Abstract

BURGOS-SOLIS, Yahir et al. Inter-annual prey fluctuation of Odocoileus virginianus in Maya group hunting (batida) in the Yucatan Peninsula. Ecosistemas y recur. agropecuarios [online]. 2023, vol.10, n.1, e3467.  Epub Aug 04, 2023. ISSN 2007-901X.  https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a10n1.3467.

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.

Keywords : Conservation; Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve; Maya batida; subsistence hunting; ungulates; white-tailed deer.