Human-snake conflicts in Asia : opportunities for mitigation and conservation

Abstract

Human expansion and development rates continue to reach unprecedented levels, causing increasing rates of human-wildlife conflicts globally. In particular, conflicts between humans and snakes, hereby termed human-snake conflicts (HSC) are of the most concerning and widespread, as snakes elicit some of the most extreme responses in humans. Although HSC is a considerable medical, welfare, and conservation concern, there is a serious lack of understanding on the biological and ecological factors behind these incidents. Current mitigation strategies (e.g., relocation) fail to reduce HSC long term, and there is an urgent need for more effective management. In this thesis, I used citizen science to investigate patterns of HSC, including snake roadkill and human-snake encounters, throughout Asia, where HSC is most severe. I analyzed spatial patterns of snake roadkill sightings in Taiwan and found that roadkill was highest in habitat edges and areas of intermediate disturbance. Further, I looked at how nature-based tourism influenced snake roadkill in a popular ecotourism destination in Japan; I found that areas or activities that are popular during dawn and dusk, and without quota limits, were most associated with snake roadkill. Adding mitigation (e.g., fences and passages) to such hotspots and hot-times would be most effective. Finally, I analyzed biological and environmental patterns of human-snake encounter reports, derived from snake relocation programs across Asia. I found that several traits were common in snakes involved in HSC, such as being terrestrial, semiarboreal, rodent-eating, and active-hunting. HSC generally occurred in areas of intermediate disturbance or in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). I warn that development plans in Asia, especially infrastructure and road expansion into natural areas, would exacerbate HSC across the region. This thesis highlights the importance of using science, with emphasis on the potential of citizen science, to disentangle the underlying causes of HSC in order to form truly effective management strategies.