Conservation Status of the White-Lipped Peccary ( Tayassu Pecari ) Outside the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, Mexico: A Synthesis

Abstract

The white-lipped peccary is a social ungulate that forms the largest groups documented for any other ungulate species living in tropical forests. White-lipped peccaries have become increasingly rare in Mexico and Central America in the last 50 years. Here I suggest some management actions for conservation of this endangered species in the Calakmul region based on a synthesis of ecological and social data coming mainly from a two-years' field study conducted in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) and three human communities (ejidos) that surround it in Southeastern Mexico. Group size and breeding season were recorded in the CBR and in four adjacent hunted sites. Home range, habitat use, and population density were estimated only for the CBR, and hunting patterns were recorded for the three adjacent villages. Home range was among the largest reported anywhere for this species. White-lipped peccary groups were larger in the CBR than in the hunted areas, but groups were generally smaller than those reported in other forests. These smaller group sizes signal a conservation concern for this species in the Calakmul region. Hunting occurs mainly in the dry season when the breeding season is at the peak and peccary groups are visiting water bodies where they are more easily hunted. To conserve the white-lipped peccary in the Calakmul region we need to reduce hunting pressure and preserve large forested areas outside the CBR.