ECOLOGY y

The harmful effects of illegal

68 z july 2017 For export: 183,000 (on facing page) and 804,000 ocelots (at left) and margays were killed by hunters in Amazonia during the 20th century; below, pelts on display at a tannery in Manaus during the 1950s

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Banned in Brazil since the 1960s, hunting has reduced the populations of several species and increased the risk of environmental imbalance

André Julião and Ricardo Zorzetto

Published in November 2016

he period between 1930 and 1960 is Biologist André Antunes, the paper’s lead au-

y called a “fantasy era” in many parts thor, calculated the number of killed rar b

Li of Amazonia. “Fantasy” refers to the during the period by combining the data avail-

felid furs exported to the American able at commercial and port registries with cargo and European fashion markets. The manifests—detailed lists of materials transported s and and s l Virtua BGE e I 3

Tsale of hides of only the most heavily exploited by ships that sailed from interior regions of the

dia species—which included alligators, manatees, Amazon regions to the port of Manaus. , , capybaras and giant otters—gen- Using the data he gathered during his doctoral ndré P. A ntun P. A ndré , n / Wiki / e n pe erated approximately US$500 million (at cur- studies at the National Institute for Research on ss y

h rent value) during the commercial peak of such the Amazon (INPA), Antunes collaborated with T e

us people us trading. Between 1904 and 1969, approximately other researchers from Brazil, New Zealand, o n i le n

M 23 million wild animals from at least 20 species England and the United States to reconstruct the ge n 2

le were killed to supply the consumer market for history of the hide trade in Western Amazonia uh hides and furs. These data, presented in a paper during much of the 20th century. Thus, he and n M o

Paumari indi Paumari published in Science Advances in October 2016, his collaborators were able to get a clearer picture s 1 cover only what occurred in the Brazilian states of the impact of such trade on the populations ho t o Eduard o V P of Rondônia, Acre, Roraima and Amazonas. of the most widely hunted species.

pESQUISA FAPESP z 69 Easy prey: capybaras and collared peccaries, usually found in small bands, (at right) are among the most widely hunted animals in Amazonia

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“Most of the records have been lost,” notes the The estimates also include the death of 1.9 mil- biologist, who is now a researcher for the Wildlife lion aquatic , such as manatees (Tri- Conservation Society, a nongovernmental orga- chechus inunguis), and mammals that spend their nization that focuses on conservation of fauna time in both land and water, such as capybaras in the Amazon and other regions of the world. ( hydrochaeris), giant otters (Pteron- “Fortunately, the remaining data are very de- ura brasiliensis) and neotropical otters (Lontra lon- tailed.” In some cases, however, the documents gicaudis). The population of black caimans (Mela- did not indicate which animals the transport- nosuchus niger)—one of the largest predators in ed hides were sourced from. In the Amazon, averaging 4.5 meters other instances, they only stat- in length and prized for its black ed the weight of the material hide—was reduced by 4.4 million. and, for certain periods, infor- The period “The extraction of black caiman mation is inexistent. These gaps hides led to the emergence of in the records required the use from 1930 large tanneries in Manaus and of computer modeling so that to 1960 Belém,” Antunes says. the researchers could estimate From their analysis of the evo-

the number of hides from each lution of hunting in the Amazon s. 2016

is called a ce

species sold during that period, during that period, the research- an v based on general trends and sta- “fantasy era” ers concluded that the aquatic d ce A n e tistical probability. species, described in the paper, i According to the research- in Amazonia were very close to extinction in et al . Sc

ers’ calculations, in little over much of the region. For a long s e 60 years, at least 13.9 million ter- time, none of these animals were A ntun

restrial mammals of six species sighted in the areas where they c

were harvested in the Amazon: had usually been abundant, ac- i ph ra collared (Pecari tajacu), deer cording to accounts given by residents. The popu- (Mazama americana), white-lipped peccary (Ta- lations of terrestrial species have now recovered diaf og In

yassu pecari), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay reasonably well, as indicated by the stable pro- pe iki (Leopardus wiedii) and (Panthera onca). Of duction of hides over the past few decades. This n / w these six species, the appears to is likely a sign of resilience in the face of pres- hi poo c

have been the preferred target, perhaps because sures exerted by hunting. - g

of their greater abundance: 5.4 million collared Two factors help explain why aquatic animals in w peccaries were killed between 1904 and 1969. are more vulnerable. First, some species During the same period, hunters killed 804,000 of mammals, which spend at least some of their sar 2 ocelots and margays, as well as 183,000 jaguars, time in the water usually have a low reproduc- duard o ce which are the largest feline in the Americas. tive rate. Giant otters and manatees, for exam- e Nearly 8,000 jaguars were killed in 1969, two ple, only produce a few offspring per gestation— s 1

years after such hunting was banned in Brazil. and there are long intervals between gestations. pho t o

70 z july 2017 Most wanted Numbers of harvested animals of the 10 most-hunted species and price variation for their hides and pelts

Numbers Value Number Value of animals Terrestrials (at current of animals Aquatics / Semiaquatics (at current harvested price) harvested price) COLLARED PECCARY BLACK CAIMAN US$ 50 400.000 US$ 200 400.000

US$ 25 200.000 US$ 100 200.000

RED CAPYBARA US$ 50 US$ 30 200.000

50.000 US$ 20 US$ 25 100.000 US$ 10

WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY GIANT OTTER US$ 40 60.000 300.000 US$ 500 40.000 200.000 US$ 20 US$ 250 20.000 100.000

OCELOT AND MARGAY NEOTROPICAL OTTER US$ 500 100.000 40.000 US$ 100

US$ 250 50.000 20.000 US$ 50

JAGUAR MANATEE

40.000 US$ 500 US$ 500

10.000 20.000 US$ 250 US$ 250

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980

Another factor is that aquatic mammals appear to be more exposed to humans. “Historically, in the Amazon, human occupations have been located along riverbanks,” Antunes explains. “Access by boat makes it easy to obtain aquatic animals and transport their hides, while animals that live in forests in terra firma have more refuges and are farther from riverside communities,” he notes. By comparing harvest trends with historical events of the 20th century, the authors of the study identified the economic causes that drove commercial exploitation of wild Amazonian fau- na. Around 1910, the regional economy began to collapse as latex production in Malaysia became widespread, and Brazilian rubber was unable to compete. The hide trade, which had previously been minimal and focused on the exploitation of red brocket deer, became an income-generating 2 2 alternative for some of the 500,000 immigrants

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Despite the ban of nearly five decades, hunting remains an ongoing practice throughout Brazil

who had come to the region in the preceding de- in the ecosystem,” explains Bovendorp, coauthor Vulnerable in the cades, as well as for the indigenous peoples who of the paper describing the findings in a recent water: of the issue of Animal Conservation. 113,000 manatees were involved in the rubber cycle. captured during the Between 1930 and 1960, commercial hunting One cause of the widespread hunting of wild past century, 15,000 became one of the principal extractivist activities animals is the lack of effective protection in envi- were harvested in in the Amazon. It was not until 1967, when the ronmental protection areas. “In Ilha do Cardoso 1938 alone Fauna Protection Act was passed, that the practice State Park, on the southern coast of São Paulo was banned. Nevertheless, Antunes says, admin- State, two of the 34 white-lipped peccaries we’ve istrative rulings that allowed for the liquidation been tracking with radio collars have been har- of stockpiles caused an escalation in the illegal vested,” Galetti says. hide trade in this region during the early 1970s. The Unesp team also observed that areas of intensive hunting can have similar numbers of SHRINKING POPULATIONS mammals as regions where animals are not har- Despite the nearly five-decade ban, hunting re- vested. The difference is that, in hunting areas, mains an ongoing practice throughout Brazil. practically the only animals to be found are small One of the environments in which the damage is bodied, such as tamarins and rodents, which can becoming evident is the Atlantic Forest. A study result in an irreversible environmental imbalance. of wild mammals in the largest continuous for- “Without large mammals, plants with large seeds est remnant, in eastern São Paulo State, indicates are at risk of disappearing,” says ecologist Caro- that, in places where hunting persists, it causes lina Bello, a doctoral student advised by Galetti. the local extinction of large-bodied animals, such During late 2015, she and Galetti published a as the white-lipped peccary and the tapir (Tapi- study in Science Advances, which shows that de- rus terrestris). These large mammals play a fun- faunation in the Atlantic Forest affects the forest’s damental role in seed dispersal, soil fertilization ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere. and forest renewal. The impact of hunting on populations of large The researchers conducting the above study— mammals is not exclusive to Brazil. Galetti and which was led by biologist Mauro Galetti, a pro- Brazilian ecologist Carlos Peres, a professor at fessor in the Department of Ecology at São Paulo the University of East Anglia in England, were State University (Unesp) in Rio Claro—explored co-participants in an international study that approximately 4,000 kilometers in 13 areas of the assessed the preservation status of 301 mammal Serra do Mar Mountains and recorded the den- species from various regions around the world, sity of 44 mammal species and the total biomass species that are at risk of extinction because of of eight species. “Just having a lot of mammals hunting. The killing of animals for food or to isn’t enough,” says ecologist Ricardo Bovendorp, extract ivory, horns or bones—the latter two are currently a postdoctoral researcher at Unesp. particularly valued in Asia for their medicinal “There need to be large animals, such as tapirs properties—has been decimating some popula- and white-lipped peccaries, which have no sub- tions, according to a paper published in the Royal stitute for the ecological functions they perform Society Open Science journal in October 2016.

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cies of animals, for purposes of subsistence only. The Environmental Crimes Act of 1998 permits hunting in exceptional situations, such as extreme necessity; another law, which established the National System of Conservation Units in 2000, The black caiman, “African elephants alone have lost half their pop- ensures that native peoples have access to natural a predator prized for ulation in the past 30 years due to hunting and resources, as a way of respecting their knowledge its black hide; and culture. The researchers emphasize, however, the tapir, a seed loss of habitat,” Peres says. disperser that has According to the survey, most of the mammals that such permission could only be given in the disappeared from threatened by hunting live in regions that have context of very judicious and continuous manage- some sections of the high social inequality. In these areas, wild animals ment in areas of heavy forest cover without roads, Atlantic Forest serve as sources of income and protein, and they preferably in conservation units. This model, they are captured using traps, a practice that magni- say, would only be applicable to some regions of fies the damage. Studies conducted in Central Amazonia. “In today’s Atlantic Forest, it would Africa show that one-fourth of animals caught be unimaginable,” Peres maintains. in traps rot in the wild or are consumed by other The idea would be to develop something simi- animals. Another third escape with wounds and lar to the management of bony-tongue fish, or dia

pe may die hours or days later. An earlier survey, in pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) in parts of Amazonia. a conservation area in Zimbabwe, confirmed that, Catching pirarucu, one of the largest freshwa- / Wiki / p over four years from 2005 to 2009, 1,400 large ter fish in the world, is prohibited in the region. shar j

s mammals rotted in traps. In addition to being However, community-based management in a le wasteful, this form of hunting often results in number of sustainable development reserves har c the capture of females that may be pregnant or and indigenous territories is making sustainable dia 3

pe of young animals that would likely have a long fishing possible and increasing the fish popula- reproductive life ahead of them—situations that tion (see Pesquisa FAPESP Issue No. 248). The are quite harmful to some species. researchers propose something similar for hunt- r End o / Wiki

e ing. Peres suggests the possibility of stipulating n e

d CONTROLLED PERMISSION which species can be hunted—those with a high l Given this scenario, the researchers argue that, reproductive capacity, for example—or limiting Wha in some regions, a total ban is more harmful than capture only to adult males. “That way,” Antunes permitting animals to be captured under specific suggests, “it may become possible to provide for quarium 2 quarium A conditions and with rigorous surveillance. This the needs of traditional peoples and maintain lo is not a new idea. In most areas of the United a stable population of these animal species.” n Pau o ã

S States, it is permissible to hunt white-tailed deer e ( virginianus), and the population of

n at th at n these animals has remained stable. “They are one Scientific articles of the world’s most widely studied large animals, ANTUNES, A. P. et al. Empty forest or empty rivers? A century of com- e tak s,

ve particularly because the quotas have to be adjust- mercial hunting in Amazonia. Science Advances. October 12, 2016. GALETTI, M. et al. Defaunation and biomass collapse of mammals in the s Cha s ed for sustainable culling,” says Peres, who also largest Atlantic Forest remnant. Animal Conservation. In production.

am o RIPPLE, W. J. et al. Bushmeat hunting and extinction risk to the world’s

R collaborated on the paper in Science Advances. o mammals. Royal Society Open Science. V. 3 (20). September 2016.

Lé Peres and Antunes suggest that, in Brazil, some CAMPOS-SILVA, J. V and PERES, C. A. Community-based management s 1 mechanisms could allow for native peoples of induces rapid recovery of a high-value tropical freshwater fishery. ho t o

P Amazonia to be authorized to hunt certain anispe- Scientific Reports. October 12, 2016.

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