Human–Gelada Conflict and Attitude of the Local Community toward the Conservation of the Southern Gelada (Theropithecus gelada obscurus) around Borena Saynit National Park, Ethiopia

Understanding the extent of human–primate conflict in areas where habitat overlap reaches at maximum level between local farmers and primates is crucial to developing conservation and management strategies. One of the threats of southern geladas (Theropithecus gelada obscurus) is conflict with the local farmers due to cereal crop raiding. This study was carried out to compare the intensity of human–gelada conflicts and the attitude of local farmers toward the conservation of geladas among local communities neighboring Borena Sayint National Park (BSNP) and an unprotected site far from the BSNP. Data from 356 randomly selected respondents were collected using questionnaire interview method. Overall, 92.13% of the respondents considered southern geladas as cereal crop pests. Those major complaints against geladas did not differ significantly between the two study sites: crop raiding (p = 0.435) and competition with livestock for pasture (p = 0.990). Overall, 61.78% of the respondents surrounding the Park had positive attitude while 60.00% from the unprotected villages had negative attitude toward geladas, and the difference was significant (p