Abundance of game animals and hunting characteristics in the territory of Kipla Sait Tasbaika, Bosawás biosphere reserve.

Abstract

In spite of Bosawas indigenous people’s interest in a sustainable management of their natural resources, scarcity of scientific data collected in their territories has _kept them from developing specific management plans to keep track of wildlife populations subject to hunting.  To remedy this situation, the Saint Louis Zoo (Missouri, United States) has collaborated with the indigenous people of three different territories to monitor populations of hunted animals and consumption of wild animals • meat in order to asses hunting patterns sustainability.  This article presents the results of a study carried out in the Kipla Sait Tasbaika territory, which suggests that even though many hunted species are not suffering over-hunting today, there are others, with smaller populations, around communities and farming lands that have suffered considerable negative impact.  Using these results, the members of the community of the Kipla Sait Taisbaka territory have developed a series of norms to regulate hunting of those species.