Changes in local residents’ attitudes as a result of a successful bear damage control program with community participation

: a case study from Morioka City

Abstract

Local residents’ attitudes towards wildlife play an important role in wildlife management. Previous studies have shown that bear-inflicted human injuries negatively change residents’ sentiments towards bears. From this perspective, we examined how a successful bear damage control program with community participation had changed residents’ attitudes towards this animal. The results show that the success in the program positively changed residents’ attitudes towards bears.