The study published in an upcoming issue of the journal Conservation Biology shows a declining tolerance of wolves, even if those surveyed had no intimate contact with a wolf.
The study was by environmental studies professor Adrian Treves and colleagues Lisa Naughton-Treves and Victoria Shelley, according to a news release from the UW-Madison news service.
More than 1,800 Wisconsin residents were surveyed in 2001 and 2004 about their attitudes toward wolves, then 656 of those surveyed in '01 and '04 and still living in wolf range were asked in 2009 if their views had changed.
"We show an eight-year decline in tolerance for wolves in Wisconsin," Treves said in the release.
Why? Factors noted by the residents surveyed include a fear of wolves, increased support for a public wolf hunt (the inaugural hunt in Wisconsin started Oct. 15), and an increased sense of competition with wolves over deer.
The researchers said they were surprised the changing attitudes about wolves couldn't be chalked up to personal experiences.
"They (the respondents) didn't correlate their attitudes with problems or negative encounters with the animals," the release said.
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