14_Bowler_M_et_al_Uacaris_for

SYMPOSIUM
Pitheciins: Ecology & Conservation
XXI Congress of the International
Primatological Society

Uakaris for real: Conservation initiatives in Peru and Brazil
Bowler, M., H. Queiroz, R. Bodmer & P. Puertas

Control of hunting and timber extraction are key elements of current
initiatives for the conservation of Cacajao. Here, we describe these initiatives
and discuss their contribution to conservation goals. The Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve,
Brazil was created largely for Cacajao calvus calvus. This subspecies is restricted almost entirely to
Mamirauá and is rarely hunted, so the only threat facing it is the transformation of flooded forest habitats.
Since one tree species logged at Mamirauá is of great importance in the diet of this primate, a sustainable
use forestry program has banned the exploitation of this species in the reserve. Cacajao calvus ucayalii
has a patchy range, making it difficult to identify areas for protection. Until recently the Tamshiyacu
Tahuayo Communal Reserve, Peru was the only protected area where it occurred. Community
management here has resulted in a decrease in the hunting of primates. On the Yavari River, Peru where
C. c. ucayalii is relatively abundant, large areas are designated as logging concessions. Research in 2005
has supported a successful application to make part of the logging concession area a Conservation
Concession. A fourth site, Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve, protects a population of Cacajao
melanocephalus, one of the primates most hunted by the reserve's inhabitants. Research is being carried
out on hunting and on the ecology of C. melanocephalus to evaluate the sustainability of current hunting
levels.

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Red uacari (Cacajao calvus ucayalii), Peru
Photo: Mark Bowler