Size structure of illegally harvested and surviving caiman Caiman crocodilus yacare in Pantanal, Brazil

Abstract

The Yacare caiman Caiman crocodilus yacare is protected by law in Brazil but is hunted illegally. Until now, few authorities have had access to data that might allow analysis of the effect of hunting. We used measurements from 2978 confiscated hides and 1358 skulls found in hunters' camps between October 1987 and September 1990 to reconstruct the sizes of harvested caiman. Hunters preferentially took large caiman and probably harvested mostly males. Some reproductive-sized animals remained in residual populations in heavily hunted areas, and often successful reproduction was known to have occurred in these areas.