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Update
from the Peccary
Subgroup May 2002
By: Richard E. Bodmer,
Regional Coordinator, Peccary Sub-Group
During
the past decade there has been increasing recognition of both the economic
and ecological importance of peccaries in many South and Central American
countries. These animals constitute the most important mammalian species
hunted for meat in most areas. Their hides are used in the international
leather industry and peccaries are key species in the ecosystem and the
maintenance of natural forests. The Peccary Sub-group has been involved in a
large number of field-based research and public awareness activities,
workshops and conferences, intended to promote more applied research and the
improved conservation management of all three peccary species, namely the
White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari),
Collared peccary (T. tajacu) and
the Giant or Chacoan peccary (Catagonus
wagneri). The
Sub-group last met in Cartegena, Colombia,
during the V Latin American Wildlife Conference in September 2001.
There were a gratifyingly large number of participants working on peccaries,
representing Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador and
Argentina. Amongst the more important issues addressed during the meeting
were the opening of the peccary pelt trade in Bolivia and the current peccary
pelt trade in Peru. There was concern that opening the peccary pelt trade in
Bolivia would cause a dramatic increase in the number of peccaries hunted,
since there was no effort being made by the government to link the pelt trade
to subsistence hunting. Rather, people would see the opening of the peccary
pelt trade as a means of selling peccaries for profit. In contrast, the
peccary pelt trade in Peru is linked with subsistence hunting. In Peru, the
value of peccary pelts for hunters is only 10% of the animal, whilst the meat
value is 90%. The
Sub-group is also currently involved with a cross scale analysis of the Peruvian
peccary pelt trade and ways of incorporating this trade into conservation
initiatives. Peru is the only country that is legally exporting peccary pelts
to Europe. This peccary trade might be a means of establishing a "green
leather" programme or "certification", which would enable the
peccary pelt trade to be used as a means of promoting wildlife conservation
through economic incentives. This project is still in the initial phase, but
related research intended to improve understanding of the market, the
movement (sale and re-sale of pelts), hunters' attitudes and correlates of
pelt quality, are also underway. For example, the quality of pelts is largely
determined by the number of ticks present on hides. During the past decade,
and especially during the past few years, peccary tanneries in Peru have
noticed a dramatic increase in the number of ticks present on these pelts and
researchers are now looking at possible correlates between tick infestations
and increases in deforestation rates, changes in wildlife populations, or
other determinants. This research also includes an analysis of seasonal
changes in tick numbers and geographical variance in infestations. |
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The
EC has just begun a new 3-year INCO Collared Peccary project that involves
members of the peccary sub-group. The project is entitled “Development of
different production systems for the sustainable exploitation of the collared
peccary (Tayassu tajacu) in Latin America”, and is led by Dr. Ferran
Jori of CIRAD-EMVT, France. Establishing economic and sustainable
exploitation of the collared peccary is the overall objective of the project.
The intention is to enable rural and peri-urban inhabitants of Latin America
to use the species as a source of income and protein without producing
detrimental effects on natural ecosystems and wildlife populations. Other
participating institutions include the Autonomous University of Barcelona
(Spain), Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (Brazil), EMBRAPA (Brazil),
Universidade Federal do Parà (Brazil), Universidad Nacional de San Marcos
(Peru), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (France), and the Durrell
Institute of Conservation and Ecology (UK). There are new and exciting
peccary projects being developed throughout Central and South America and
members of the Peccary Sub-group are involved with many of these. These
include a new white-lipped peccary project in Bolivia, a project looking at
the status of peccaries in the Chaco of Argentina, and projects in Mexico
focused on the impact of hunting on peccary populations in Chiapas and
peccary habitat use in the Yucatan. The Peccary Sub-group is also planning a
project entitled "Evaluating the Geographic Status and Landscape
Dynamics of White-lipped Peccary", which is intended to assess and
implement a more coordinated conservation strategy for this species.
White-lipped peccary range from the Yucatan of Mexico, through continental
South America, to the Chaco of Argentina. However, numbers vary considerably
over this range, the species being on the verge of extirpation in some areas,
whilst still maintaining large healthy populations in other areas. This
variance in population size and structure is key to understanding future
conservation strategies of these animals. For example, a large, healthy
population of white-lipped peccary in western Amazonia can be incorporated
into a strategy based on sustainable hunting and the peccary pelt trade. In
contrast, fragmented populations is places such as Central America, São
Paulo, or the Argentine Chaco require a landscape conservation strategy that
protects populations and tries to link them through reforestation and
corridor projects. |