218 

 gardens), while in 1990, the coati (30%) and collared peccary (23%) were identified as the main crop 

 predators. In one of the few studies that specifically mentions crop predation in the Yucatan Peninsula, 

 Murphy (1990) reported that white-tailed deer and paca ate crops at the village of Senor. 



Wildlife tracks . Few track sets were recorded for the track slicks along gardens and transects. 

 This corresponded with the low sighting rate for animal censuses (see Chapter 4). Some of the 17 taxa 

 of wild animals represented on the slicks also were taken by hunters (see Chapter 3) while other taxa 

 were observed only during animal censuses (see Chapter 4). Based on the number of track sets 

 recorded, the armadillo (a nongame species, 32 track sets) and the agouti (a game species, 21 track 

 sets) were the most abundant animals. Neither of these two taxa, however, were reported as crop 

 predators (see Figure 6-9). 



Use of gardens versus adjacent forest . Although the paired comparisons of track sets in slicks 

 along gardens and transects yielded only limited results, a few conclusions can be made. In Late 

 Secondary Forest with Gardens, the total number of track sets (29 versus 11), as well as the number of 

 taxa (8 versus 4) observed were greater in garden track slicks than in transect track slicks, respectively, 

 by a ratio of more than two to one (Table 6-2). In Early Secondary Forest, however, the total number 

 of track sets (21 versus 19) and number of taxa (8 versus 9) observed were about equal between garden 

 and transect track slicks. This suggests that in Late Secondary Forest with Gardens, there was a 

 substantial difference in wildlife use of gardens versus transect, but that in Early Secondary Forest 

 wildlife use of gardens and transects was similar. 



Variation in wildlife use by vegetation type . The relative abundance of tracks sets suggests 

 differences in animal abundance among vegetation types. Late Secondary Forest with Gardens had the 

 highest ratio of track sets per reading at 1.05 (40 track sets per 38 readings), followed by Early 

 Secondary Forest at 0.82, and Late Secondary Forest without Gardens at 0.33 (Table 6-2). One 

 possible explanation of this is that the mixture of gardens and forests provides more food and cover for 

 wildlife than either forests alone or the combination of gardens, fruit and vegetable plots, former 

 gardens, catde corrals, and pastures. 



