Wild Meat Use and Traditional Hunting Practices in a Rural Mayan Community of the Yucatan Peninsula,Mexico

Overexploitation of Neotropical ecosystems for wild meat constitutes a threat to biodiversity and might seriously affect local people who depend on wild animals as a primary food resource. To assess this problem at the local level, social use of wild animals was evaluated in a Mayan community of the Yucatan Peninsula. Over 8 months, peasant-hunters carried out a total of 175 hunting trips, gathering 253 animals of 12 species (mammals, birds and reptiles). Most preys (95%) were taken in 4 months (January–April) during the dry season and the main target species were white-tailed deer and iguana (jointly representing 59% of preys). During an 11-week period, total per capita wild meat consumption (182 kg; n = 14 families) was three times greater in nuclear than in extended families. The observed wild fauna use is a reflection of traditional knowledge and represents an important subsistence strategy for the local people.