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Effects of capture, shearing, and release on the ecology and behavior of wild vicuñas
Author(s) -
Arzamendia Yanina,
Vilá Bibiana
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.1002/jwmg.242
Subject(s) - wildlife , wildlife management , ecology , shearing (physics) , population , biology , geography , demography , engineering , sociology , geotechnical engineering
The goals of sustainable use of wildlife include minimizing long term deleterious impacts of management. We evaluated the ethoecological and demographic responses of wild vicuñas ( Vicugna vicugna ) to capture, shearing, and release in northern Argentina, as well as effects on behavior, by comparing captured and shorn versus non‐captured animals for 2 yr after capture events. We observed subtle and short‐term changes in the movement behavior of individuals, likely due to thermal and behavioral stress following capture. We did not observe changes in survival and birth rates, social organization, or distribution of animals following capture. Therefore, we concluded that the capture techniques used resulted in low impacts on the wild vicuña population. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.