Coexistence or Conflict? Understanding Human–Macaque Encounters in Delhi’s Urban Sanctuary

Coexistence or Conflict? Understanding Human–Macaque Encounters in Delhi’s Urban Sanctuary | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Coexistence or Conflict? Understanding Human–Macaque Encounters in Delhi’s Urban Sanctuary Mukesh Chand, Feba K.S., Parvaiz Yousuf, Shubham Kumar Maletha, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7227146/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Urban Ecosystems → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban–wildlife conflicts present critical challenges for biodiversity conservation and community well-being, particularly in rapidly urbanizing landscapes. This study examines human–rhesus macaque ( Macaca mul ) conflicts around Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, New Delhi, by applying a structured conflict classification framework, Dispute, Underlying Conflict, and Deep-rooted Conflict, to quantify conflict depth and guide targeted interventions. Between April and June 2024, we surveyed 200 households at the sanctuary margin, assessing perceptions across five domains (Perception, Situation, History, Willingness, Authority Views) using Likert scales. Statistical analyses comprised Pearson’s chi-square tests to identify significant associations and conditional inference trees to reveal primary predictors of attitudes and conflict severity. Composite indices aggregated responses to represent each conflict level. Findings reveal that macaque encounters are widespread (88%), resulting in property damage (44.5%), increased workload (93%), and physical injuries (39%). Religious and cultural beliefs foster positive attitudes and drive provisioning behaviors, while aggressive macaque actions and dissatisfaction with wildlife authorities (67.5%) exacerbate tensions. Composite indices indicate that most conflicts align with the Underlying Conflict level (OCI = 1.632), with Perception and Situation measures nearing Deep-rooted Conflict, whereas History, Willingness, and Authority Views correspond to Dispute levels. These results underscore the necessity for level-specific mitigation strategies, combining practical dispute resolution, community reconciliation, and institutional trust-building, to promote sustainable human–wildlife coexistence in urban ecosystems. human–wildlife conflict rhesus macaque urban biodiversity conflict classification community perceptions mitigation strategies Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Urban Ecosystems → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7227146","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":496214518,"identity":"45e3370c-c6f0-49c4-84b0-41222b8aa1f8","order_by":0,"name":"Mukesh Chand","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACNgYGxgYIZkioqJEDiR14QLSWB2eOGYO1JBCjBQQYH7YxJ4LZ+LTozkhLfPhzxz155hnJzz4ksLGlzw87/BBoi52cbgN2LWY30g4b854pNmyckWY8I4FHJnfj7TQDoJZkY7MDuLSkt0kztiUwNs5OMGZIkGDL3Tg7AaTlQOI23Fraf/5sS7BvnJ3+mSHBgDndcHb6BwJa0o4x8LYlJDbOzgHaksCcIC+dQ8CWM8+SpYFakhvnvylmSDhwzHCDdE7BgQQDPH45nmb4Eegw2409xzcz/vxXIy8/O33zhw8VdnK4tMCBYQOUYQBWaUBAOQjIwxkNeFSNglEwCkbBiAQA5HFo4Txk2DIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mukesh","middleName":"","lastName":"Chand","suffix":""},{"id":496214519,"identity":"f84ff463-9da4-4bed-8c6a-9afcde0f4d6c","order_by":1,"name":"Feba K.S.","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Feba","middleName":"","lastName":"K.S.","suffix":""},{"id":496214520,"identity":"374fafdc-a161-4c56-b6f8-cbe23d3ea6ec","order_by":2,"name":"Parvaiz Yousuf","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Parvaiz","middleName":"","lastName":"Yousuf","suffix":""},{"id":496214521,"identity":"0e8436d8-12af-4359-8e95-cf210a014232","order_by":3,"name":"Shubham Kumar Maletha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shubham","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Maletha","suffix":""},{"id":496214522,"identity":"146b4fb3-dca9-4ecc-910f-c024e415ee97","order_by":4,"name":"Rashi Nautiyal","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rashi","middleName":"","lastName":"Nautiyal","suffix":""},{"id":496214523,"identity":"83a82c99-1ffd-48f5-b391-aee516ef0ab6","order_by":5,"name":"Bhupendra Singh Adhikari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wildlife Institute of India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bhupendra","middleName":"Singh","lastName":"Adhikari","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-27 15:38:05","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7227146/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7227146/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01894-1","type":"published","date":"2026-02-05T15:58:39+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102234356,"identity":"c84ba4f1-54b7-4e70-9b08-908d09584a77","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 16:10:16","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":873231,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RethinkingHumanMacaquesConflictinurbanwildlifesanctuary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7227146/v1_covered_f6bf8f84-790c-4d12-ad70-40813143ae27.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Coexistence or Conflict? 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