ORIGINAL ARTICLE Livestock losses and hotspots of attack from tigers and leopards in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Central India Jennifer R. B. Miller 1,2,3 • Yadvendradev V. Jhala 3 • Jyotirmay Jena 4 Received: 22 February 2015 / Accepted: 10 September 2015 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract Carnivore attacks on livestock are a primary driver of human–carnivore conflict and carnivore decline globally. Livestock depredation is particularly threatening to carnivore conservation in Central India, a priority landscape and stronghold for the endangered tiger. To strengthen the effectiveness of conflict mitigation strate- gies, we examined the spatial and temporal patterns and physical characteristics of livestock depredation in Kanha Tiger Reserve. We combined livestock compensation his- torical records (2001–2009) with ground surveys (2011–2012) and carnivore scat to identify when and where livestock species were most vulnerable. Between 400 and 600 livestock were reported for financial compensation each year, and most (91–95 %) were successfully reim- bursed. Tigers and leopards were responsible for nearly all livestock losses and most often killed in the afternoon and early evening. Cattle and buffalo were most at risk in dense forests away from villages and roads, whereas goats were most often killed in open vegetation near villages. A spatial predation risk model for cattle revealed high-risk hotspots around the core zone boundary, confirming the significant risks to livestock grazing illegally in the core. Such eco- logical insights on carnivore–livestock interactions may help improve species-specific livestock husbandry for minimizing livestock losses and enabling coexistence between people and carnivores. Keywords Carnivore conservation Á Hotspot predation risk map Á Human–carnivore conflict Á Kill site Á Livestock depredation Á Livestock compensation Introduction Large carnivore populations worldwide are rapidly declining, in part due to retaliatory killing by livestock owners following attacks on domestic animals (Woodroffe et al. 2005; Ripple et al. 2014). Much of this human–car- nivore conflict occurs at the edges of protected areas where carnivores, livestock, and people overlap (Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1998; Nyhus and Tilson 2004). Many non-lethal techniques exist to help reduce livestock and livelihood losses, including livestock husbandry strategies, physical deterrents, and financial incentives for communities (Treves and Karanth 2003; Shivik 2006). Yet effective implementation of these tools requires detailed knowledge of when and where carnivores attack livestock and how risk differs between livestock species. Understanding car- nivore–livestock interactions is a crucial step toward mit- igating human–carnivore conflict and better enabling coexistence between people and carnivores (Treves and Karanth 2003; Goodrich 2010). Ecological insights on the environmental factors and animal behaviors that lead to carnivore depredation on particular livestock are particularly useful for strengthening Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10113-015-0871-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Jennifer R. B. Miller jmiller@panthera.org 1 School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA 2 Present Address: Panthera, Lion and Leopard Programs, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA 3 Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India 4 Satpuda Maikal Landscape Programme, WWF-India, Mandla, Madhya Pradesh 481661, India 123 Reg Environ Change DOI 10.1007/s10113-015-0871-5