Most areas at particularly high risk for animal-human conflict are in East and West Africa, the researchers say.

Africa is a vast continent with a lot of space, but the continent’s burgeoning human populations are encroaching on areas rich in wildlife. Iconic animals like elephants and lions have suffered the consequences, facing an increased risk of extinction.

Forest and savanna elephants were recently listed as Critically Endangered and Endangered on the IUCN Red List, respectively. Meanwhile, African lions are also losing out to habitat loss and poaching.

At the same time, many people have been the target of run-ins with these animals, as conflicts between locals and wildlife like elephants and lions are commonplace, scientists report.

Human pressure on elephants and lions is already very high in most of Africa and, therefore, conflicts are inevitable, says an international team of scientists in a new study.

“We have found that 82% of sites containing lions and elephants in Africa are adjacent to areas where there is considerable human pressure,” says Enrico Di Minin, associate professor at the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Conservation Science in Helsinki at the ‘University of Helsinki.

“Areas at serious risk of conflict (defined as areas with a high density of humans, crops and livestock) represent 9% of the range perimeter of these species and are found in 18 countries respectively hosting ~ 74 % and 41% of African lion and elephant populations, ”adds Di Minin, lead author of the study.

Often people fight back against lions who kill their cattle and elephants who feast on their crops by slaughtering or poisoning them. Elephants and lions, on the other hand, kill hundreds of people every year.

Most areas at particularly high risk for animal-human conflict are in East and West Africa, the researchers say.

“We have found that elephants and lions are now more abundant in localities with the lowest human population density,” says Professor Rob Slotow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

“Nationally, lion populations are higher in countries with higher conservation funding and elephant numbers higher in countries with higher gross domestic product per capita,” Slotow adds.

One of the solutions to reducing conflict between animals and humans is to erect high quality mitigation fences around human settlements, as they have been shown to be effective in reducing conflict between humans and wildlife.

On the other hand, they are expensive and therefore beyond the means of most local farmers. However, investing in such fences with funds from foreign donors and local governments could help save the lives of locals and wildlife.

“Our results show how mitigation fencing would provide a significant return on investment through reducing livestock losses and crop damage, particularly in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya,” emphasizes Professor Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota in the United States.

“Our analysis reveals the location of approximately 10,000 km of protected area boundaries immediately adjacent to landscapes with such high densities of people, farmland and pasture for livestock that wildlife movements have already been largely blocked, Parker said.

“Mitigation fences would simply reflect the reality of large and dangerous wildlife conservation in the Anthropocene. More and more African countries are starting to rely on mitigation fences to better protect their citizens from the most dangerous wildlife, ”he adds.