Perceptions and relation-mediating mechanisms in human-wildlife conflicts : in the context of the reintroduction of the brown bear in the Pyrenees (France)

Abstract: Human-wildlife conflict represents a recurring challenge in the history of humankind. Since the 1970s and the environmental awakening of consciousnesses, the problem took a new dimension through competitions between people with different views about nature and wildlife. Some would consider it as an utilitarian object to manage and exploit while others would adopt a more empaphetic and ecological attitude, thus causing disagreements. This study takes a perception-based approach to unravel the conflict surrounding the reintroduction of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the French Pyrenees, in order to understand how individuals in this case of human-wildlife conflict perceive the animal, and to identify the key-components that contribute to the creation of those perceptions. The findings reveal that people share a connection with bears, positive or negative, which results from their initial perception and whose elaboration is continuously influenced by various relation-mediated mechanisms. The analysis of specific historical events and cultural factors related to bears shows that perceptions are prone to change and relations between humans and bears are never simple. In addition, it demonstrates that as an animal, the bear has always left a significant impression on human communities, either as a magnificent entity worthy of respect or a powerful creature deemed too dangerous to be allowed near their habitations and activities.