey-Roses 2009; Leong 2009; Pandit and Thapa 2004), it has also been the subject of debate and critique.”

“Less attention has been given to species that are viewed negatively (but see Douglas & Veríssimo, 2013; Leong, 2009).”

“For instance, species once considered a valuable resource, such as Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), have been redefined as pests as their numbers and interactions with humans have increased (Zinn et al., 2000; Leong, 2009).”

“…and emotional costs, conflicting management objectives, social identities, and political processes (e.g., Epstein & Haggerty, 2022; Haggerty et al., 2018; Hill, 2015; Knackmuhs et al., 2019; Leong, 2009; Leong et al., 2007; Peterson et al., 2013; Vernon & Clark, 2016; Zimmermann et al., 2020).”

“Thus, human–wildlife conflicts are often conflicts not only between humans and animals but also between groups of humans (Leong, 2009).”

“To explore issues in the outfitting industry, this study was guided by a symbolic interaction theoretical perspective (Capek, 2006; Granfield et al., 2005; Lawson, Lawson, & Leck, 2005; Leong, 2010; Scarce, 1998; Shaffir & Pawluch, 2003).”

“This can result in increased human–wildlife interactions, leading to both becoming habituated to each other and ultimately humans stop seeing these animals as ‘wild’ (Leong, 2010 ).”

“Visitors prefer animals to plants by the results (Fischer et al., 2011; Herzog & Burghardt, 1988; Leong, 2010).”

“…2011; Knight, 2009; Montag, Patterson, & Freimund, 2005); the meaning of animals in contemporary society and how they are socially constructed (Leong, 2010; Jerolmack, 2008; Herda-Rapp & Goedeke, 2005; Lawson, Lawson, & Leck, 2005; Palmer & Forsyth, 1992), and the meaning and display of…”

“In Europe, wildlife is increasingly coming into contact with humans, driven by human population growth and the rising abundance of certain wildlife species, primarily as a result of land use changes and the implementation of conservation policies (Leong 2009).”