DOI: 10.5061/dryad.80gb5mm04
title: Social media reports of urban carnivores in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles county

description:  In this study, we analyzed 2,584 posts and comments on carnivore
 sightings, human-carnivore interactions, and attitudes toward carnivores
 via the neighborhood-based social media platform Nextdoor, focusing on 52
 peri-urban neighborhoods near the Angeles National Forest in California.
 We focused on the two most frequently discussed species: coyote (Canis
 latrans) and American black bear (Ursus americanus). We then analyzed
 social-ecological covariates as potential predictors of Nextdoor carnivore
 reports, and also compared the sightings of these species to data
 collected on the popular biodiversity logging application, iNaturalist.
description: With the help of community members recruited through the personal
 network of W.S., we created three Nextdoor accounts using addresses in the
 cities of Arcadia, El Monte, and Covina. We gathered posts and comments
 for analysis through systematic searches conducted via Nextdoor’s search
 function while logged into each of the three accounts. We searched
 Nextdoor using the following keywords: “wildlife”, “bear”, “mountain
 lion”, “puma”, “coyote”, “bobcat”, “deer”, “raccoon”, and “opossum”
 between December of 2021 and January of 2022. While results relating to
 species other than black bear and coyote were later excluded due to
 limited sample sizes, the Nextdoor search algorithm returned posts related
 to multiple species under each keyword; thus, our two focal species were
 sometimes mentioned in comments related to other species within our
 search. The posts and comments gathered were produced by users between
 July of 2019 and January of 2022. We reviewed every post returned in the
 search and included posts which specifically mention wildlife or
 human-wildlife interactions in an initial data set. We then reviewed each
 post and all of the comments on each post, and included posts and comments
 in our subsequent analysis if they contained mention of wildlife
 sightings, attitudes towards wildlife, or wildlife conflict mitigation
 strategies. We excluded joke comments and comments expressing attitudes
 towards a conflict event but not towards the wildlife themselves (e.g.,
 “I’m so sorry you lost your cat”), as well as general statements about the
 behavior or natural history of urban wildlife, and posts about species
 other than coyote and black bear. We entered each post or comment into a
 spreadsheet for further analysis, along with the date of posting and the
 Nextdoor neighborhood of the user. 
description: # Social media reports of urban carnivores in the San Gabriel Valley of
 Los Angeles county Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.80gb5mm04](10.5061/dryad.80gb5mm04) ## Description of the
 data and file structure We estimated demographic and ecological
 characteristics of Nextdoor neighborhoods using ArcGis Pro Version 2.8.6
 (ESRI 2022). We calculated demographic estimates for each neighborhood by
 weighing the values in constituent census blocks and block groups by the
 percent to which they constituted each neighborhood polygon. We used
 curated data on total population, population by race, median household
 income, and median home value for each neighborhood (US Census Bureau
 2020). We used a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset
 derived from imagery (60cm spatial resolution) collected by the National
 Agriculture Imagery Program in May 2020 (California Department of Fish and
 Wildlife, 2020) to calculate mean NDVI for each neighborhood. We used data
 regarding votes for major candidates in the 2020 presidential election as
 a proxy for neighborhood-level political leaning; however, these data
 columns are excluded from our public dataset due to access and
 reproduction restrictions. (Voting and Election Science Team, 2020). We
 calculated the distance from the center point of each neighborhood to the
 Angeles National Forest as a measure of distance to the nearest natural
 area. By dividing the number of Nextdoor users registered to each
 neighborhood with the estimated population of each neighborhood based on
 census data, we calculated a percentage of the population represented on
 Nextdoor for each neighborhood. ### Files and variables ### **1. File:
 wildlife\_sightings\_neighborhood\_data.csv** **Variables:** ●     
 **neighborhood_code:** Anonymized identifier for each neighborhood. ●     
 **total_posts:** The total number of social media posts related to
 wildlife sightings in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_total:**
 The total number of registered users in that neighborhood (count). ●     
 **users_over_population:** Ratio of registered users over the total
 population (percentage). ●      **median_household_income:** Median
 household income in each neighborhood (USD). ●      **ndvi_min, ndvi_max,
 ndvi_range, ndvi_mean, ndvi_std, ndvi_median, ndvi_pct90:** Various
 statistical measures of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
 in each neighborhood, which indicate vegetation health and coverage.
 ●      **population_total:** Total population of each neighborhood
 (count). ●      **count\_ and percent_***: Counts and percentages of
 different racial and ethnic groups in each neighborhood. ●     
 **area_sqkm, area_sqmi:** Area of each neighborhood in square kilometers
 and square miles. ●      **distance_to_nf:** Distance to the Los Angeles
 National Forest (mi). ●      **pop_by_sqmi:** Total population divided by
 square mile. ●      **black_bear, bobcat, coyote, puma, wildlife:** The
 number of specific wildlife sightings of each species in each neighborhood
 (count). ### **2. File:
 specific\_coyote\_conflict\_neighborhood\_data.csv** ### **Variables:**
 ●      **neighborhood_code:** Anonymized identifier for each neighborhood.
 ●      **total_posts:** Total number of social media posts related to
 coyote conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_total:**
 Total number of registered users in each neighborhood (count). ●     
 **users_over_population:** Ratio of registered users over the total
 population (percentage). ●      **median_household_income:** Median
 household income in each neighborhood (USD). ●      **ndvi_min, ndvi_max,
 ndvi_range, ndvi_mean, ndvi_std, ndvi_median, ndvi_pct90:** Various
 statistical measures of the NDVI in each neighborhood. ●     
 **population_total:** Total population of each neighborhood (count).
 ●      **count\_ and percent_***: Counts and percentages of different
 racial and ethnic groups in each neighborhood. ●      **area_sqkm,
 area_sqmi:** Area of each neighborhood in square kilometers and square
 miles. ●      **distance_to_nf:** Distance to the Los Angeles National
 Forest (mi). ●      **pop_by_sqmi:** Total population divided by square
 mile. ●      **conflict_2:** Number of reports of an animal following pet
 or person (count). ●      **conflict_3:** Number of reports of  an
 attacked or injured pet (count). ●      **conflict_4:** Number of reports
 of an animal that** **attacked and killed pet (include instances where the
 pet is reported to have disappeared or been “lost”, likely to wildlife)
 (count). ●      **conflict_5:** Number of reports of an animal that
 attacked, injured, or killed a person (count). ●      **other_conflict:**
 Number of reports of other conflict (count). ●      **allconflict:** Total
 number of coyote conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●     
 **users_per_sqmi:** Number of registered users per square mile. ●     
 **specificsightings:** Number of specific sightings of coyotes in each
 neighborhood (count). ●      **conflictratio:** Ratio of conflicts to
 total sightings. ●      **conflict_per_sqmi:** Number of coyote conflicts
 per square mile (count). ### **3. File:
 general\_coyote\_conflict\_neighborhood\_data.csv** **Variables:** ●     
 **neighborhood_code:** Anonymized identifier for each neighborhood. ●     
 **total_posts:** Total number of social media posts related to general
 coyote conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_total:**
 Total number of registered users in each neighborhood (count). ●     
 **users_over_population:** Ratio of registered users over the total
 population. ●      **median_household_income:** Median household income in
 each neighborhood (USD). ●      **ndvi_min, ndvi_max, ndvi_range,
 ndvi_mean, ndvi_std, ndvi_median, ndvi_pct90:** Various statistical
 measures of the NDVI in each neighborhood. ●      **population_total:**
 Total population of each neighborhood (count). ●      **count\_ and
 percent_***: Counts and percentages of different racial and ethnic groups
 in each neighborhood. ●      **area_sqkm, area_sqmi:** Area of each
 neighborhood in square kilometers and square miles. ●     
 **distance_to_nf:** Distance to the Los Angeles National Forest (mi).
 ●      **pop_by_sqmi:** Population density per square mile. ●     
 **conflict_2:** Number of reports of an animal following pet or person
 (count). ●      **conflict_3:** Number of reports of  an attacked or
 injured pet (count). ●      **conflict_4:** Number of reports of an animal
 that attacked and killed pet (include instances where the pet is reported
 to have disappeared or been “lost”, likely to wildlife) (count). ●     
 **conflict_5:** Number of reports of an animal that attacked, injured, or
 killed a person (count). ●      **other_conflict**: Number of reports of
 other conflict (count). ●      **allconflict:** Total number of coyote
 conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_per_sqmi:** Number
 of registered users per square mile (count). ●      **generalsightings:**
 General sightings of coyotes in each neighborhood (count). ●     
 **conflictratio:** Ratio of conflicts to total general sightings. ●     
 **conflict_per_sqmi:** Number of coyote conflicts per square mile. ###
 **4. File: specific\_bear\_conflict\_neighborhood\_data.csv**
 **Variables:** ●      **conflict_2:** Number of reports of an animal
 following pet or person (count). ●      **conflict_4:** Number of reports
 of an animal that attacked and killed pet (include instances where the pet
 is reported to have disappeared or been “lost”, likely to wildlife)
 (count). ●      **conflict_5:** Number of reports of an animal that
 attacked, injured, or killed a person (count). ●     
 **damaged_property_conflict:** Number of reports of bear conflicts
 involving property damage (count). ●      **other_conflict:** Number of
 reports of other conflict (count). ●      **trash_conflict:** Number of
 reports of bear conflicts involving bears accessing trash (count). ●     
 **neighborhood_code:** Anonymized identifier for each neighborhood. ●     
 **total_posts:** Total number of social media posts related to bear
 conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_total:** Total
 number of registered users in each neighborhood (count). ●     
 **users_over_population:** Ratio of registered users over the total
 population. ●      **median_household_income:** Median household income in
 each neighborhood (USD). ●      **ndvi_min, ndvi_max, ndvi_range,
 ndvi_mean, ndvi_std, ndvi_median, ndvi_pct90:** Various statistical
 measures of the NDVI in each neighborhood. ●      **population_total:**
 Total population of each neighborhood (count). ●      **count\_ and
 percent_***: Counts and percentages of different racial and ethnic groups
 in each neighborhood. ●      **area_sqkm, area_sqmi:** Area of each
 neighborhood in square kilometers and square miles. ●     
 **distance_to_nf:** Distance to the Los Angeles National Forest (mi).
 ●      **pop_by_sqmi:** Population density per square mile. ●     
 **allconflict:** Total number of bear conflicts in each neighborhood
 (count). ●      **users_per_sqmi:** Number of registered users per square
 mile. ●      **specific_sightings:** Specific sightings of bears in each
 neighborhood (count). ●      **conflictratio:** Ratio of conflicts to
 total specific sightings. ●      **conflict_per_sqmi:** Number of bear
 conflicts per square mile (count). ### **5. File:
 general\_bear\_conflict\_neighborhood\_data.csv** **Variables:** ●     
 **conflict_2:** Number of reports of an animal following pet or person 
 (count). ●      **conflict_4:** Number of reports of an animal that
 attacked and killed pet (include instances where the pet is reported to
 have disappeared or been “lost”, likely to wildlife)  (count). ●     
 **conflict_5:** Number of reports of an animal that attacked, injured, or
 killed a person  (count). ●      **other_conflict:** Number of reports of
 other conflict  (count). ●      **damaged_property_conflict:** Number of
 reports of bear conflicts involving property damage (count). ●     
 **trash_conflict:** Number of reports of bear conflicts involving bears
 accessing trash  (count). ●      **neighborhood_code:** Anonymized
 identifier for each neighborhood. ●      **total_posts:** Total number of
 social media posts related to bear conflicts in each neighborhood (count).
 ●      **users_total:** Total number of registered users in each
 neighborhood (count). ●      **users_over_population:** Ratio of
 registered users over the total population (count). ●     
 **median_household_income:** Median household income in each neighborhood
 (USD). ●      **ndvi_min, ndvi_max, ndvi_range, ndvi_mean, ndvi_std,
 ndvi_median, ndvi_pct90:** Various statistical measures of the NDVI in
 each neighborhood. ●      **population_total:** Total population of each
 neighborhood (count). ●      **count\_ and percent_***: Counts and
 percentages of different racial and ethnic groups in each neighborhood.
 ●      **area_sqkm, area_sqmi:** Area of each neighborhood in square
 kilometers and square miles. ●      **distance_to_nf:** Distance to the
 Los Angeles National Forest (mi). ●      **pop_by_sqmi:** Population
 density per square mile. ●      **allconflict:** Total number of bear
 conflicts in each neighborhood (count). ●      **users_per_sqmi:** Number
 of registered users per square mile. ●      **conflictratio:** Ratio of
 conflicts to total general sightings. ●      **conflict_per_sqmi:** Number
 of bear conflicts per square mile (count). ●      **general_sightings:**
 general sightings of bears in each neighborhood (count). ## Access
 information Data was derived from the following sources: We used curated
 data on total population, population by race, median household income, and
 median home value for each neighborhood (US Census Bureau 2020). We used a
 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset derived from imagery
 (60cm spatial resolution) collected by the National Agriculture Imagery
 Program in May 2020 (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2020) to
 calculate mean NDVI for each neighborhood. In our study we used data
 regarding votes for major candidates in the 2020 presidential election as
 a proxy for neighborhood-level political leaning; however, these data
 columns are excluded from our public dataset due to access and
 reproduction restrictions (Voting and Election Science Team, 2020). U.S.
 Census Bureau (2020). *American Community Survey.* Retrieved from
 data.census.gov. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (2020).
 "NAIP 2020 NDVI, California". Retrieved from[
 https://data-cdfw.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/770a6372328c4582b5801db2c9a9597e/explore](https://data-cdfw.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/770a6372328c4582b5801db2c9a9597e/explore) Voting and Election Science Team. (2020). "2020 Precinct-Level Election Results",[ https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/K7760H](https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/K7760H), Harvard Dataverse, V35