Coexisting with Wild Nonhuman Primates in a Brazilian Semiarid Habitat

Abstract

Wildlife living outside protected areas share the ecosystem with humans and interact with them in various ways. Wild primates exhibit behavioural flexibility in human-influenced habitats most commonly documented as dietary adjustments, and as differences in activity, ranging, grouping patterns and social organization. Historically, most publications have focused on conflictual or negative interactions between humans and wild primates and only recently the focus has been also on positive or neutral interactions. This chapter describes the socio-economic characteristics of a rural human community coexisting with a wild population of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in a Brazilian non-protected area. I directed semi-structured interviews to 77 people living in the semiarid Cerrado/Caatinga regions in the southern State of Piauí. Results showed that the life of the local community was based on subsistence economy. The income of 82% of respondents derived from farm activities. Residents managed small farms with few cattle, and during the rainy season, the main activity was to cultivate small land with corn, manioc, beans and rice. Concerning the education, a total of 70% of surveyed individuals were illiterate or did not complete compulsory school. The assessment of the characteristics of human communities that coexist with the wildlife gives important details on the framework in which a non-conflictual relationship takes place. Indeed, careful interdisciplinary research has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of the complexities of human–wildlife interactions and of the appropriate strategies enabling long-term sustainable human–wildlife coexistence in non-protected and human-influenced areas.KeywordsHuman–animal relationshipsEthnoprimatologyConservationAnimal cultureCapuchin monkeys