104 

 the night or at dawn/dusk. The white-lipped peccary, however, was taken only during the day, but this 

 likely was due to a small sample size (three individuals killed during a single outing). 



There are at least two possible explanations for this broad temporal pattern of take. One, 

 game species in the study area may have expanded their activity periods since hunters were active 

 throughout the day and night. Many game species in other areas are known to change their behavior 

 during the hunting season. For example, ducks, geese, and white- tailed deer hunted on refuges and 

 wildlife management areas in the United States are known to limit their activity until after the daily 

 hunting period has ended. Two, the pattern of take may not reflect the species' activity period if the 

 animal was shot while inactive or if disturbed while inactive and killed while attempting to escape. 

 Hunters in Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos may have disturbed resting animals while enroute to logging or 

 chicle tapping sites or when they used headlamps and dogs to locate roosting birds and or game hidden 

 in caves or dens. These explanations suggested that the pattern of take did not reflect die activity 

 patterns of the species, but instead reflected the activity period of hunters. 



Characteristics of the Hunters and their Weapons 



Age and identification of hunters . Among indigenous peoples in the Neotropics, subsistence 

 hunting generally is practiced by all of the adult males of the community (cf., Stearman, 1989, 1990; 

 Vickers, 1983, 1984, 1988). With limited exceptions (e.g., Ach6 in Paraguay [Hurtado et al., 1985]; 

 Matses in Peru [Romanoff, 1984]), women do not participate in hunting (i.e., kill game or carry 

 weapons). While 84 of 86 hunters at X-Hazil Sur were males, only about a third of the adult males 

 reported taking game. Conversations with village residents suggested that most of the remaining two- 

 thirds of the male villagers did not hunt, but this was not confirmed. Among the reasons offered by 

 nonhunters for not hunting, especially by young men, were that they didn't have a gun; didn't know 

 how to track or identify game sign; or didn't like the insects, rain, or late hours associated with 

 hunting. 



