Rewilding does not occur in a social vacuum. How can the social sciences help the process of rewilding? The case study of the Asian loan can show the politics that build up around megafauna.
1. There is the question about who extirpated species and who wants to bring them back
Wolf eradication in the USA was a highly racial and gendered process
He will focus on the politics of the the Asian lion: extirpation driven by hunting practices of the colonial and Indian princely elite Only in one princely reserve (Gir Forest) was one population preserved.. Cannot be translocated to a second site in India because the state of Gujarat does not want to give them up. Major state-level nationalism has built up around this
2. Megafauna are charismatic. Interesting discussion around the politicisation of the lion.
3. The uses and abuses of science by politicsWhy should lions be moved if they are thriving?
4.Who has the authority to speak and to speculate?
Stakeholders use/abuse science to further their political and monetary gains (citing lions in Gujarat as an example).
5. Dangers of rewilding
Elephants kills 400 people in India every year. Gir cattle farmers lose 70% of their income to lions.
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