Hunting and the conservation of a social ungulate: the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari in Calakmul, Mexico

The white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari is a social ungulate that forms the largest groups documented for any tropical forest ungulate species. Since the 1950s the species has become increasingly rare in Mesoamerica, and the more frequent reporting of smaller groups may be related to increased hunting pressure. Here we address the conservation status of this species in terms of its group size and structure, breeding season, population density, and relationship with hunting patterns in the Calakmul region of southern Mexico. Group sizes, age structure and breeding season were recorded in one large non-hunted site (Calakmul Biosphere Reserve) and four adjacent hunted sites. Population density was estimated in the Reserve and hunting patterns were recorded from three adjacent villages. Results indicate that hunting pressure affects peccary populations by reducing group size. White-lipped peccary groups were larger in the Reserve (median = 25) than in the hunted areas (median = 16) but groups were generally smaller than those reported in other forests. These smaller group sizes indicate conservation concern for this species in the Calakmul region. In addition, the estimated population (0.43 km(2)) is one of the lowest reported for this species. Hunting occurs mainly in the dry season, which is the peak of the breeding season and when peccary groups visit water bodies, where they are more easily hunted.