But nothing in the article supports that view. What has changed are cattle ranching practices that reduce the opportunity of attack. Everything that the article talks about is "How did cattle ranchers adapt to an ever present threat of pumas and jaguars without killing them (for reasons that are not well discussed beyond a reference to a government mandate)" rather then "We're best buds now!" or even "We have found utility in the jaguar and puma population that benefits us".
It seems the adapted practices are beneficial on their own, but it sounds like they would be beneficial without jaguars and pumas.
The tourism industry is important to them. So perhaps by finding a way to co-exist with big cats, it's a net positive to the ranchers because they probably don't want Costa Rica to be a nation with only 1 industry. If they can produce enough beef (or whatever animal they want to raise) to satisfy domestic and export desires then there probably is not much of a need to expand the industry at all costs.
Thank you for the additional context.
I guess the point is that ranchers don't blindly hate big cats. They hate suffering large economic losses due to big cats. Once they aren't suffering the losses, they're happy to have the cats around.
Why would some large group of people just "hate" an animal species, if not for some suffering they experience?
What the article seems to suggest is what economists have always known. People react to incentives (and so do animals). Ranchers do not have blind hate for cats but rather care more about their cattle than the cats. By making few changes that are profitable for them cats can co-exist. But that does not make them allies.
Cats are not helping the ranchers in any ways.
The main intervention is installing electric fences to prevent the wildcats from entering the pastures. This measure has been implemented at around 160 ranches,
including that of José Luis Rodríguez, two hours outside the Costa Rican capital.
ACFel has collaborated closely with farmers to install electric fences and water troughs, which allow for more divisions and intensive rotation of cattle.
This approach, according to experts, improves the pasture’s health and keeps the herd in more compact groups, removing the need to find water in forest areas
where the big cats can attack.
The project also promotes the adoption of water buffalos (Bubalus bubalis), a species that has evolved a defensive instinct against predators.
These buffalos protect the convention cattle and have other attractive qualities: they’re hardier, meaning they’re more resistant to heat,
need less veterinary attention, and graze on weeds that other cattle won’t touch.Spotting wild jaguars in Costa Rica is insanely unlikely though from what the park rangers told us, they are too evasive.
Also, don't miss out on the Cerro Cirripo (highest mountain) if you're there and don't hate hiking. It is an absolutely amazing way to spend 2-3 days (but we needed permit/reservation in advance).