Inter-annual prey fluctuation of Odocoileus virginianus in Maya group hunting (batida) in the Yucatan Peninsula

Authors

  • Yahir Burgos-Solís Departamento de Ecología Humana. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Unidad Mérida, Yucatán, México.
  • Salvador Montiel Departamento de Ecología Humana. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Unidad Mérida, Yucatán, México.
  • Teresa Castillo-Burguete Departamento de Ecología Humana. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Unidad Mérida, Yucatán, México.
  • Carlos N. Ibarra-Cerdeña Departamento de Ecología Humana. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Unidad Mérida, Yucatán, México.
  • Luciana Porter-Bolland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a10n1.3467

Keywords:

Subsistence hunting, Maya batida, Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

In Neotropical environments, we know little about the abundance of wild vertebrates traditionally hunted. Based on subsistence
hunting records (2005-2019) as well as ethnographic information from Maya peasant-hunters, we assessed the inter-annual capture rate of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a rural community in the northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula. We found that the number of prey decreased over the years, showing a declining capture rate (prey/trip) that decreased by as much as 50% from the first (2005-2006) to the third period (2010-2011) of records. The majority of peasant-hunters interviewed (74%; N = 31) perceived this reduction in deer to have taken place mainly over the past 10 years as consequence of hunting (71%). The agreement between the hunting trend and peasants’ perceptions regarding the abundance of white-tailed deer
suggests that this species may be at risk in future scenarios of use in northwest of contemporary Mayab.

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Published

2023-03-31

Issue

Section

SCIENTIFIC NOTE

How to Cite

Burgos-Solís, Y., Montiel, S., Castillo-Burguete, T., Ibarra-Cerdeña, C. N., & Porter-Bolland, L. (2023). Inter-annual prey fluctuation of Odocoileus virginianus in Maya group hunting (batida) in the Yucatan Peninsula. Ecosistemas Y Recursos Agropecuarios, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a10n1.3467