Ex post and insurance-based compensation fail to increase tolerance for wolves in semi-agricultural landscapes of central Italy

摘要: Range expansion by large carnivores in semi-agricultural landscapes represents a serious challenge for managing human-carnivore conflicts. By focusing on an area of recent re-colonization wolves central Italy, where livestock owners lost traditional husbandry practices to cope with wolves, we assessed ex post and subsequent insurance-based compensation program implemented from 1999 2013. We cross checked official depredation statistics records various registries, complementing them questionnaire survey sheep owners. Compared (1999–2005), under the insurance (2006–2013) paid annually dropped average 81.1 %, mostly reflecting that only 4.6 (±0.7 SD) % stipulated annually. Officially, 5.5 % active were afflicted wolf during scheme, but estimated this proportion be as high 34.3 % accounting affected who did not officially claim depredations. Coupled substantial retaliatory killing (minimum five killed/year), amount cryptic conflict is symptom distrust past current mitigation policies, despite more than two decades compensation. conclude may fail improve tolerance toward unless it integrated into participatory processes lack reliable data depredations damage strategies exacerbates conflict. Being advocates evidence-based paradigm management, scientists share key responsibility providing objective concerning progress management.