Wildlife plays an important role in communities living in tropical forests. In this context, hunting provides the necessary proteins and micro nutrients to guaranty a healthy nutrition. For centuries, hunters from tropical forests have improved hunting techniques, transmitting them from one generation to the other, as part of their traditional knowledge. As an example of this, hunters use the “call”, a practice that consists in imitating the sound of animals to attract them during their hunting trips. The team from CIFOR and Fundación SI, have chosen to know more about the use of this traditional practice in communities from Puerto Nariño (Colombian Amazon) and Gabon.
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The sounds imitated might for example corrsepond to mating calls, urgency calls between animals from the same species, calls from the adults to their offspring, brids songs, among others. In some occasions, the hunters use certain tools to produce the sound of animals, for example whistles made out of different materials (wood, bones, iron). According to the species and it’s characteristics, the call may also attract other species.
In order to understand the “call” method in the Colombian Amazon, CIFOR and Fundación SI, conducted interviews directed to indigenous hunters from Puerto Nariño. The results indicated that hunters are able to imitate up to 27 species (18 mammals, 9 birds, 1 reptile). This technique is practiced mainly during the day, due to the possibility of attracting dangerous predators at night, such as the Jaguar (Panthera onca), the Puma (Puma concolor), the black boa (Boa sp.), among others. The hunters practice the call in areas where signs of animal presence are observed, foot prints or bitten fruits on the ground. However, they also choose strategic areas to practice the call such as below fruting trees, particularly in “aguajales” (where a palm called “aguaje” grows), salt licks, streams and swamps.
Agouti, Tapir, White lipped pecarry, Collared pecarry, Spectacled caiman (adults), Spectacled caiman (calves), Jaguar, Kinkajou, Puma, Capybara, Squirrel monkey, Grey winged trumpeter, Amazon parrots, Panguana, Partridge, Curassow, Tufted capuchin, Howler monkey, Red brocket, Sloth, Paca, Giant armadillo, Spix’s guan, Wolly monkey, Toucan, Macaw
The most practiced and known call is the alarm call of Agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa). This rodent is abundant close to human settlements and can be observed either in the early morning or at dawn, in slash and burn fields and fallows, where humans cultivate a diversity of fruits and other foods. It’s call consists of a simple whistle that hunters are able to reproduce with their mouth or with tools, such as locally made whistles. When the animal hears the call, it adopts an aggressive attitude and rushes to the call point, which allows the hunter to locate it immediately.
In Gabon, the call is also practiced where signs of animal presence are observed. The hunters hide behind a tree to practice the call during a short lap of time. If no animal responds, they continue walking until they find another suitable place to call again. As opposed to what is observed in Puerto Nariño, hunters in Gabon practice the call during the day and at night. Sometimes they use the root of Afrostyrax africana, placing them in their nose, to imitate the call of the blue duiker, Cephalophus monticola (van Vliet et al, 2009).
Red duiker, Blue duiker, Great apes, Small apes
Nowadays, the promotion of sustainable hunting allows to conserve natural resources taking into account the essential role that wildmeat plays in the food security of local communities living in tropical forests. A few current projects now support the sustainable use of bushmeat through the active participation of local people both at the tecnical and decisions-making levels. In this context, the implementation of participatory monitoring represents a key ingredient for the success of the proyect. Traditional practices may be used for monitoring and represent several advantages: low costs, simple to use and better involvement of local people. The “call” is one of these traditional practices that may be used in the context of participatory monitoring. That’s why CIFOR and Fundación SI have carried out several studies in Central Africa and the Amazon to understand the “call” and evaluate the possibiity to standardize this technique in the context of participatory monitoring.
Van Vliet, N., Kaniowska, E., Bourgarel, M., Fargeot, C., & Nasi, R. (2009). Answering the call! Adapting a traditional hunting practice to monitor duiker populations. African journal of ecology, 47(3), 393-399.
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