Assessing Human Interactions, Conflict, and Threats with Mammals: Ecological and Conservation Perspectives: a review

Abstract

The interaction between humans and animals creates a dynamic interface where anthropogenic forces and natural processes intersect. Because they regulate trophic dynamics, disperse seeds, and maintain nutrient cycles, mammals are crucial to ecosystems. But these connections are increasingly shifting because to habitat fragmentation, land use changes, and expanding human populations. Sometimes these things cause fights, like when people destroy fields, kill cattle, steal animals, or kill others to get back at them. These acts are bad for both local jobs and the mammals that live there. This study places current findings about the origins and consequences of conflicts between humans and mammals within broader ecological and conservation frameworks. It reveals that animals are crucial for ecosystems and more vulnerable to human-made issues like illicit trafficking and climate change that disrupt their habitats. In addition to the lack of integration of ecological information, community engagement, and policy enforcement, responses to conservation remain uneven. We argue that evidence-based, locally specific policies that balance biodiversity protection with socioeconomic needs are necessary to reduce human-mammal conflict. This analysis underscores the importance of adaptive, interdisciplinary conservation strategies for preserving mammalian diversity and ensuring human well-being in shared ecosystems by integrating ecological roles with escalating threats.