Avian scavengers' contributions to people: The cultural dimension of wildlife-based tourism

Scavengers provide significant nature's contributions to people (NCP), including disease control through carcass removal, but their non-material NCP are rarely considered. For the first time, we assess the extent and value of the NCP provided by European avian scavengers through a scavenger-based tourism at Pyrenean supplementary feeding sites (SFS). Using a two-step cluster analysis, two different types of visitor were identified (specialist avian scavenger-watchers and generalist nature-lovers) at those SFS offering recreational experiences (n = 20, i.e. birdwatching, educational, or photographic activities). Most visitors (85%) perceived avian scavengers as beneficial NCP providers, associating this guild with non-material NCP (mostly supporting identities), followed by regulating and maintenance of options NCP (<1%). Our findings help to characterize the type of people who participate in scavenger related recreation and to identify and value their perceptions of avian scavengers. There has not been much previous research on positive human-wildlife interactions, even though ignoring people emotional bonds with nature can be perilous for biodiversity conservation. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study assesses the extent and value of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) provided by European avian scavengers through scavenger-based tourism, identifying two types of visitors and their perceptions of avian scavengers. The majority of visitors perceive avian scavengers as beneficial providers of non-material NCP, primarily supporting identities.