Assessing the Effects of a Cognition-Based Education Program on Attitudes of Villagers Toward Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in Conflict-Prone Areas
Abstract
A vital role in mitigating human-elephant conflict (HEC) involves conservation education programs in local communities. It is therefore important to assess the types of information that make conservation education programs effective. Given the public's fascination with animal minds, the elephant being a cognitively complex species, and the high occurrence of HEC surrounding Asian elephants, the current research assessed whether using information on elephant cognition in a conservation education program increased positive attitudes toward elephants/elephant conservation in Bannerghatta National Park (BNP). BNP, located in Karnataka, India, is an area reporting high HEC. Results indicated no significant difference in adult male villagers' attitudes toward elephants/elephant conservation when exposed to one of two educational programs, one of which included information on elephant cognition. However, a significant difference in attitudes between the two programs and a control group was discovered, suggesting the importance of an educational intervention in the communities surrounding BNP.
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Makecha et al. (2022) found that cognition-based and non-cognition-based educational programs both had similar positive effects on attitudes towards elephants, compared with a control.
“They found that cognition-based and non-cognition-based programs both had similar positive effects on attitudes towards elephants, compared with a control.”
From Do elephants really never forget? What we know about elephant memory and a call for further investigation (2025) · cites this paper as Makecha et al., 2022
The Makecha et al. (2022) study suggests that there are benefits of educational programs that could lead to more favorable attitudes toward elephants.
“However, their study still suggests that there are benefits of such educational programs that could lead to more favorable attitudes toward elephants.”
From Do elephants really never forget? What we know about elephant memory and a call for further investigation (2025) · cites this paper as Makecha et al., 2022
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Makecha, R. N., Phalke, S., & Nakai, Y.
- Affiliations
- Eastern Kentucky University (US)
- A Rocha India, Karnataka, Bilwaradahalli, India
- Corresponding author
- Makecha, Radhika N.
- ORCID
- Phalke, Sagarika
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2021-04-08
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 368-381
- ISSN
- 1088-8705 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7604
- OpenAlex
- W3148989670
- Cited by
- 4
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 0.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eastern Kentucky University
- University Funded Scholarship Program (#18-103)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Animal and Plant Science Education
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
- Keywords
- human-elephant conflict, Asian elephant, conservation education, elephant conservation, community-based conservation, educational intervention
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Attitude, Cognition, Conservation of Natural Resources, Elephants, Humans, India, Male
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