Multidimensional tolerance towards Asian elephants varies with demographic and spatial correlates among rural communities in Sri Lanka.

Authors

Chase A LaDue, K H Darshika L Jayarathna, P D P J Jayawardena, A G S Malsha Warnapura, Emily A Geest, Rebecca J Snyder, Rajnish P G Vandercone

Published in

Scientific reports. Jul 04, 2026. Epub Jul 04, 2026.

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) threatens both human communities and many wildlife populations. We investigated the sociodemographic and spatial factors shaping tolerance towards elephants in rural Sri Lanka, where human-elephant conflict is prevalent. We surveyed residents near three protected areas (PAs: Minneriya National Park, Kaudulla National Park, Hurulu EcoPark) frequently encountering elephants. We examined how perceived risks, social norms, and individual agency interact with sociodemographic variables to shape tolerance. We tested whether the tolerance-related construct structure published in a previous study from another region of Sri Lanka replicated in our data, using confirmatory factor analysis on the same survey instrument. Three of the five tolerance-related constructs replicated with acceptable reliability (community shooting norms, utilitarian wildlife value orientations, perceived agency) while two did not, reflecting culturally specific differences in how sacredness of wild elephants is interpreted and near-universal disagreement that elephants should be near homes or croplands. Tolerance-related responses varied significantly despite the respondents' ethnoreligious homogeneity. Gender effects appeared in two distinct constructs but with different magnitudes: men reported somewhat less permissive community-shooting norms but substantially lower perceived agency in their elephant interactions. Recent change in elephant-encounter frequency emerged as the most pervasive predictor, with increasing encounters associated with weaker emotional bonds, weaker coexistence belief, and more utilitarian wildlife value orientations. Distance to the nearest PA boundary was associated with weaker coexistence belief-the first explicit individual-level link between spatial setting and a tolerance-related response in this dataset. Analyses revealed a coherent gradient in affective and behavioral responses across PAs (Kaudulla = high-tolerance pole; Minneriya = opposite pole; Hurulu intermediate), while abstract value orientations and perceived agency were spatially uniform. These findings highlight the complex interplay of sociodemographic, experiential, and spatial factors in shaping tolerance-related responses and demonstrate that what varies across the landscape is how people feel about and act toward elephants, not how they fundamentally value wildlife. The integration of theory-anchored measurement with spatial analysis provides a more nuanced understanding of tolerance and can inform targeted interventions to mitigate HWC and promote coexistence.

PMID:
42401702
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Jul 2026.

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