Human–raptor interactions among ranchers and Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle) in the western United States

Recent evidence identifies illegal shooting as a leading cause of raptor mortality, particularly among Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle) in the western United States. As ranchers share spaces and resources with raptors, their experiences, beliefs, and actions can inform efforts to understand and mitigate this persecution. Through inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 38 ranchers in the western U.S. in 2021–2022, we identified 3 interrelated themes that indicate raptors are perceived as (1) a unique challenge to operations that (2) can encroach on ranchers’ ability to self-determine their lifestyle and livelihood, which (3) enables the justification of certain levels of persecution. Across themes, ambivalence toward raptors and their persecution, and trade-offs made between livelihood and stewardship, were observed as latent influences on people’s interactions with raptors, persecution, and management agencies. While specific to the western U.S., our findings align with existing research on human-raptor interactions and parallel findings from the broader human–wildlife coexistence literature. Our study reinforces the notion that individual and collective views of raptors, alongside sociopolitical constraints associated with their management, are central to human–raptor interactions and their outcomes.