Table 6.
Responses of Chitwan National Park buffer zone people to attitude test questions (n = 38) about snakes and their conservation
| SN | a. Responses to positive attitude test questions (n = 15); note 1: number of respondents with unknown reply to like or dislike of snakes were 4 (3 %), worship of snakes 1 (1 %), respond snakes that they encountered wherever and whenever 4 (3 %), friendly association between snakes and farmers 21 (14 %), need of conservation of all snakes 41 (27 %), all surrounding snakes should be killed 6 (4 %), and only venomous snakes should be killed were 4 (3 %). | Respondents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | ||
| 1 | Yes, I like snakes | 82 | 55 |
| 2 | No, I do not fear snakes | 21 | 14 |
| 3 | Yes, I ignore whatever snakes I observe in the crop-field while working | 79 | 53 |
| 4 | Yes, I ignore whatever snakes I observe on the path while walking | 117 | 78 |
| 5 | Yes, I ignore whatever snakes I observe in premises of house or barn | 55 | 37 |
| 6 | Yes, I ignore whatever snakes I observe indoors | 12 | 8 |
| 7 | Yes, I rescue whatever snakes I observe indoors | 39 | 26 |
| 8 | Yes, I worship snakes | 126 | 84 |
| 9 | No, I do not prefer to kill whatever snakes I encounter anywhere | 115 | 77 |
| 10 | No, I do not eat snake meat | 148 | 99 |
| 11 | No, my neighbours do not eat snake-meat | 139 | 93 |
| 12 | No, my neighbours do not kill snakes even for medicinal purposes | 129 | 86 |
| 13 | Yes, all snakes around us should be conserved | 99 | 66 |
| 14 | Yes, I consider snakes as friends of farmers | 92 | 61 |
| 15 | Yes, I think snakes need to be conserved | 122 | 81 |
| b. Responses to negative attitude test questions (n = 14); note 2: number of respondents having item non-responses for killing snakes wherever and whenever that they encounter were 2 (1 %), all surrounding snakes should be killed 77 (51 %) and only venomous snakes should be killed were 39 (26 %). | |||
| 1 | No, I do not like snakes | 64 | 43 |
| 2 | Yes, I fear snakes | 129 | 86 |
| 3 | Yes, I kill whatever snakes I observe in crop-field while working | 10 | 7 |
| 4 | Yes, I call others to kill whatever snakes I observe in crop field while working | 12 | 8 |
| 5 | Yes, I kill whatever snakes I observe on the path while walking | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Yes, I call others to kill whatever snakes I observe on the path while walking | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | Yes, I prefer to kill whatever snakes I encounter anywhere | 29 | 19 |
| 8 | Yes, I eat snake meat | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Yes, my neighbours eat snake meat | 7 | 5 |
| 10 | Yes, my neighbours kill snakes for medicinal purposes | 14 | 9 |
| 11 | Yes, all snakes around us should be killed | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | Yes, only venomous snakes around us should be killed | 74 | 49 |
| 13 | No, I do not consider snakes as friends of farmers | 37 | 25 |
| 14 | No, I do not think snakes need to be conserved | 18 | 12 |
| c. Responses to ambivalent attitude test questions (n = 9) (i.e. ‘Yes’ responses to two or more questions that signify ambivalence) | |||
| 1 | I like snakes in general/ I fear snakes in general | 62 | 41 |
| 2 | I fear snake/ I ignore snakes observed at premises of house and indoors | 47 | 31 |
| 3 | I worship snakes/ I kill or call others to kill snakes while I observed them in the crop field while working or on the path while walking | 22 | 15 |
| 4 | I worship snakes/ I prefer to kill whatever snakes I encounter anywhere | 25 | 17 |
| 5 | I like snakes in general/ I kill whatever snakes I encounter anywhere | 9 | 6 |
| 6 | I prefer to kill snakes/ all snakes should be conserved | 7 | 5 |
| 7 | All snakes should be killed/ only all venomous snakes should be killed/ all snakes should be conserved/ I think snakes should be conserved | 52 | 35 |
| 8 | I prefer to kill whatever snakes I encounter anywhere/ I consider snakes as farmers’ friends | 15 | 10 |
| 9 | I kill or call others to kill snakes I observe in the crop fields/ I consider snakes as farmers’ friends | 14 | 9 |
Abbreviation and symbol: N number of respondents, % percent of respondents