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

Table 4.8 Animal categories reported by hunters to have experienced low mean levels of
hunting pressure over time.
Wapishana name English name Latin name
Wuruuzu Fox Cerdocyon thous
Suburu Howler monkey/’Baboon’ Alouatta seniculus
Kodoi Tapir/’Bush cow’ Tapirus terrestris
Sowai Grey brocket deer Mazama gouazoubira
Oroa White-faced saki Pithecia pithecia
Paashim Giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla
Witaro Midas tamarin/’Marmoset’ Saguinus midas
Kinyaridi din Jaguar Panthera onca
Chaumaa Squirrel monkey/’Sakiwinki’ Saimiri sciureus
Koshara din Puma Puma concolor
Yawari Opossum Didelphidae
Irodada ‘Pigeon’ Columbidae
Bai Duck Cairina moschata
Karapa Ortalis ruficauda
Zoruwii ‘Small maam’ Crypterellus soui
Kaikai Parakeet Aratinga leucophthalmus
Washanao Heron Ardea sp.
Chiziki Parakeet Aratinga partinax
Kanawada Giant caiman Melanosuchus niger
Arawish Water turtle Phrynops or Podocnemis
Tomtom Lizard Sauria
Overall, it appears that although a large number of animal species are edible, in
practice hunting effort is concentrated on a relatively small number of species of
mammal, bird and reptile, all of which have been documented as being important
game animals elsewhere in Amazonia (cf. Hames 1979; Hill and Hawkes 1983; Souza-
Mazurek et al. 2000). Although the reasons for prey choice are not thoroughly
explored in this thesis, it may be that many of the less popular game species are
being harvested at below their maximum sustainable yield. There may thus exist a
potential for increased harvest of some of the less popular species should
circumstances demand. On the other hand, low species-specific hunting rates may in
some cases be the result of scarcity. The ecological consequences of hunting appear
to be affected by systems of symbolically encoded regulation, and this is discussed in
chapter 5.
4.3.4 Trapping.
A wide variety of animal species are kept as pets. Most popular are birds, particularly
Psittacines and small songbirds, but numerous species of mammals and reptiles were
also either observed to be, or reported to have been, kept by somebody at one time
or another. These are mostly caught opportunistically, commonly as young animals