Hinds under surveillance

The National office for hunting and wild fauna (ONCFS) is collaborating with the Natural History Museum on research into cervidae, within the CSG perimeter. The red brocket and cariacou have not been studied much due in particular to the fact that they keep under cover. Since access to the site is controlled and hunting forbidden, the animals are not disturbed and it is thus easier to observe them. The ONCFS is hoping to learn a lot about these species through the study.

It was while he was writing a thesis on the ecology of forest cervidae (Mazama) in French Guiana that Olivier Moucadeau, a teacher at Mana, contacted Cécile Richard-Hansen at the ONCFS. “We thought that the CSG domain was very suitable for this kind of study. Furthermore on the coastal strip, it might become a control site for areas in which there is very little hunting when compared with the rest of the department.”
To begin with, Olivier Moucadeau and Cécile Richard-Hansen will make a census of the cervidae but also of all the mammals and large birds in their study site. The fact that personnel working on the base have often observed hinds is a hopeful sign. The results of the prospecting phase which begun in 2005, will confirm whether or not the study is feasible.

There are three cervidae species in Guiana: the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus cariacou or virginianus), the red brocket (Mazama americana) and the cariacou or brown brocket (Mazama gouazoubira). But here as elsewhere on the continent, few studies have been made of these species even though they can be found throughout South America. At the present time, the only data held by the ONCFS (the French national hunting and fauna bureau) comes from the capture of two cariacous during a wildlife preservation operation at the site of the Petit-Saut dam. “These animals are highly susceptible to stress, which makes capturing them particularly difficult. The animal can become paralysed as the result of a sort of myopathy which attacks the muscle cells and can lead to the animal’s death in a matter of hours. We have to do our utmost to avoid this danger. There are two possible ways of capturing them: by netting or with a hypodermic rifle. This last has the advantage of being less stressful for the animal which falls gently asleep without realising what is happening. And even when we capture them using nets, we anesthetise them immediately to keep to a minimum any stress caused by their manipulation.”

Olivier Moucadeau and Cécile Richard-Hansen then fit a captured deer with a radio collar. This allows them to track the animal for one or two years without disturbing it. They can then record its precise whereabouts on a regular basis, three or four times a week, noting its movements and rest periods. “By following this procedure at fixed times, every ten minutes over a given interval, we can discover the home range and rhythms of activity of this species.”
Since hunters like the meat of hinds a lot, this new knowledge will make it possible to determine the impact of hunting on cervidae.

Hinds are good prey since they have no way to defend themselves other than by remaining under cover and keeping absolutely still. Some hunters have recounted that once a hind has been spotted, it freezes behind a tree trunk and then turns around it at the same time as the hunter! As for cariacou, it digs deep into the brush and even when fitted with a transmitting collar is very difficult to spot.

The CSG site would be a good place for studying wild fauna in French Guiana since it has several biotopes such as savannah or forests. This initial cooperation between the CSG and the ONCFS will help us learn a lot about cervidae and perhaps about other species as well.

National office for hunting and wild fauna :

The ONCFS is a public organisation responsible for studying, managing and protecting species of wild fauna. Set up in French Guiana in 1993, it undertakes many projects to improve knowledge of the main species of wild game as well as the impact of hunting for the purpose of implementing sustainable management of animal populations hunted in French Guiana.

Cervidae in French Guiana :

• the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus cariacou or virginianus) is the least known of the three. Measuring 95 cm at the withers, the female weighs approximately 30 kg and the male 50 kg. Its hunting is strictly prohibited.
• the red brocket (Mazama americana) measures about 70 cm at the withers with a weight of between 40 and 60 kg. It would appear to be a solitary animal which is active both day and night and is probably found throughout Guiana. It feeds on seeds, fruit, mushrooms, flowers and leaves. The hind can reproduce when one or two years old. It gives birth to one fawn (sometimes two) after seven months of gestation. The fawn weighs approximately 2kg at birth. Only male adults have short horns. They can be hunted but their meat may not be sold.
• the brown brocket or Cariacou (Mazama gouazoubira) is a diurnal animal which is particularly active during the morning. Thinner than the red brocket, its weight varies between 10 and 15 kg for a wither height of about 55 cm. It appears to prefer dense, humid vegetation such as the banks of rivers where it lives alone. It appears to have similar feeding and reproduction habits to those of the red brocket, apart from the size of its fawns at birth (500 g to 1 kg 300). It spends its nights sheltered in a ditch. It differs from the red brocket in both size and colour. Its stomach is white/grey whereas the red brocket’s stomach is brown/red. The hunting of Cariacou is permitted but its meat may not be sold.