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

occupied in the dry season are abandoned for higher ground when they are flooded
during the rainy season.
Eleven considered activity patterns, which were unanimously stated to be
nocturnal, and one interviewee additionally suggested they might not be active on
moonlit nights. Twelve interviewees agreed that holes are used for resting places, and
the majority specified that these may be burrows in the ground or holes in rotten
wood. All eleven interviewees who considered the question of ranging behaviour
agreed that the animals occupy fixed home ranges (this included those already
mentioned who described seasonal migration, along with a further individual who
suggested that these home ranges might be abandoned in response to food
scarcity).
Eleven gave figures for litter size: seven said a single young was always born, the
remaining four that they were born either singly or in pairs. Contradictory responses
were obtained concerning the timing of birth: two said June, one April, one December,
one dry season, while two interviewees said there was no fixed breeding season. One
interviewee stated that gestation was three months in duration, and he and three
others gave figures for the duration of the period of maternal care ranging from one
month to 3-4 months.
A long list of predators was given, of which the most commonly mentioned was
the wichaa waru (Speothos venaticus), considered by those who mentioned it to be
a specialist laba hunter. Jaguar, puma, ocelot and camoudi also were each named as
predators by several interviewees.
6.3.7 Black spider monkey, ‘kwata’.
All twelve interviewees concurred that fruit dominates the diet, one adding flowers
and young leaves. Seven suggested individual food species of particular importance:
ochoro and/or mapuza (Oenocarpus bataua and O. bacaba) in three cases, iziari
(Manilkara bidentata) in two others, while naata (Hymenaea oblongata), otoochi
(Chrysophyllum sp.) and kaawai (possibly Micropholis venulosa) were each
mentioned by a single interviewee. Ten of the twelve interviewees mentioned the
occurrence of a seasonal food shortage during the dry season, giving a variety of
suggestions as to what sources of food were available at this time. Four said young
leaves were eaten, two specifying those of koron (Catostemma fragrans), in one
case along with tooru (Cecropia sp.). Several species of fruit were also mentioned as
dry season foods: ochoro, wamooko (Parinari excelsa) and naata were those
mentioned more than once, while kumaraokou (Ficus sp. or spp.), taasho (Muellera