We evaluated current uses of wild mammals by indigenous and mestizo communities in Mexico by extracting data from 59 sources published or produced between 1987–2017, covering data from 240 localities and 3,905 questionnaires. We then calculated a Cultural Value Index (CVI) previously applied to plants to quantify resource use and assess the cultural significance of each mammal. A total of 82 species were reported, and the animals with the highest cultural importance according to their CVI (in brackets) were two species of deer (Odocoileus virginianus [18.32] and Mazama temama [10.04]), as well as the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus [14.18]), white-nosed coati (Nasua narica [14.75]), collared peccary (Pecari tajaccu [11.90]), northern raccoon (Procyon lotor [11.28]) and spotted paca (Cuniculus paca [9.84]). The most common uses were for food, to reduce the damage or harm they cause, and for medicinal purposes, with O. virginianus, P. lotor, N. narica, and D. novemcinctus frequently hunted for all these reasons. Our analysis also highlighted the hunting of rarer species of national conservation concern, including commercial trading of body parts of the felids Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis, and Leopardus wiedii. By quantifying the ethnozoological significance of wildlife to indigenous communities, indices such as CVI provide a robust measure of the extent of use and preference for particular species or taxa. This adds to the body of evidence used to develop effective regulations and laws related to harvesting and hunting, and helps promote a more sustainable and long-term approach to the use of natural resources.
Los pueblos otomí-mazahua que habitan en el Estado de México mantienen un vínculo con su entorno natural que va más allá de la división entre humanos y animales; esta relación interespecie nos permite entender cómo en el pensamiento indígena, la vida silvestre en este caso representada por el armadillo tiene una conexión muy particular reconocida en la tradición oral mítica y ritual que permite entender la importancia de la conservación del armadillo en un habitad en el que interactúan humanos y animales. A través de una investigación etnográfica y trabajos bibliográficos se realizó la investigación con el objetivo de entender cuáles son los vínculos entre lo animal y lo humano que permitan la conservación de la especie desde la perspectiva otomí-mazahua, para dar respuesta a la interrogante nos basamos en el precepto fundamental de analizar las cuestiones míticas, rituales, usos y biología del armadillo para poder encontrar elementos para su conservación. El armadillo es una de las especies con mayor presión de caza, es usado como alimento, medicina y ornamento, artesanal, entre otros usos, forma parte activa de las tradiciones orales en la comunidad mazahua-otomi. Dado que los animales forman parte activa de la cosmovisión de los pueblos, esto permite consolidar estrategias de conservación junto con los enfoques ecológicos y biológicos para proteger a especie en peligro de extinción.
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