Adapting a Traditional Hunting Technique to Improve Capture Rates for the Endangered Yellow-Footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) during Ecological Surveys in Amazonia

摘要: The lack of cost-effective methods to detect game species in tropical forests hinders reliable assessments of their population status and the planning of effective actions for their sustainable use. Tortoises are among the most hunted species in Amazonia, but present low detectability in the wild when using current scientific methods. Traditional hunters in the region use specialized methods to capture tortoises, and such knowledge could provide useful insights for improving monitoring methods and, thus, scientific research on this species. Here, we compare the capture rates and cost-effectiveness of two methods to capture the endangered yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) in Amazonia: the conventional active search and an adaptation of pitfall traps using attractive baits employed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to hunt tortoises. We sampled 40 sites in upland forests and whitewater flooded …