Use of wild mammals among yoremes and yoris from El Fuerte, Sinaloa, México.

Abstract

 

Because wild mammals were the group of vertebrates most frequently used from the local ethnofauna in 11 indigenous communities from the north of Sinaloa, this study was carried out, with the purpose of characterizing and describing the use of mammals by Yoremes and Yoris (mestizos). Of the hunters interviewed, 54 % belong to the Mayo-Yoreme ethnic group, and 46 % are Yoris. Fifteen local mammal species were mentioned, of which 47 % were found in some category of risk. Each person interviewed exploited between one and 11 species, and used them in up to eight different ways, with the most frequent being for food, artisanal, medicinal and ritual. The number of uses between Yoremes and Yoris did not vary, but it did between taxonomic orders. The most important species were the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus sinaloae) and the wildcat (Lynx rufus) for both ethnic groups; the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) for the Yoreme; and the Sonoran woodrat (Neotoma phenax) for the Yoris. The knowledge of species hunted and their uses will contribute to the management of their cultural exploitation and for subsistence in the indigenous communities of the north of Sinaloa.