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negative and may encompass anything from hatred to love, from deep fear to enthusiastic sympathy. Often, it is not the predators per se that are the problem, more an
underlying conflict between a central administrative institution and the countryside
community, a conflict that may exist at several scales. All of these feelings and attitudes have to be taken seriously when managing large carnivores (Schneider 2008b).
A multitude of attitude surveys regarding large carnivores has been conducted in
Sweden. Since 2004, these surveys are carried out at a large scale every 5 years,
encompassing the northern half of the country and treating all species of large carnivore except golden eagles (Ericsson and Sandström 2005; Ericsson et al. 2010).
Although the results from these surveys show that an overwhelming majority of the
people is supportive of both carnivores and their current management, many of
those who live closest to the carnivores have a more negative attitude. Over time,
people’s support for large carnivores and large carnivore management has been
decreasing. This is true especially for wolves and bears (Sandström and Ericsson
2009; Sandström et al. 2014). These are important findings for the management
system, as negative attitudes may be implemented in an illegal killing, which not
only threatens carnivore survival but also threatens the fulfillment of regional and
national objectives as well as international treaties and directives.
Handling Loads of Data
The Scandinavian Carnivore Database Rovbase
Surveillance data on large carnivores are collected by many different players in
many places and in many different ways. In Sweden, the data collectors include
wildlife rangers and ornithologists in the field, indoor-personnel at County
Administrations, DNA-laboratories, the Swedish Veterinary Institute, and the
Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre. The internet-based database ‘Rovbase’ is used to
help smooth the reporting of all these data.
Rovbase was developed by the Norwegian Environment Agency
(Miljødirektoratet). Initially it was restricted to Norway, whereas today Rovbase is
used in both Norway and Sweden and increasingly in Denmark. Currently (February
2017), Rovbase has about 200,000 records from Sweden, and approximately 20,000
new data points are added each year. Rovbase is also used to store, to visualize, and
to make large carnivore data available for inspection, for completion if necessary,
and for further analysis.
As parts of the data in Rovbase are classified information (nests of golden eagles,
dens of wolverines etc.), access to the database is restricted. Only personnel actively
involved with the monitoring or management of large carnivores is granted access.
However, to satisfy the broader interest of the public, an open version of the database (www.rovbase.se) is available for anyone interested in carnivores. This open
version of Rovbase is also used to give feedback to people who have reported observations of carnivores or who have participated in bear dropping surveys and collected fecal samples (Schneider 2015).
A Toolbox for Remotely Monitoring Large Carnivores in Sweden
negative and may encompass anything from hatred to love, from deep fear to enthusiastic sympathy. Often, it is not the predators per se that are the problem, more an
underlying conflict between a central administrative institution and the countryside
community, a conflict that may exist at several scales. All of these feelings and attitudes have to be taken seriously when managing large carnivores (Schneider 2008b).
A multitude of attitude surveys regarding large carnivores has been conducted in
Sweden. Since 2004, these surveys are carried out at a large scale every 5 years,
encompassing the northern half of the country and treating all species of large carnivore except golden eagles (Ericsson and Sandström 2005; Ericsson et al. 2010).
Although the results from these surveys show that an overwhelming majority of the
people is supportive of both carnivores and their current management, many of
those who live closest to the carnivores have a more negative attitude. Over time,
people’s support for large carnivores and large carnivore management has been
decreasing. This is true especially for wolves and bears (Sandström and Ericsson
2009; Sandström et al. 2014). These are important findings for the management
system, as negative attitudes may be implemented in an illegal killing, which not
only threatens carnivore survival but also threatens the fulfillment of regional and
national objectives as well as international treaties and directives.
Handling Loads of Data
The Scandinavian Carnivore Database Rovbase
Surveillance data on large carnivores are collected by many different players in
many places and in many different ways. In Sweden, the data collectors include
wildlife rangers and ornithologists in the field, indoor-personnel at County
Administrations, DNA-laboratories, the Swedish Veterinary Institute, and the
Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre. The internet-based database ‘Rovbase’ is used to
help smooth the reporting of all these data.
Rovbase was developed by the Norwegian Environment Agency
(Miljødirektoratet). Initially it was restricted to Norway, whereas today Rovbase is
used in both Norway and Sweden and increasingly in Denmark. Currently (February
2017), Rovbase has about 200,000 records from Sweden, and approximately 20,000
new data points are added each year. Rovbase is also used to store, to visualize, and
to make large carnivore data available for inspection, for completion if necessary,
and for further analysis.
As parts of the data in Rovbase are classified information (nests of golden eagles,
dens of wolverines etc.), access to the database is restricted. Only personnel actively
involved with the monitoring or management of large carnivores is granted access.
However, to satisfy the broader interest of the public, an open version of the database (www.rovbase.se) is available for anyone interested in carnivores. This open
version of Rovbase is also used to give feedback to people who have reported observations of carnivores or who have participated in bear dropping surveys and collected fecal samples (Schneider 2015).
A Toolbox for Remotely Monitoring Large Carnivores in Sweden