219 



Monthly variation in wildlife use of gardens and adjacent forest . The monthly frequency of track 

 sets along gardens and transects were similar in that tracks were relatively frequent in the wet season 

 during 7/90-10/90 (93% of track sets) and infrequent as the wet season ended and the dry season began 

 during 11/90-1/91 (Figure 6-10). One possible explanation is that wildlife use of gardens was greater 

 during the period between planting and harvest because of the availability of crops as food. After 

 harvest there was no little or no food available in the gardens to attract the wildlife. 



A second explanation about the monthly differences in track set frequency is that juvenile animals 

 accompanied their mother during part of the year. This would inflate population densities as two 

 animals were occupying an area that one normally would hold. 



A third explanation is that wild animals may have restricted their activities in response to the 

 increased number of adult men tapping s^odilla trees. While chicle is tapped during July-March at the 

 study area, the majority of chicle is harvested during September- January (Barrera de Jorgenson, 1993). 

 During 1989 at Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos, 311 chicleros (chicle tappers) harvested this product, while in 

 1990, 333 chicleros were active on the ejido. Most chicleros conmiuted daily between their home and 

 work site. Since the sapodilla tree primarily is located in Late Secondary Forest, the density of 

 chicleros was about 0.66 chiclerosDam?- Late Secondary Forest (322 chicleroslA%9Ai km^; Table 2-3). 

 Given the intensity and duration of these disturbances associated with chicle taping, many species of 

 wildlife may either have sought refuge in isolated areas without sapodilla trees or severely limited their 

 activity during 10/90-1/91, for example, foraging during the night when chicleros were not working. 



Game harvest in gardens . Although areas categorized as Plots & Gardens composed only 6.1% of 

 the study area, the number of wild animals harvested in those areas by Maya hunters was 

 proportionally higher than expected for 10 of 12 game species (Table 3-3). The top five game taxa 

 most frequently taken in Plots & Gardens were the white-tailed deer (62.5% of individuals taken were 

 harvested in Plots & Gardens, n = 26 deer kills), ocellated turkey (Agriocharis ocellata; 50.0%, n = 6 

 kills), agouti (48.6%, n = 35 kills), coati (46.7%, n = 167 kills), and pocket gopher {Orthogeomys 

 hispidus; 41.5%, n = 53 kills). Only the white-lipped peccary (three individuals taken during a single 



