MEDIUM AND LARGE SIZED MAMMALS IN FRAGMENT AT CERRADO, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL

Abstract

The state of Minas Gerais has already lost more than half of the original Cerrado coverage. Mammals are among the beings most affected by this. Fauna inventories are essential for future conservation actions. In this sense, between July 2018 and December 2020, the richness and composition of medium and large mammals in a Cerrado fragment in the central-west of Minas Gerais were evaluated, using direct visualization methods (464 hours of searches) and camera traps (380 night traps). Were recorded 28 wild species, including seven threatened species, two of which are globally threatened. Carnivora was the most representative order (12 species), followed by Cingulata and Primates (4 each). The richness found was superior to other fragments and similar to nearby protected areas a dozen times larger. The fragment and the high species richness studied, including endangered species and large predators, suffer anthropic pressure, requiring short-term measures for their conservation.