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

practice depends on the fact that the actors regularly use a particular area for
hunting, and since their hunting grounds are rarely visited by others they can be
confident that they themselves are likely to reap the benefits. The population decline
reported in areas used more frequently by a greater number of people may be an
inevitable tragedy of the commons scenario, there being no incentive to refrain from
capture in the absence of any collective strategy for management of wildlife
resources.
Both interview data and field observations suggest that the capture of other
chelonian species is less important. This is probably due to them being less frequently
encountered, but several aquatic species are generally collected whenever found.
Many of the smaller species are kept as pets, largely because they are known to
command relatively high prices in the live animal trade. Even in the absence of any
regular market, many people consider it worth keeping valuable animals in case a
buyer should happen to pass by. The larger species of aquatic tortoise are rarely
caught in Maruranau, as the areas within which they are found are very remote from
the village and rarely visited by the residents. However, many people reported that
they had killed and consumed these species in large numbers in earlier times,
particularly balata bleeders who had worked in areas where they are more common.
During the course of this study occasional reports came of their capture. One
individual showed me a shell of a kudyawarun (unidentified chelonian) he had killed,
having seen it at night and mistaken it for another species, later to learn that its
killing is tabooed.
I was also shown young specimens of the giant river turtle, Podocnemis expansa
that had been collected on the Rewa and brought back to the village to be reared
there. This species is very rare on the Kwitaro, and ethnoecological reports indicate
that the falls where this river passes through the eastern extent of the Kanuku range
form a barrier to the dispersal of both this and the black caiman Melanosuchus niger.
However, its abundance on the Rewa is well known (Parker et al. 1993) and
populations also exist in the Rupununi river. Both of these populations are regularly
exploited by specialist groups among the Wapishana. A hunting group from Shea
makes annual trips to Rewa during the laying season in February and March in order to
collect eggs and, if opportunities arise, they will also hunt adults. In Sand Creek, the
meat has particular cultural significance, as it is traditionally served at a Christmas
feast organised by the village council. Hunting expeditions are normally commissioned
by the toushao to make extended trips up the Rupununi and catch turtles for this
purpose during December. However, during this study the current toushao reported