Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

flexibility may be important for a young man with a choice of hunting areas. It
appears to me that a choice between his father's or his father-in-law's hunting line
could be determined by social or ecological criteria. This could act as another
mechanism for distributing hunting pressure evenly, in cases where people chose to
hunt mainly in those of the areas available to them subject to the least use. A further
consequence of this is that hunters may choose to hunt with different groups, and
perhaps along different lines, when circumstances dictate. For example, a man whose
regular hunting partners were unable to go hunting due to absence, injury, illness or
customary prohibition could temporarily affiliate with a different group of relatives or
affines, who may hunt along a different line.
4.3.3 Prey choice of hunters
Hunting behaviour was investigated both in interviews and by direct observation. Two
queries concerning habitat use and preferred prey species give a fair guide to the
choice of game species in idea and practice. In household interviews, forty
respondents indicated habitat use based upon the broad division between forest and
savannah. Twenty households reported that they use only the forest for hunting,
seventeen both forest and savannah, and three the savannah alone. These results
indicate that although hunting is, in this village, predominantly based in the forest,
savannah hunting is also a significant aspect of subsistence activity. In twenty-three
interviews, respondents listed their preferred game species. Table 4.5 summarises
the results, indicating the frequency with which certain species or categories of game
animal were included in these lists. Most of the species mentioned are predominantly
or exclusively forest-dwelling. The savannah specialists mentioned are the savannah
deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and ducks, which include two species: bididi
(Dendrocygna viduata) and bai (Cairina moschata). These were mentioned in 17
percent and 22 percent of interviews respectively, figures consistent with the
assessment of the significant, if limited, usage of the savannah in hunting. The
category 'armadillos' also includes one species (Cabassous unicinctus) that is
predominantly savannah-dwelling, and the fairly high score attained by this category
probably includes some measure of savannah-based hunting effort. It is also worth
noting that some other game categories mentioned are found in the savannah as well
as in the forest. In particular, Agouti paca and Dasyprocta agouti inhabit riparian
forest adjacent to large watercourses on the savannah, and many people hunt these
species during the rainy season when flooding forces them to move to more open