India, Aug. 9 -- A study in West Bengal shows that living near wildlife does not guarantee knowing it.

Because the Striped Hyena is solitary, nocturnal and elusive, many villagers rarely see it and instead rely on folklore, hearsay and rare dramatic incidents.

Researchers found confusion over its identity, mixed feelings about its scavenging and stress the need for tailored, informative conservation outreach.

Published in the conservation journal Oryx, a new study challenges a commonly held assumption: that people living close to wildlife invariably possess detailed ecological knowledge of the species around them. Instead, the researchers show that such knowledge depends greatly on whether an animal can actually be seen and observed. I...