Conflictos con el puma (Puma concolor) en Bolivia: dos casos de estudio en paisajes andinos

Abstract

Conflicts between humans and puma (Puma concolor) are common throughout rural areas of Bolivia. These affect the welfare and livelihoods of people who share the landscape with this feline, but also potentially are a major cause of population decline of this species. In this chapter we evaluate human-puma conflicts in Bolivia, emphasizing two case studies (municipalities of Turco and El Palmar) that portray the conflict situation in the highlands of the country. To understand the problem of conflict in these two areas we used interviews and workshops with the local inhabitants. In the municipality of Turco, the animal production activity is essentially based on the grazing of llamas, alpacas and sheep. Although the drought effect was the main cause of death, the puma was perceived as the main problem affecting their livestock activity and that is why 35% of the interviewees considered that killing pumas is the best solution. In second study, in El Palmar region, where sheep and goats constitute the the main livestock type, 70% of interviewees consi-dered that the main cause for the loss of cattle is the puma and 79% considered that killing it is the best solution to solve the problem of the high livestock loses reported.