Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30427846›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Tolerating tigers: Gaining local and spiritual perspectives on human-tiger interactions in Sumatra through rural community interviews.

Jeanne E McKay, Freya A V St John, Abishek Harihar, Deborah Martyr, Nigel Leader-Williams, Betty Milliyanawati, Ika Agustin, Yulian Anggriawan, Karlina, Erlinda Kartika and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Insights on human-wildlife coexistence from social science and Indigenous and traditional knowledge.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Jeanne E McKayDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-7492-2193
Freya A V St JohnDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
Abishek HariharPanthera, New York, United States of America.
Deborah MartyrFauna & Flora International, Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Nigel Leader-WilliamsDepartment of Geography, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Betty MilliyanawatiFauna & Flora International, Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ika AgustinFauna & Flora International, Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Yulian AnggriawanFauna & Flora International, Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia.
KarlinaFauna & Flora International, Indonesia Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Erlinda KartikaIndonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Fachruddin MangunjayaFaculty of Biology, Universitas Nasional Jakarta, Indonesia.
Matthew J StruebigDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
Matthew LinkieWildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Religious beliefs and spiritual connections to biodiversity have the potential to reduce animosity towards wildlife that might otherwise present a real or perceived threat to local people. Understanding this social dynamic can therefore be important for formulating locally-appropriate species-specific conservation strategies. Using semi-structured interviews which incorporated human-tiger conflict scenarios, we investigated how beliefs towards tigers varied between ethnic groups living around a large protected area that is home to the largest tiger population in Sumatra. We gathered this information to determine the degree to which cultural tolerance may contribute to the survival of the tiger in the Kerinci Seblat landscape, Indonesia. From 154 interviewees, 133 respondents came from three main ethnic groups, Minangkabau, Kerincinese and Melayu. The majority (73.5%) of Minangkabau interviewees cited that their ethnic group had customary laws regarding tigers, as did 52% of Melayu and 44% of Kerincinese. Irrespective of ethnicity, most participants did not perceive there to be a connection between Islam and tigers. All participants acknowledged the existence of zoological tigers and two groups (Minangkabau and Kerincinese) held a strong common belief that different types of spirit tigers also existed. From presenting different human-tiger conflict scenarios, with varying levels of severity towards livestock or human life, an unprovoked tiger attack in the village elicited the most calls for the tiger to be killed. Yet, if a village or family member was killed by a tiger whilst hunting in the forest then most respondents across all ethnic groups said to do nothing. The frequency of this response increased if a tiger killed someone in the village who had committed adultery, reflecting beliefs associated with the role of the tiger as an enforcer of moral rule. Our study highlights the importance of consulting with local communities who live in close proximity to large and potentially dangerous carnivores when developing conflict mitigation strategies, which hitherto has not been the case in Sumatra.

Indexed as

Conservation of Natural ResourcesCultureEndangered SpeciesTigersAnimalsAnimals, WildEcosystemForestsHumansIndonesiaReligionRural Population

Identifiers

PMID30427846
PMCPMC6235252

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.