پارادوکس شکارچی: پایان جنگ با گرگ‌ها، خرس‌ها، پلنگ‌ها و کایوت‌ها

**An expert in wildlife management tells the stories of those who are finding new ways for humans and mammalian predators to coexist.**Stories of backyard bears and cat-eating coyotes are becoming increasingly common—even for people living in non-rural areas. Farmers anxious to protect their sheep from wolves aren’t the only ones concerned: suburbanites and city dwellers are also having more unwanted run-ins with mammalian predators. And that might not be a bad thing. After all, our government has been at war with wildlife since 1914, and the death toll has been tremendous: federal agents kill a combined ninety thousand wolves, bears, coyotes, and cougars every year, often with dubious biological effectiveness. Only recently have these species begun to recover. Given improved scientific understanding and methods, can we continue to slow the slaughter and allow populations of mammalian predators to resume their positions as keystone species? As carnivore populations increase, however, their proximity to people, pets, and livestock leads to more conflict, and we are once again left to negotiate the uneasy terrain between elimination and conservation. In __The____Predator Paradox__,veteran wildlife management expert John Shivik argues that we can end the war while still preserving and protecting these key species as fundamental components of healthy ecosystems. By reducing almost sole reliance on broad scale “death from above” tactics and by incorporating nonlethal approaches to managing wildlife—from electrified flagging to motion-sensor lights—we can dismantle the paradox, have both people and predators on the landscape, and ensure the long-term survival of both. As the boundary between human and animal habitat blurs, preventing human-wildlife conflict depends as much on changing animal behavior as on changing our own perceptions, attitudes, and actions. To that end, Shivik focuses on the facts, mollifies fears, and presents a variety of tools and tactics for consideration. Blending the science of the wild with entertaining and dramatic storytelling, Shivik’s clear-eyed pragmatism allows him to appeal to both sides of the debate, while arguing for the possibility of coexistence: between ranchers and environmentalists, wildlife managers and animal-welfare activists, and humans and animals. An expert in wildlife management tells the stories of those who are finding new ways for humans and mammalian predators to coexist. Stories of backyard bears and cat-eating coyotes are becoming increasingly common—even for people living in non-rural areas. Farmers anxious to protect their sheep from wolves aren’t the only ones concerned: suburbanites and city dwellers are also having more unwanted run-ins with mammalian predators. And that might not be a bad thing. After all, our government has been at war with wildlife since 1914, and the death toll has been tremendous: federal agents kill a combined ninety thousand wolves, bears, coyotes, and cougars every year, often with dubious biological effectiveness. Only recently have these species begun to recover. Given improved scientific understanding and methods, can we continue to slow the slaughter and allow populations of mammalian predators to resume their positions as keystone species? As carnivore populations increase, however, their proximity to people, pets, and livestock leads to more conflict, and we are once again left to negotiate the uneasy terrain between elimination and conservation. In The Predator Paradox , veteran wildlife management expert John Shivik argues that we can end the war while still preserving and protecting these key species as fundamental components of healthy ecosystems. By reducing almost sole reliance on broad scale “death from above” tactics and by incorporating nonlethal approaches to managing wildlife—from electrified flagging to motion-sensor lights—we can dismantle the paradox, have both people and predators on the landscape, and ensure the long-term survival of both. As the boundary between human and animal habitat blurs, preventing human-wildlife conflict depends as much on changing animal behavior as on changing our own perceptions, attitudes, and actions. To that end, Shivik focuses on the facts, mollifies fears, and presents a variety of tools and tactics for consideration. Blending the science of the wild with entertaining and dramatic storytelling, Shivik’s clear-eyed pragmatism allows him to appeal to both sides of the debate, while arguing for the possibility of coexistence: between ranchers and environmentalists, wildlife managers and animal-welfare activists, and humans and animals. An expert in wildlife management tells the stories of those who are finding new ways for humans and mammalian predators to coexist. The longest armed conflict carried out by the United States government, beginning in 1914, is our war with mammalian predators. The death toll is tremendous: federal agents kill ninety thousand wolves, bears, coyotes, and cougars every year. The paradox is that we need to safeguard ourselves and livestock from predators, while simultaneously preserving and protecting these key species'fundamental components of healthy ecosystems. Shivik argues that we can end the war. By shifting away from "death from above" and embracing nonlethal approaches to managing wildlife'practices and technologies he has helped pioneer'we can dismantle the paradox, have both people and predators on the landscape, and ensure the long-term survival of both. Blending the science of the wild with entertaining and dramatic storytelling throughout, Shivik traces the culture of "good old boy" wildlife managers and observes the difference two cows can make to a widow rancher. Shivik's clear-eyed pragmatism allows him appeal to both sides of the debate, while arguing for the possibility of coexistence: between ranchers and environmentalists, wildlife managers and animal-welfare activists, and humans and animals An expert in wildlife management outlines examples of successful practices of non-lethal mammal predator management, revealing how tens of thousands of threatened predators are euthanized annually and how to change current approaches to protect ecosystems and human needs. The war. The battlefield ; Predators, people, and prey : impacts and interactions ; Food : an inseparable connection ; Perceptions that fuel the paradox -- Détente. The phenomenon of fright : disruptive stimuli ; Personality and peer pressure ; Of spiked donuts and turbo-charged flagging : testing aversive stimuli ; Close, but not too close : altering territories ; Animal husbandry : sometimes it's about money, sometimes it's not ; The power of emotion and the need for knowledge. John A. Shivik. Includes bibliographical references and index. Part I.The war The battlefield Predators, people, and prey : impacts and interactions Food : an inseparable connection Perceptions that fuel the paradox Part II. Detente. The phenomenon of fright : disruptive stimuli Personality and peer pressure Of spiked donuts and turbo-charged flagging : testing aversive stimuli Close, but not too close : altering territories Animal husbandry : sometimes it's about money, sometimes it's not The power of emotion and the need for knowledge.