143 

 Rank Order of Take Versus Sighting Frequency 



A comparison of game harvest at Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos with the frequency at which game 

 animals were sighted during censuses suggests that the more-frequently-taken game animals also were 

 the more-frequently-sighted game animals. The coati and plain chachalaca were the most frequently 

 taken game species, at 167 kills each (Table 4-3). The plain chachalaca was the most frequently 

 sighted game species (64 sightings), while the coati ranked second (17 sightings; Table 4-3). 

 Conversely, the white-lipped peccary, great curassow, and ocellated turkey were rarely taken or 

 sighted. While not analyzed statistically, these comparisons indicate that Maya hunters at Ejido X- 

 Hazil y Anexos either concentrated their efforts more on the common game species and less on the rare 

 species or, perhaps more simply, harvested the species that were more frequently encountered. 

 Comparative Population Density Estimates 



Manunal population densities have been calculated for several sites in Neotropical forests and 

 permit a comparison with some taxa that occur at Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos. At Ejido X-Hazil y 

 Anexos, when both game and nongame mammals are considered, the squirrel (two taxa combined) was 

 the most abundant taxon at 4.5-10.3 inds./km^, followed by the kinkajou (1.6-5.6 inds./km*) and the 

 coati (1.0-3.9 inds./km^; Table 4-4). Squirrels also had the greatest population densities at two other 

 sites: Panama (180 inds./km^ Glanz [1982]) and Sierra Chame, Guatemala (100 inds./km^; Hendrichs 

 [1977]), while they were relatively uncommon at Guatopo, Venezuela (Eisenberg et al., 1979), Cocha 

 Cashu, Peru (Emmons, 1987; Terborgh, 1983), Cabassou, French Guiana (Charles-Dominique et al., 

 1981), and Tikal, Guatemala (Cant, 1977). On the other hand, excluding bats and small rodents, 

 opossums were among the most abundant mammals at three of the six Neotropical sites (25-65 

 inds./km-; Venezuela, Peru, and French Guiana), while they were relatively uncommon at Ejido X- 

 Hazil y Anexos. 



When the population density estimates are compared, it is clear that mammal populations at 

 Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos were much less dense than those at the other Neotropical sites mentioned 

 above. For example, squirrel densities at Panama (Glanz, 1982) were about 17 times greater than 



