Abstract

ROMERO-MUNOZ, Alfredo  and  PEREZ-ZUBIETA, José C.. Preliminary evaluation of trade and use of wild mammals in La Pampa market in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.2, pp.253-259. ISSN 0327-9383.

La Pampa market in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, is one of the largest centers of trade in wild animals in the Cochabamba Departament. For this reason, we evaluated the trade and uses of wild mammals. To estimate the magnitude of this trade and the uses of wild animals we made counts and conducted interviews with the vendors in this market. We recorded a total of 271 individuals of more than 27 mammal species. Of these, 89% were commercialized as dead animals, foxes (Pseudalopex spp.), marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), and quirquinchos (Chaetophractus nationi) were the most common species. The remaining 11% were sold as live animals. The most body parts were from foxes and tamanduas (Tamandua tetradactyla) and these were used for diverse purposes. The total value of the mammal items available between April and July 2005 was about US$ 1500. We recommend to improve the control of hunting and traffic of fauna in order to reduce the possible adverse effects of these activities on mammal populations of wild mammals and other types of wildlife, including humans through possible diseases.

Keywords : Blastoceros dichotomus; Chaetophractus nationi; Explotation; Pseudalopex; Urban area.

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