Introduction: A significant proportion of big cat deaths are the result of the human-carnivores conflict. On the other hand, conflict between local communities and big cats is a complex issue that is influenced by species biology, political and social attitudes, and management practices. To effectively manage the coexistence of humans and large carnivores, a deep understanding of the factors that cause negative interactions is essential. The Iranian leopard subspecies has lost about 72 to 84 percent of its historical range. Assessing the conflict between humans and leoprds, especially leopards, is essential for developing effective conservation strategies.


Materials and Methods: This study aimed to analyze the socio-economic and spatial dimensions of conflict between local communities and leopards in a part of the species' range in the Northern Zagros. Data were collected through structured interviews with 80 rural households in the leopard's range, extensive field visits, and a review of records and documentation available at the provincial Department of Environment during 2018-2019. In this study, the attitude of local people and their vulnerability to leopards, social factors affecting the fear behavior of local communities, and socio-economic factors affecting the vulnerability of local communities to leopard attacks were investigated. In addition, hot spots of leopard-human conflict and hot spots of leopard road casualty risk were assessed. Social network analysis, logistic regression, and spatial analysis (Kernel density estimation) were used to analyze the data.


Results and Discussion: The findings indicated a generally positive attitude of the local community towards the leopard's right to life (90% agreed), but about 60% of people reported a high fear of encountering this species. Experience of leopard attacks on livestock (20% of respondents) and even humans (7.5%) was recorded. Network analysis of influential factors showed that leopard provocation, habitat destruction and sudden encounters play the most important role in the formation of conflict. The fear regression model showed that the belief that leopards are dangerous to human security is the main predictor of fear. Also, the vulnerability model of herders showed that the low number of herders and a negative attitude towards leopard conservation (agreement to kill it) increase the likelihood of attacks on livestock. Spatial analyses identified the main conflict hotspots and road accident hotspots mainly in the western regions of the province (Paveh County).


Conclusion: The results show that the centrality of this conflict points to the weakening of the natural ecological system. The prominent role of the factors "habitat destruction" and "drought" in the network analysis models clearly indicates that the reduction of wild prey and pressure on resources have inadvertently driven the leopard towards an accessible and risky food source, namely domestic livestock. The present study illustrates an attitudinal paradox in the local community: strong support for the leopard's right to life (90%) alongside widespread fear (around 60%). This contradiction is key to understanding the issue. The study emphasizes that a comprehensive conflict management program should focus on educating local communities to avoid provocative behaviors, promoting livestock protection methods (using trained herding dogs, more shepherds, and fencing), providing timely and fair compensation, and creating infrastructure for safe wildlife crossings on high-risk roads.