The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, MéxicoAlvarez, Ticul
Science
The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, México
Alvarez, Ticul
Mammals -- Mexico -- Tamaulipas
As Baker (_op. cit._) remarked, the fauna in México is declining mainly
because many areas recently have been cultivated for the first time.
Also, better roads have enabled hunters to reach areas that formerly
were natural refuges for wild animals. Many times it has been said that
the populations of wild animals were declining in México because the
number of game wardens is too small to protect game in all parts of the
country. In some ways this is true but it seems that the problem is
really one of education. The people do not realize that the animals are
part of nature and therefore have the same right to live that man has.
Most people see only the bad side of the animals' activities and never
consider the benefit that wild mammals provide for man. A typical case
is that of the coyote, which is oftentimes killed only because it is a
coyote. Sometimes individual coyotes do kill domestic animals, but the
people seem never to understand that the coyote destroys a large number
of mice, rabbits, and insects as has been shown by studies of the
contents of coyote stomachs.
The Mexican Government at this time is making a concentrated effort to
provide schools in all parts of the country and is formulating new
programs of education. In this official program some lectures in
conservation are needed with reference to the animal life. I know that
some education now is given to people with respect to conservation of
the water, soil, and forest, but gather that there is little that
covers also conservation of animals.
I do not deny the necessity for some natives to kill wild animals.
People need to eat fresh meat and for some it is almost impossible to
obtain meat in any other way than by killing wild animals. Some natives
cannot afford to purchase meat in the markets or they live too far from
any village or city to do so. Also, natives need to protect their
cultivated areas; some of them have only four to six acres of land, on
which corn is the only crop. When one deer in a night can destroy part
of the corn, and in some areas not only one deer but several invade a
field, and when one considers that besides deer there are rabbits,
squirrels, raccoons, and coati, to name only some animals that feed on
the corn, we find that the small cornfield at the end of the season may
not contain any corn to harvest. It is understandable, therefore, that
the natives kill the animals. In this way they protect their cultivated
fields, obtain food and sometimes money for the skins. Many natives,
however, destroy the wildlife only for pleasure or to obtain money for
skins and meat, which sometimes is sold to restaurants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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