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BioMed CentralPage 1 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)Journal of Ethnobiology and EthnomedicineOpen AccessResearchHunting strategies used in the semi-arid region of northeastern BrazilRmulo RN Alves*1, Lvia ET Mendona1, Maine VA Confessor1, Washington LS Vieira2 and Luiz CS Lopez3Address: 1Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraba, Av. das Baranas, 351/Campus Universitrio, Bodocong, 58109-753, Campina Grande, Paraba, Brasil, 2Programa de Ps-Graduao em Cincias Biolgicas (Zoologia), Laboratrio e Coleo de Herpetologia, Departamento de Sistemtica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraba, 58051-900, Joo Pessoa, PB, Brasil and 3Departamento de Sistemtica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraba, 58051-900 Joo Pessoa, PB, BrasilEmail: Rmulo RN Alves* - [email protected]; Lvia ET Mendona - [email protected]; Maine VA Confessor - [email protected]; Washington LS Vieira - [email protected]; Luiz CS Lopez - [email protected]* Corresponding authorAbstractHunting for wild animals is stimulated by the many different human uses of faunal resources, andthese animals constitute important subsistence items in local communities in the Caatinga region.Inordertogainaccesstotheseresources,huntershavedevelopedaseriesoftechniquesandstrategies that are described in the present work. The principal hunting techniques encounteredwere: waiting, especially directed towards hunting diurnal birds; calling ("arremedo"), a techniqueinwhichthehuntersimitatetheanimal'scalltoattractittocloserange;huntingwithdogs,atechnique mostly used for capturing mammals; tracking, a technique used by only a few hunterswho can recognize and follow animal tracks; and "facheado", in which the hunters go out at nightwithlanternsto catchbirdsintheirnests.Additionally,manyanimalspeciesarecapturedusingmechanical traps. The types of traps used by the interviewees were: dead-fall traps ("quix"), iron-jaw snap traps ("arataca"), wooden cages with bait ("arapuca"), iron-cage traps ("gaiola'), "visgo",multi-compartmentbirdcages("alapo"),buriedgroundtrapswithpivotedtops("fojo"),andnooses and cages for carnivorous. The choice of which technique to use depends on the habits ofthe species being hunted, indicating that the hunters possess a wide knowledge of the biology oftheseanimals.Fromaconservationperspective,activehuntingtechniques(waiting,imitation,hunting with dogs, and "facheado") have the greatest impact on the local fauna. The use of firearmanddogsbroughtgreaterefficiencytohuntingactivities.Additionalstudiesconcerningthesehunting activities will be useful to contribute to proposals for management plans regulating huntingintheregionwiththeobjectiveofattainingsustainableuseoffaunalresourcesofgreatimportance to the local human communities.BackgroundThe relationships between men and animal species repre-sentsomeofthemostancienttypesofhumaninterac-tions with the biodiversity of our planet. As Holland [1]pointed out, pre-historic societies used animals and theirproducts(primarilyconsumedasfood),andtheuseofPublished: 22 April 2009Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-12Received: 29 December 2008Accepted: 22 April 2009This article is available from: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12 2009 Alves et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 2 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)animalshasperpetuatedthroughoutthehistoryofhumanity. Wild animals and their body parts or sub-prod-uctsareusedinawidevarietyofwaysincontemporarysocieties: as food resources, as pets, in cultural activities,formedicinalandmagic-religiouspurposes,asclothingand tools [2-11]. The many uses of faunal resources havealwaysstimulatedhuntingoneofthemostancienthuman activities which continues, to a greater or lesserextent, to the present day [12-17].Animals have been used for numerous purposes by indig-enous societies for millennia in Brazil and by Europeanssince colonial times. The country retains between 15 and20% of the world's biodiversity as well as a huge culturaldiversity represented by more than 200 indigenous tribesandalargenumberoftraditionalcommunitiesthatallpossessconsiderableknowledgeaboutthelocalfaunaand flora and use these natural resources in many differ-ent ways [18]. Little attention, however, has been given tothissocialuseofthebiodiversityinBrazilandthefewworks that have been published on the subject were stud-ies undertaken in the Atlantic and the Amazonian Forests[19-21]. There have been no published studies about sub-sistence hunting for the Caatinga Biome, even though it isknown to be one of the greatest threats to the regional fau-nal biodiversity [22] and numerous animal species thereare threatened by extinction due to intense hunting pres-sureandenvironmentaldegradation[23,24].Fromasocial perspective, on the other hand, the capture of wildanimals constitutes an important factor in the subsistenceof the human communities inhabiting Brazil's semi-aridnortheastern region.In the face of the need to develop environmental conser-vation strategies suited to the socioeconomic and ecolog-ical realities of human extractive activities in the Caatinga,the present study describes techniques and strategies usedthere for hunting animals. Our results should be useful informulating management plans and proposals for regulat-ing hunting while permitting sustainable use of the faunalresources of that region.Materials and methodsStudy areaThe present study was carried out in the municipality ofPocinhos, located in the western sector of the BorboremaPlateau, Paraba State, Pocinhos micro-region, Paraibanomeso-region, Brazil (Fig. 1) [25]. The municipality of Poc-inhosisborderedbyCampinaGrande,BoaVista,Puxi-nan,Soledade,Olivedos,BarradeSantaRosa,Algodode Jandara, Esperana, Areial, and Montadas [26]. Pocin-hos occupies an area of 630 km2 and has a population ofapproximately14880,ofwhichaboutfiftypercent(7,323) reside in the rural zone [27].The average annual temperature is 23C and varies littleduringtheyear.Theregionhasaverylowrainfallrate,oscillatingannuallybetween400and600mm.Thecli-mateishot,semi-arid,withrainfallintheautumnandwinter months (dry Mediterranean type) [26] and the veg-etationisdominatedbysub-deciduousanddeciduousforests typical of semi-arid regions. Soil quality is very var-iable, with a certain predominance of average to high fer-tilityareas[25].Theregionaltopographypresentsarolling landscape dissected by deep, narrow valleys.ProceduresInformationconcerninghuntingpracticesandstrategieswasobtainedthroughsemi-structuredquestionnairescomplemented by free interviews [28]. The questionnaireswere applied to 106 hunters from the municipality and, ofthis number, 78 (74%) live in urban areas but frequentlytraveltoruralareastohunt,while28(26%)liveintheruralzone.Amongtheinterviewees,key-informants(more experienced hunters) were selected using the crite-rion of "native specialists" people who consider them-selves, and are considered by the community, as culturallycompetentinthisarea[29,30].Weaccompaniedthe15informants (8 rural and 7 urban) in their hunting activi-tiestoacquirebetterdescriptionsofthehuntingtech-niquesusedforthemostimportantgamespecies.DemographicsoftheintervieweesaresummarizedinTable 1.Duringtheinterviewsthehuntersansweredquestionsabout each of the animals they hunted, their hunting tech-Map of study area, Municipality of Pocinhos, NE Brazil Figure 1Map of study area, Municipality of Pocinhos, NE Bra-zil.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 3 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)niques, and reasons for hunting these animals, etc. Priorinformedconsentwasobtainedforallinterviewscon-ducted.Theethicalapprovalforthestudywasobtainedfrom the Ethics committee of Paraiba University State.The animals cited as being hunted were identified by theanalysisofspecimenscapturedanddonatedtotheproject,photographsoftheanimalstakenduringtheinterviews, and based on their vernacular names (with theaidoftaxonomistsfamiliarwiththefaunainthestudyarea).ResultsHuntingintheCaatingaregionhasbeenpracticedsinceremote times and represents a traditional form of wildlifemanagement. Hunting in the study area is associated withthefollowingcategories:a)subsistence(foodresources)(n=20hunters);b)control(directedtowardsanimalpredatorsconsidereddangeroustohumansortheirdomestic animals or to the dogs used for hunting) (n = 4);c) sport (leisure and entertainment) (n = 82). A total de 56hunters who were interviewed indicated that they huntedfor two or more motives, and one of them was hunting tocontrol predators. In addition to the animals being usedas food, these creatures could also be kept as pets, used formedicinal and magic-religious purposes, or as clothing orfor tools.The most hunted prey were: Kerodon rupestris (rock cavy "moc"), Conepatus semistriatus (striped hog-nosed skunk " tacaca"), Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo"tatuverdadeiro"),Euphractussexcinctus(six-bandedarmadillo "tatu peba"), Tamandua tetradactyla (southerntamandua "tamandu"), Leopardus tigrinus (small spot-ted cat "gato maracaj"), Puma yagouaroundi (jaguarundi"gatovermelho"),Cerdocyonthous(crab-eatingfox"raposa"),Galeaspixii(spix'syellow-toothedcavy"pre"),Caviaaperea(Brazilianguineapig"pre"),Galictis vittata (greater grison "furo"), Didelphis albiven-tris(skunk'timbu'),Zenaidaauriculata(earedDove"ribac"),Claravispretiosa(blueground-dove"rolinha"),Columbinapicui(picuigrounddove-"rolinha"),C.minuta(plain-breastedground-dove"rolinha"), C. squammata (scaled dove-" rolinha"), C. tal-pacoti (ruddy ground-dove "rolinha"), Nothura maculosa(spotted nothura "cordoniz"), Leptotila verreauxi (white-tippeddove"jurutis"),Crypturellustataupa(tataupatinamou"lambus"),C.parvirostris(small-billedtinamou"lambus"),Cariamacristata(red-leggedseriema),Patagioenaspicazuro(picazuropigeon"asabranca"),Aramidessp(woodrail"sericia"),Icterusjamacaii (campo troupial "concriz"), Cyanocompsa brisso-nii(ultramarinegrosbeak"azulo"),Carduelisyarrellii(yellow-faced siskin "pinta silva"), Sporophila albogularis(white-throated seedeater "golado"), Gallinula chloropus(common moorhen galinha dgua), Paroaria dominicana(red-cowledcardinal"galodecampina"),Tupinambismerianae (lizard, "tegu" "tejua"), Crotalus durissus (rat-tlesnake"cascavel"),Boaconstrictor(boa"jibia"),Micrurussp.(coralsnakes)andBothropssp.(vipers).Examples of hunted animals are shown in Figure 2.Hunting knowledge is passed from generation to genera-tion and is part of the culture of the people who live in theCaatingaregion.Huntingactivitiesstartinearlychild-hoodwhenanimals(generallybirdsandreptiles)arehunted for food using "baladeiras" (sling-shots), or cap-turedintraps(generallybirds)andturnedintopets.Hunting among adults is carried out using various capturetechniquesthatareadaptedtothetypeofpreyandthehabitat where the species live. The techniques and strate-gies used by hunters are described below:Waiting/ambush "Espera" (Fig. 3A)"Waiting" is carried out by hunters, either individually orin pairs, and goes by the local name of "garapa", "bebida",or "pastora". The hunters will first construct a simple hidemade from branches near a water hole (some small tem-poraryorpermanentreservoirbuilttocaptureseasonalrun-off).Thesewateringholesareregularlyvisitedbyavariety of animals. Additionally, hides can be constructedin places where there areabundant plant foodresourcessuchasCrotonsonderianus(marmeleiro),Crotonsp.("velame"),Jatrophamollissima(pinho),orCleomespinosa (muamb) with seeds or fruits that are eaten byTable 1: Information on educational attainment, age, income, and gender of interviewees.GenderMale 104 (98.12%)Female 2 (1.88%)Age29 or younger 29 (27.9)3039 20 (18.6)4049 10 (9.3)5059 18 (17.44)6069 15 (13.95)70 or older 14 (12.79)Monthly income*Undeclared 25 (23.58)Less than minimum wage 26 (24.41)One to two times minimum wage 42 (39.53)Two to three times minimum wage 7 (6.97)Three to four times minimum wage 4 (3.48)Four to five times minimum wage 2 (2.32)Educational attainmentIlliterate 53 (50)Attended school for 8 years 40 (38.36)Attended school for less than 8 years 4 (3.48)Finished high school 9 (8.13)* Brazilian minimum wage approximately equivalent to US$ 180 at the time surveys took place.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 4 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)game birds such as Z. auriculata and C. pretiosa, C. picui, C.minuta, C. squammata and C. talpacoti.Oncethehideisconstructed,thehunterwillremaininside, camouflaged among the branches, ready to shootanyanimalthatapproaches.Theweaponsmostcom-monly used in this technique are shell and mussel-load-ing rifles.Theanimalscommonlyhuntedusingthistechniquearediurnal birds such as Z. auriculata, C. pretiosa, Columbinapicui, C. minuta, C. squammata and C. talpacoti, N. maculosaand L. verreauxi although some hunters affirm that theywillalsoshoototheranimals(smallerbirdsandsmallmammals) that appear and that can be used as food.ThissametechniqueiswidelyusedinotherCaatingaareas, although it is often adapted to suit the regional veg-etation. In areas where the vegetation is more intact andthere are large trees and dense forest areas, the hunter maywait in ambush high in the trees.Imitation "Arremedo" in the local language (Fig. 3B)Inthistechnique,incontrastto"waiting",thehunterdoesn't try to ambush the prey at its feeding or drinkingsites, but rather attempts to call the prey to within shoot-ing distance by imitating ("arremedar") their songs. Thishunting technique is usually practiced individually and isusedmainlyforgamebirds.Assuch,itdemandsadetailedknowledgeoftheecologyofthehuntedbirds,includingtheirreproductiveperiod(theirperiodof"fogo", literally,"fire") and their mating calls. The huntersimitatethebird'scallusingawhistle("arremedo")thatemitssimilarsounds(Fig.4).ThisinstrumentcanbeboughtinpublicmarketsinthetownofPocinhosorinneighboringcities,althoughsomehuntersmaketheirown"arremedos"usingplasticorglassmaterialsthatcome to hand. In some cases the hunter can imitate someofthebirdsbywhistling,withouttheneedofan"arremedo". To use this calling technique, the hunter willwalk through the forest until he hears the singing of a birdand he will follow the sound while at the same time tryingto call the bird in with the "arremedo".Besidesrecognizingthesongsofimportantspecies,thehunters are able to distinguish the difference between themales the females, since to attract a male the hunter has toimitate the female, and vice versa. As one hunter said: "itis necessary to know if the song is from a male or from afemale so we can call in the right animal, so that it thinksthatitisitspairandcomestodierightnexttoyou...".Accordingtothehunters,duringtheperiodofmating("fogo"),theanimalsareattractedtothehunterswhenthe opposite sex is imitated ("arremedados").The animals most hunted using the "arremedo" techniqueare birds: C. tataupa, C. parvirostris, L. verreauxi, C. cristata,P.picazuro,N.maculosa,Z.auriculataandAramidessp.SomehunterswillalsoimitateandattractsmallediblemammalssuchastherodentK.rupestrisormimicthesounds of birds in order to attract foxes and other animalsthatpreyonfarmanimalssuchaschickensandguinea-fowl.Hunting with dogs (Fig. 3C)Hunting with dogs can be practiced by one or more men,and generally one or two trained dogs are used. This typeof hunting usually takes place at night and the target-preyExamples of animals hunted in the semi-arid northeasternregion of Brazil Figure 2Examples of animals hunted in the semi-arid north-eastern region of Brazil. A: Euphractus sexcinctus, B: Conepatus semistriatus, C: Skin of Leopardus tigrinus, D: Puma yagouaroundi, E: Icterus jamacaii, F: Paroaria dominicana, G: Tupinambis merianae and H: Boa constrictor (Photos A, B, G, H: Washington Vieira; C, D, E: Lvia Mendona and F: Hlder Arajo).Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 5 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)Hunting techniques used in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil Figure 3Hunting techniques used in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil. A "Espera" (waiting/ambush), B "Arremedo" (imitation), C Hunting with dogs, D "Facheado", E Tracking, and F The use of hooks (Illustration: Washington Vieira).Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 6 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)is usually a mid-sized mammal such as a C. semistriatus, D.novemcinctus, E. sexcinctus, or T. tetradactyla.Thehuntersusuallyselectareaswithintactvegetation(generallymountainousareas)wherebiggeranimalsaremore abundant and use established game trails. The dogsleadthehuntastheyfollowthescentoftheprey.Thisformofhuntingrequiresgoodphysicalpreparation,aslong distances can be covered both walking and running.Some hunters, however, prefer to wait in one place whilethe dogs go offinpursuitofan animal.Whenthedogs'barkingindicatesthattheyhavecorneredtheirprey("acuarem") in a burrow the hunters will follow the bark-ingandattempttocapturetheanimalbydiggingitoutwithshovelsandhoes.Somehuntersuseakindofironhooktopulltheburrowed("entocados")animalsout.Sometimesthedogsareabletokillthepreyduringthepursuit and before it can take refuge.The dogs used for hunting are well trained, most often bythehunterhimselfashewillhavetakenthemonhuntsinto the forest while they were still young so that they canlearn to hunt with the older and more experienced dogs.Anotherwaytotrainthesedogsissetthemtotrailandcapture armadillos or other wild animals that have beenrearedathomebythehunters.Thesewildanimalswillstimulate the dogs' natural tendency to hunt. Others hunt-ers prefer to buy trained dogs, which are generally sold athighprices(uptoUS$250).Thetrainingandsellingofhunting dogs can generate considerable income for somehunters.Duringtheinterviewsitbecameclearthatmanypeoplehunt because it is emotionally stimulating. It also becameapparent that the good hunters, especially those that wentafter D. novemcinctus with dogs, are respected and admiredby other hunters as this animal is considered fast and dif-ficult to capture.Dogs are also be used to hunt Crypturellus spp. during theday, but according to the hunters only "perdigueiro" dogsaregoodtrackers.Theseanimalsaretrainedtofrightenand flush a "lambu" so that the hunter can shoot it as ittakes flight. Once down, the dog will retrieve the bird andbring it back to the hunter.To train these "lambuzeiro" dogs, the hunters use a fabricballcoveredwith"lambu"featherstostimulatetheani-mal'snaturalpredisposition for that kindof hunting. InthemunicipalityofSoMamede,alsolocalizedinthesemi-aridregion,dogsareusedtohuntT.merianae(tejuaus) during the day.Facheado (Fig. 3D)Thishuntingtechniqueisusuallyemployedtocapturesong birds to be kept as pets. In the "facheada" mode, thehunters will go out at night with lanterns to illuminate thebirds in their nests. With their vision blurred by the brightlight,thestartledbirdscannottakeflightandareeasilycaptured.Theprincipalspeciescapturedusingthistech-nique are the I. jamacaii, C. brissonii, C. yarrellii, S. albogu-laris,andP.dominicanabirdswidelysoughtafterandsoldaspets.Additionally,somehuntersindicatedthatrolinhas were also captured using this technique, althoughthese birds are usually eaten.Tracking (Rastreamento) (Fig. 3E)This technique was used by a only a small number of thehunterswhowereinterviewed(n=4),anditismostlydirected towards hunting down predators of domestic ani-mals such as felines (L. tigrinus and P. yagouaroundi) andfoxes (C. thous), or towards eliminating agricultural pests.Other mammals such as the E. sexcinctus and C. semistria-tus, however, are also tracked by these hunters.Accordingtotheinterviewees,whendomesticanimalsuch as sheep or chicken are killed, or when a corn plan-tation is damaged, the small property owners will recruitthe hunters to track and to kill or capture the predator ani-mal. The hunters mostly use shotguns in this work.The tracking hunters have a broad knowledge of these ani-mals' habits and they can readily distinguish their tracks.According to these men, the L. tigrinus has nocturnal hab-its, sleeping during the day in the shade of cactus Pilosocer-eus sp. (facheiro), or others plants in the region, and thengoing out at night to hunt. P. yagouaroundi, on the otherhand, has diurnal habits and is primarily responsible forWhistles used by hunters in the semi-arid region of ParaibaState, Brazil Figure 4Whistles used by hunters in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil. The "Arremedo" hunting technique for capturing "moc" (Kerodon rupestris) (left), "lambus" (Cryp-turellus tataupa and C. parvirostris) (middle) and "jurutis" (Lep-totila verreauxi), "riba" (Zenaida auriculata), and "asa branca" (Patagioenas picazuro) (right).Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 7 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)preying on domestic animals. According to the interview-ees, when the "gato do mato" kills an animal but buriespart of it, it means that it plans to return later to finish itsmeal. The hunters can often take advantage of this behav-ior by waiting in ambush near the buried food. The inter-viewees also stressed that it is necessary to remain down-wind of the prey when tracking so that the animal will notcapture the scent of the hunter and take refuge. One inter-viewee stated that he had killed about two hundred "gatosdo mato" during his life. The hunters stated they eat theanimals they hunt (e.g. C. semistriatus, E. sexcinctus, P. yag-ouaroundiandL.tigrinus)andthatsomeoftheanimalparts are used for medicinal purposes, as in the case of thefat of C. semistriatus or C. thous.Using hunting trapsMany animal species are captured using traps. The types oftraps cited by the hunters included: hooks, "quix", "ara-puca","arataca"."alapo","fojo","visgo",nooses,orcages for carnivorous or armadillos, which are describedas follows.Fishing hooks (Fig. 3F)This type of snare uses a common fishing hook. The hookisattachedtosomefishinglineandthentiedtoatreebranchsothatthehookhangsabout20cmabovetheground. Bait is placed on the hook to attract and snare theprey. This technique is principally used to capture arma-dillos and "tejuacus".Quix (Fig. 5A)The quix is a fairly simple trap than can be made out ofa flat rock (of variable size and shape, depending only onthe size of the animal to be captured). The assembled trapiscomposedofaninclinedrocksupportedbyatriggermadeofarticulatedwoodensticks.Fruitsorseedsthatmake up part of the diet of the prey (such as Ananas sp. pineapple,Crotonsp.velame,Jatrophasp.pinho,Cleome spinosa muamb, or Croton marmeleiro peels)are put under the rock and near the trigger to attract theanimal.Anyslighttouchofthetriggerbytheanimal'smovementswillcausethe"quix"traptofall.Theani-malsthataremosthuntedusingthistechniqueareG.spixii, C. aperea and K. rupestris, although other mammalsand some birds can also be captured in this way.Armadillo cages "gaiolas" (Fig. 5B)Cages, also called "jejer" or "jequi" by some hunters, arecommonly used to capture armadillos. This iron trap hasa cylindrical shape, with one of the ends being open butwithatriggereddoorthatclosesaftertheanimalhasentered.Thistypeoftrapisusedinthecaseswheretheprey "se entoca" (hides in its burrow). The cage is then putinfrontoftheburrowsowhentheanimalcomesoutlooking for food or water it will get caught inside the trap.Often the hunter will simply leave the cage and come backthe following day to check to see if the animal has beencaptured.The advantage of using this type of trap is that the huntersaves both time and energy in capturing the animal, as hedoesn'tneedtodigitout.Additionally,thehuntercanalso opt not to kill the animal right away, but rather takeithomeforfattening("cevar")acommoncourseofaction, especially with animals like the armadillo."Arataca" (Figs. 5C and 5D)The "arataca" is an iron snap-trap with two jaws that openunder pressure. Bait (fruit, chicken heads, eggs, corn, etc)is used to attract the prey, and when the animal steps onthe rounded trigger at the base of the trap the two jaws willsnap shut on the animal's paw. The animals that are mosthunted using this technique are P. yagouaroundi, L. tigrinusand C. thous, as these animals usually attack domestic ani-malsanddestroyplantings.Otheranimals,liketheC.Hunting traps used in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State,Brazil Figure 5Hunting traps used in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil. A "quix", B armadillo caught in a "jejer" or "jequi", C armed "Arataca", D desarmed "Arataca", E "alapo", and F "fojo".Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 8 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)cristata, E. sexcinctus and T. merianae can also be caught inan "arataca", as well as animals without any importance asfood resources, such as the G. vittata and D. albiventris, orevendomesticanimals(goats,swine,dogs,ordomesticcats).Alapo (Fig. 5E)The"alapo",alsocalled"assapro"or"gaiolapega-deira",isatypeoflightweightbirdcagecomposedofanumber of compartments (up to 6). A "campeador" bird(which sings a lot) is placed in the central compartmentand the cage is placed in an open field. The songs of the"campeador" bird will attract other male birds that cometo"defend"theirterritoryandthesewillbecapturedinthe other compartments of the cage. Female birds can alsobe placed in the "assapro" to attract males. This trap wasespecially destined to hunt songbirds, which are valued aspets.Anotherwaytousethe"assapro"istoputfoodinside the cage as bait (primarily "alpiste" seeds).- Fjo (Fig. 5F)The 'fjo' is a wooden trap made by the hunters, which isusedtocapturesmallormedium-sizedprey,likeE.sex-cinctus, G. spixii, C. aperea" and, less commonly, birds suchasCrypturellusssp.Thehunterswilldigadeepholeandplace a large can inside it. At the top of the hole/can theyplace a suspended lid that will pivot when an animal stepson it, causing the animal to fall into the can. The lid willthenquicklypivotbackandimprisontheanimal.Toattract the prey, bait (fruits, seeds or eggs depending onwhat animal the hunter intends to capture) is placed nexttothe"fjo".Oneadvantageofthistechniqueisthatavarietyofanimalscanbecapturedinthesamekindoftrap. Nevertheless, many animals without food value (inthe hunters' opinion) can be captured, such as snakes or"timbus".Theseanimals,besideshavinglittleuse,cansometimesprovokefatalaccidents(asinthecaseofsnakes)."Visgo"Thismethodusesanadhesivemade(orbought)bythe"passarinheiros" (people who specialize in capturing andselling birds) that is applied to a stick and when a birdlands on the stick it becomes stuck to the glue. Accordingto Gama and Sassi [31], commercially produced "visgo" isnotwidelyusedduetoitshighcost,anditisthereforemore common that hunters use a "visgo" prepared fromthe viscous sap of certain fruit trees Artocarpus sp. (Jaque-ira) and Hancornia speciosa (mangabeira). Often this glueismixedwiththebarkoftheAnacardiumoccidentale(cajueirovermelho)toaddcoloranddisguisethewhitetone of the raw sap. The resulting adhesive mass is capableof snaring even large birds. The struggles of birds impris-oned on the "visgo" only worsens their situation as morefeathers become ensnared in the glue; and for that reasonthe trappers have to quickly release the birds or they maydie."Arapuca" (Fig. 6)Arapucas (crude cages) are constructed from thin lengthsof wood bound by twine or wire into four-sided pyrami-dal structures (about 40 cm to a side and of equal height).To set the trap, one side of the base of the pyramid is sus-pended and armed with a trigger mechanism and baitedwithgrainsofcorn.Thehunterwillsetthistrapnearagametrailorinplacewheretheanimal(usuallyabird)will come to feed. When the bird pecks at the corn it willtrigger the cage to fall, holding the (usually) live animaluntilthehunterreturns.Dependingontheexactsizeofthe "arapuca" it can capture a variable number of individ-ualsanditiscommonlyusedtocatch"ribas","rolin-has", "galinhas dagua", etc.Cages for carnivorous (Fig. 7)Cagesforcapturingcarnivorous(L.tigrinus,P.yagoua-roundi and C. thous) are called "aratacas" by some hunters.These traps consist of a box made of planks with a doorthatclosesby wayof a guillotinemechanism. There isavisiblecompartmentintheback of thetraptohold livebait (generally a chicken). This trap is used by hunters liv-ing in rural areas to capture "gatos do mato" and foxes, astheseanimalsusuallyattackdomesticanimalsanddestroy plantings.Nooses (Fig. 8)This type of trap is generally used to capture L. tigrinus, P.yagouaroundi, and C. thous and consists of a noose made ofrope mounted within an open-ended barrel-shaped struc-ture made from lengths of thin wood that is lightly fixedto the ground. There is a small opening near the bottomforthetriggermechanism,whichiscomposedofathintwig that holds the bait (usually a chicken head or otherpiece of meat) inside the barrel-like structure that articu-lates with another twig outside the trap. The second twigis attached to the rope, which is in turn bound to a ten-sioned branch of a tree; the other end of the rope formsthenoosewithinthetrap(seeFig.8).Whenananimalputs its head into the trap and grabs the bait, it releases thetrigger and the branch snaps upward catching the animalby the neck and choking it or breaking its neck. The ropenear the noose will often be covered by a plastic tube toprevent the struggling animal from gnawing through therope. This trap will often snare animals other than thosebeing actively hunted (e.g. domestic animals).Frequency of the use of the techniques and traps described aboveThe same hunter will use different techniques to catch dif-ferentanimals.Amongthetechniquesavailabletotheinterviewees,most(n=77)simplywaitedinahide;65Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 9 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)Arapuca live bird trap ready to be used (A and B), C Prey attracted by bait and D Prey imprisoned by Arapuca (Illustration:Washington Vieira) Figure 6Arapuca live bird trap ready to be used (A and B), C Prey attracted by bait and D Prey imprisoned by Ara-puca (Illustration: Washington Vieira).Partial view of the cages used by hunters to capture carnivorous in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil Figure 7Partial view of the cages used by hunters to capture carnivorous in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Bra-zil. A Upper portion; B Posterior portion, showing bait (chicken) and C Anterior portion.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 10 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)huntedwithdogs,and57calledintheirprey("arremedo")(Fig.9).Intermsoftraps,themostcom-mon was the "quix" (n = 23), followed by "alapo" (n= 21), "fojo" (n = 17), and cages for armadillos (n = 16)(Fig. 10)DiscussionAbout15%oftheBrazilianpopulation(morethan25million people) lives in the dry Caatinga region [32], andtheruralpopulationthereischaracterizedbyextremepoverty[33].Duetotheadverseenvironmentalcondi-tions in the region, the populations there have developeduniquesocial-environmentalstructuresandastrongdependence on the use of regional natural resources, andthey maintain a wide range of interactions with native fau-nal resources.Hunting in the study area is practiced by a large numberof people and targets a wide variety of species. Vertebrates(birds,reptiles,andmammals)aretheprincipalprey,which is in accordance with other hunting studies under-taken in Brazil and in other parts of the world [11,12,34-43].The practice of hunting is quite common in the surveyedarea, and the people use animal resources in various ways(formedicinalandornamentalpurposes,andasfoodsourcesoraspets)whichdemonstratestheeconomicandculturalsignificance oflocal fauna topeoplein thisregion. Capturing songbirds is one of the preferred activi-ties of children and adolescents, and indicates that hunt-ingpracticesbegininchildhood.Besidestheutilitarianbenefitsofhunting,manypeople(n=65)admittheyNoose trap used by hunters in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil Figure 8Noose trap used by hunters in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State, Brazil. A Trap prepared for use; B Prey attracted by bait; C Prey captured by noose and D Prey strangled by the noose (Illustration: Washington Vieira).Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 11 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)huntforleisureandsport.Ourresultsareinagreementwithpreviousauthorswhohaveshownthathuntingactivities involve socio-economic factors, and that knowl-edgeassociatedwiththesepracticesistransmittedthrough generations [20,44].Incontrasttoanyutilitarianvalue,somespeciesarehuntedbecausetheyareperceivedtorepresentriskstohumanhealthortodomesticstock(e.g.venomoussnakes:Crotalusdurissus,Micrurussp.,Bothropssp.)orcause damage to planted areas (e.g. granivorous birds androdents)orpreyondomesticanimals(suchasthefelines). Similar findings were reported from Mato GrossoState, Brazil, where Trinca and Ferrari [20] observed thatsome local hunters were in favor of the extermination ofany predators with the potential to attack humans or theirdomesticanimals,evenifthesepredatorslivedintheirnaturalforestenvironmentfarfromhumansettlements.Inrelationtosnakes,Caatingainhabitantsnotonlykillthe poisonous species, but also non-poisonous individu-als(colubrids,boids, andleptotyphlopids)becausetheyprovokefearandrepulsion,orbecausepeoplejustcon-sider them as potentially dangerous. The local populationalsoincludesamphisbaeniansinthiscontext,eventhough they are not serpents at all, but do have a snake-like body form.Wildlife-humanconflictisawidespreadconservationissueofincreasingconcerntoconservationists.Human-wildlifeconflictsoccurwhentheneedsandbehaviorofwildlifeimpactnegativelyonthegoalsofhumans,orwhenthegoalsofhumansnegativelyimpactwildlifeneeds.Theseconflictsusuallyoccurwhenwildlifedam-ages crops, injures or kills domestic animals, or threatensorkillspeople[45].Intruth,wheneverhuman-wildlifeconflicts occur both parties lose [46-50] making human-wildlifeinteractionsachallengingaspectofecosystemmanagement [51,52].Inthiscontext,thesameanimalspeciescanrepresenteither a potential resource or a potential economic loss orhealthrisk.T.merianae,forexample,arepredatorsofdomesticbirdsandtheireggs,butthislizardisusedasfood resource and their fat and their tongues are used asfolk remedies [7-10,53,54]. Another example is the rattle-snake(C.durrisus),whichisarisktohumansandtheirdomestic animals, but the fat from this serpent is widelyusedinregionalmedicinal[54-56].Theseobservationsare in agreement with Marques [30], who pointed out thatthe link between humans and animals is fraught with con-tradictions and ambiguities, as the native fauna can repre-sent either a resource or a risk to the local people.As pointed by Ross [57], an important part of the adaptiveprocess of hunting is the co-evolution of hunting technol-ogyandgeneralprocurementstrategies.Ourstudyindi-catedthatavarietyofhuntingmethodsareavailabletoexploit the local faunal resources, and individual hunterscommonly use more than one technique. This strategy isimportant because many Caatinga species have a markedseasonalityandareabundantmainlyduringtherainyperiod, although some are evident all year round. In thiscontext,thepossibilityofusingvarioushuntingtech-niquespermitsadaptationtothevaryingavailability/accessibility of game animals.Shotguns constitute the basic tool of most hunters, even ifit is not directly used for killing their prey for it serves asa potential defense against any unexpected threat duringthehunting activities. Previous studies have pointed outthattheuseoffirearmsinhuntingisalmostuniversalUse frequency of hunting techniques employed by hunters inthe Municipality of Pocinhos, NE Brazil Figure 9Use frequency of hunting techniques employed by hunters in the Municipality of Pocinhos, NE Brazil.Use frequency of traps employed by hunters in the Munici- pality of Pocinhos, NE Brazil Figure 10Use frequency of traps employed by hunters in the Municipality of Pocinhos, NE Brazil.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 12 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)[58]. According to Jerozolimski and Peres [59], weaponslikethe"cartucheira"shotgun(verycommoninthepresent study) are predominant in practically all neotrop-ical regions. Even in the indigenous communities, the useof traditional arms such as the bow and arrow is increas-ing rare.Passive hunting (i.e. hunting in which the hunter does notactively search for game) using traditional traps is also rel-ativelyfrequent.Trapusagehasbeenregisteredinotherregions of Brazil [12,58,60], and in some cases the tech-niquesusedareverysimilartothoseemployedbythehunters in the present study. Almeida et al. [58], for exam-ple, in study carried out in state of Acre, reported the useofakindoftrapcalled"jequi"thatwascomposedofabasketplacedintheentranceofanarmadilloden(andsimilartothe"tatuzeira"usedbyhuntersinpresentstudy), and the "mond", made of a heavy piece of woodsettofallontheanimal(whichisverysimilartothe"quix" used in the present survey area).Thesameanimalcanlikewisebehuntedusingdifferenttechniques. The armadillo (E. sexcinctus), for example, canbe hunted with dogs or captured in "tatuzeiras" traps. Insome cases, a combination of techniques will be used, asthe hunter may use tracking dogs to locate the armadilloburrow and then set up his trap. The choice of the tech-nique to be used is also related to the ecology of the prey,as the use of dogs is important for terrestrial and noctur-nal hunts when the animals are difficult to captured usingothertechniques.Likewise,theuseofwhistles(the"arremedo"technique)isimportantforcapturingbirdsthat cannot usually be pursued using dogs.Knowledge about the habits of game species in an impor-tantprerequisiteforusingtraps,asthehuntersneedtoknow the correct place to set them up (usually in resting,feeding, or drinking sites). The possibility of encounteringa given species is clearly contingent on a combination offactors related to the characteristics of the animals them-selves. As such, ecological knowledge and the capacity tointerpret tracks and to imitate the animals represent adap-tivebehaviorthatallowsthesementooptimizetheirhuntingsuccess.Previousstudiesundertakenwithhunter/gatherer societies have shown that detailed knowl-edgeabouttheresourcesbeingharvestedconstitutesafundamentalfactorinthesuccessofthosehuntingorgathering activities [3,61-64].Some of the techniques used by the hunters in the presentresearch are also practiced in other regions and biomes inBrazil.The"waiting"technique,forexample,hasbeendescribed in the Amazon region where the hunters willhideinstrategicplacessuchassalt-licks("saleiros"or"barreiros")orfruittrees[12,58,65],orinsubsistenceplots ("roados") that are frequently visited by Agouti paca(paca) and Dasyprocta sp. (cutias) that come to eat Mani-hotsp.(macaxeira)[58,66].Theseobservationsindicatethat similar hunting strategies are widespread in differentareas and biomes with local adaptations that depend onthe prey and the specific environment.Another very common hunting strategy in Brazil involvesthe use of dogs, and it also occurs in the Amazon region[60,65,67].Diurnalhuntsareusuallyundertakenbyanumberofhunters(fromtwotofour),andtheirdogs(twotosix)cancoverlargeareas,whichincreasestheprobability of capturing some animal. It was observed inthe present study that hunting dogs are principally used atnight (although diurnal hunts were recorded).Fromaconservationperspective,activehuntingtech-niques (waiting, imitation, hunting with dogs, and "fach-eado")havethegreatestimpactonthelocalfauna.Theuse of firearm and dogs brought greater efficiency to hunt-ing activities. When hunting with dogs, animals are takenregardless of their sex or reproductive state, and pregnantfemales or those with young are often killed as can bejudged by the fact that many young armadillos were seenbeing raised by hunters. Additional negative factors asso-ciatedwithhuntingwithdogsinclude:1)althoughagivenspeciesmaybesought,othertypesofanimalsareoften captured or killed, and 2), when a preferred speciesbecomesscarce,otherspeciesarehuntedintheirplace.ThiscorroboratesthefindingsofRedfordandRobinson[68] who observed that hunters will generally take what-ever game they encounter, within their range of acceptablespecies.OrtizvonHalle[69]alsoreportedthatprefer-ences for one or another species disappear when stocks ofthatfavoritespeciesbecomeexhausted,andpeoplewillthen hunt whatever they can to meet their needs.Redford and Robinson [68] noted that the use of dogs willusually increase the capture of certain prey species. Obser-vational evidence suggests that dogs primarily aid huntersnot by killing the prey, but rather by detecting the animalsandflushingthemintolocations(i.e.burrows,hollowtrunks, waterways) where hunters can more easily attackthem [70,71]. In an analysis of optimal foraging strategiesofMayangnaandMiskitohuntersasputforwardbyKoster [71], it could be seen that both encounter rates andtheprofitabilityofpreytypescanvarydramaticallybetweenhunterswithdogsandhunterswithoutdogs.Hunters with dogs encountered approximately nine timesas many agoutis as unassisted hunters, and nocturnal spe-ciessuchas"pacas"(Cuniculuspaca)andnine-bandedarmadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) were typically encoun-teredondaytripsonlywhenhuntingwithdogs[71].Giventhesedifferences,itisreasonabletoinferthatthespecies composition of harvests will vary between huntersJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 13 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)with dogs and hunters without dogs [72]. Ventocilla et al.(1995) blamed the use of dogs for the local extinction ofseveral wildlife species in rural areas of Panama, and theuse of hunting dogs is in fact prohibited in some commu-nities in the Brazilian state of Acre [73,74].Hunting activities using the "arremedo" technique (whichisprincipallydirectedtowardsbirdsduringtheirrepro-ductiveperiods)or"facheado"(wheretheanimalsarecollecteddirectly in theirnests)have obviousanddirectimpactsonanimalpopulations.Anothertechniquethatcan significantly impact some species is waiting (ambush-ing).Z.auriculata,forexample,isamigratorybirdthatappears in large flocks during the rainy period in the semi-aridregionanditcanbeeasilytakenbyhunterswhilenestingontheground.Thisspecieshasexperiencedintensehuntingpressureontheadultbirdsandthedestruction of its eggs and nests. It can thus be seen thatthereproductiveperiodofwildanimalsoftencoincideswith the principal hunting period for that species, whichposes severe challenges for conservation efforts.Independent of the hunting method used, most huntingactivities imply the use of firearms. The adoption of gunhunting, which is far more efficient than traditional meth-ods, almost certainly resulted in a wider range of speciesbeingtargetedbyhumanhunters(andwithgreatersuc-cess). In addition to the proliferation of modern arms, theuse of other equipment (such as spotlights) has improvedhunting effectiveness and has stimulated commercial andsporthuntinginadditiontoincreasingtheefficiencyofsubsistencehunting.Accesstotechnologicalimprove-ments has allowed hunters to modify their hunting tech-niquesinBrazilandinmanyotherLatinAmericancountries [69,75].Of the harvested species cited by the hunters above, twoare found on Brazil's official list of endangered species: L.tigrinus and C. yarrellii [76]. Although most of the huntedspeciesarenotlistedasthreatened,overexploitationofthemostdesiredspeciescouldleadtolocalextinctions.Although we were unable to obtain direct measurementsofhuntingpressure,ourinterviewswiththehunterssoughttheirownevaluationsoftheimpactsofhunting.Thegreatmajorityofthehuntersinterviewed(n=99)stated that the populations of some species appeared to bedeclining,suchasD.novemcinctusandP.yagouaroundi.Bergallo et al. [77] stated that reduced rates of encounterswithparticularspeciesareevidenceofpopulationdeclines. As such, we wish to emphasis here the necessityof implementing conservation programs directed towardsorganizinghuntingactivitiesinwaysthatcanguaranteethe maintenance of native animal species in the Caatingaregion for the uncontrolled exploitation of wild animalresourcesnotonlythreatensthosespeciesbutalsothehuman populations that depend on them.The fact an extremely threatened species like L. tigrinus areperceivedasathreattodomesticstockandisactivelyhuntedisofspecialconcern.HuntinghasbeenseverelyregulatedBrazilsince1967whenthefirstWildlifeLaw(N5197-67)declaredthatallwildlifespeciesarefeder-ally protected and prohibited hunting under any circum-stances(exceptforscientificpurposes).Alatermodificationofthislaw(N9605-1998)statesthatthe"destruction" of wild animals is permitted when they areconsidered "pests" to agriculture or to public health. Per-mits to eliminate such pests can only be emitted, however,by an unspecified "competent authority."One of the greatest challenges to wildlife conservation inthe Caatinga region is how to integrate human and con-servation needs. A large part of the human population inthe region lives in extreme poverty [33], and the captureof wild animals is inextricably linked with socioeconomicfactors.ThepersistenceofhuntingactivitiesinBrazilinspite of the well-known illegality of this practice is closelyassociatedwithculturalquestionsandwiththefactthattheseanimalshavegreatnutritionalimportancetolow-incomefamiliesthatcannotobtainsufficientproteinresources from domestic animals. As pointed out by Clark[78],povertyisasignificantdriverofhuntingbehaviorsthat place negative pressures on local ecosystems. Leal etal. [21] observed that poverty is considered the principalchallengetotheinhabitantsofthesesemi-aridregions,leaving biodiversity conservation with only a small invest-ment priority. The widespread subsistence hunting seen inrural Latin America is an expression of underdevelopmentresultingfromhistorical,social,economicandpoliticalfactors [79].Although wildlife was mainly used as a protein source inthe survey area, hunting cannot be fully explained simplyas a need for food. Subsistence hunting in this semi-aridregion, as elsewhere, is influenced by a complex array ofbiological,socio-economic,political,andinstitutionalfactors, and understanding this multidimensional contextis critical to designing effective conservation solutions. Ata local level, the elaboration of management and conser-vation plans must consider the social and cultural contextof the people involved in these activities, and they must beimplementedinaccordwiththepopulationsthatusethose resources.An overall reduction in hunting pressure appears to repre-senttheidealconservationandwildlifemanagementstrategy [79], although such reductions may not be feasi-ble in many rural settings for a variety of reasons. In lightJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:12 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/12Page 14 of 16(page number not for citation purposes)of these cultural realities, measures designed to guaranteethe sustainability of regional hunting by minimizing har-vestingimpactsonanimalpopulationsarefundamentalandshouldinclude:developingwildlifemanagementeducational programs with strong environmental legisla-tioncomponents;thecorrectenforcementofwildlifelaws;andthecreationofchannelsforcommunicationbetweenacademicandgovernmentalinstitutionsandhuman populations involved in hunting. We would alsorecommend combating sport hunting, an activity that cur-rentlyattractslargenumbersofparticipants.Limitationson the use of certain hunting technologies, especially fire-arms, may likewise represent a worthwhile strategy. Addi-tionally, measures that do not directly involve modifyingthebehaviorofthelocalpopulationsshouldbeconsid-ered,suchascontrollingillegalcommercialhuntingbyoutsiders.Studiesontraditionalusesoffaunisticresourcesshouldbecarriedoutwithotherlinkstoconservationbiologyand sustainable management of natural resources [80,81].It must be emphasized, however, that many factors affectanimal populations in the Caatinga biome, and the directconsumptionoftheseanimalsbylocalpopulationsisonlypartofthelargerproblem.AccordingtoLealetal.[21], non-sustainable human activities such as slash andburn agriculture and the continuous use of native pasturefor goat and cattle husbandry are causing environmentalimpoverishment on a huge scale in the Caatinga biome.As such, hunting of wildlife must be considered togetherwith other anthropogenic pressures, such as habitat loss.Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.Authors' contributionsRA, LM, MC, WV and LL Writing of the manuscript, lit-erature survey and interpretation; RA, LM, MC and WV Ethnozoological data, and analysis of taxonomic aspects.All authors read and approved the final manuscript.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank UEPB/PROPESQ-011/2008 for the finan-cial support that made the field surveys possible; PIBIC/CNPq/UEPB for the graduate fellowship conceded to the second and third authors; and Kleber Vieira for his assistance with the figures. 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