Sex differences in values and knowledge of wildlife in victoria, Australia

This paper presents the findings from one aspect of a study which was prompted by a limited understanding of people's values and knowledge ofwildlife in Victoria, Australia. This paper specifically focuses on the values and knowledge of wildlife held by males and females, and compares these with how Victorian wildlife managers perceive these groups. The different values and knowledge held by males and females were also explored in different types of Victorian communities, including urban, rural and urban‐rural fringe locations. In‐depth interviews (n=15) were used to explore wildlife managers’ perceptions of the differences between male and female values of wildlife, while postal questionnaires (n = 639) were used to explore the actual differences between male and female values and knowledge of wildlife in seven different geographic locations. Most wildlife managers believed that males and females would value wildlife differently, however, several did not believe that there would be any notable differences. Questionnaire data showed that males and females in Victoria do hold different values of wildlife and have different levels of factual knowledge of wildlife. Differences were shown to be more pronounced in certain types of communities, highlighting the complexity of this demographic influence.