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Since 2002, we have studied the representation and signification of primates (A. pigra and A. geoffroyi vellerosus) in Q’eqchi’ Mayan culture and cosmovision in the northwest of the Ancestral Rainforest Landscape of Guatemala, through semi-structured interviews and participation in traditional ceremonies and celebrations. We have identified different spiritual, cultural, and social interaction codes, symbolisms, and practices of pre-Hispanic Mayan origin that synergistically promote and directly benefit primate conservation at the community and regional level. Primates have a sacred value for local people as ancestors and divine mediators and in guiding personal and community life. They also constitute powerful symbols of identity and cultural resistance immersed in Q’eqchi’ Mayan art, lineages, and verbal communication. These key aspects and roles of primates, together with being perceived as good and harmless animals, are implicit cultural values and ethical codes embedded in the Q’eqchi’ Mayan collective unconscious that translate into positive attitudes and actions that strongly limit their hunting and favor habitat conservation. Local people have voluntarily protected and allowed growth of secondary forest remnants for primates to survive in their lands. They also make agricultural decisions by considering which forests are inhabited by primate troops, often deciding to not cut them down. They also plant native fruit trees so primates have more food and remain in their lands. We hope that our participatory conservation experience inspires and motivates other researchers and decision-makers to learn from indigenous peoples’ cosmovision to conserve endangered primates and landscapes from a more holistic, inclusive, and effective perspective in Latin America.

Surveys of populations of spider and howler monkeys were conducted at the Mayan sites of Calakmul and Yaxchilán, Mexico and Tikal, Guatemala. The forests in which these sites are found are part of the largest landmass of tropical rain forests present in Mesoamerica, encompassing about 4 million ha. Triangulation of monkey vocalization combined with ground surveys was used to determine the presence of howler and spider monkey groups. Howler monkey mean troop size at these sites varied from 6.6+/-2.1 individuals in Yaxchilán to 7.5+/-1.9 in Calakmul to 8.7+/-2.2 in Tikal. Density estimates varied from 12.8 individuals/km(2 )in Yaxchilán to 15.2 individuals/km(2 )in Calakmul to 17.8 individuals/km(2 )in Tikal. Mean spider monkey subgroup size varied from 4.7+/-2.6 individuals in Tikal to 5.6+/-3.0 individuals in Yaxchilán to 7.7+/-3.8 individuals in Calakmul. Spider monkey density varied from 17.0 individuals/km(2 )in Yaxchilán to 17.2 individuals/km(2 )in Calakmul to 56.4 individuals/km(2 )in Tikal. All sightings of both howler and spider monkeys at the three sites were in undisturbed rain forest vegetation and spider monkeys in general were more frequently sighted at higher tree heights than howlers. We discuss the value of further acquiring data on howler and spider monkey populations existing in extensive forest tracts and on the conservation value for both primate species of the forests surrounding the Mayan ruins found in this area of Mesoamerica.

Guatemala harbors three species of primates (Alouatta palliata, Alouatta pigra and Ateles geoffroyi), but the distribution and state of conservation of populations of these species are poorly documented. In the case of A. pigra, populations have been studied recently and documented in several sites in Mexico and Belize, and only in one site in Guatemala (Tikal National Park). In this study, we report first-time population data for A. pigra existing in the Lachua Eco-region in northwestern Guatemala. Surveys were conducted between September 2002 and April 2003 in the northern portion (32 km2) of the Lachua National Park (LLNP; 145 km2) and in a fragmented landscape north of the protected area. In this latter area we surveyed a large forest fragment (17.14 km2), “Nueve Cerros”, and 26 small forest fragments that ranged in size from 0.01 to 3.9 km2. Surveys resulted in a total count of 414 howler monkeys of which 403 belonged to 80 mixed-sex groups, four were solitary males, two were solitary females and five were found in two male groups. Standardized sampling effort among sites indicated 16.7 monkeys/100 survey hours at LLNP, 35.8 individuals/100 survey hours at “Nueve Cerros” and 71.0±62.2 individuals/100 survey hours in the forest fragments. Mean group size varied from 4.07 individuals at LLNP to 5.19 individuals in the forest fragments. Conservation problems for the black howler population surveyed are discussed, along with possible conservation scenarios. Am. J. Primatol. 70:231–237, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Alejandro Estrada Estacion de Biologia Los Tuxtlas, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico. Joel Saenz Programa Regional de Manejo de Vida Silvestre, Universidad Nacional Autonoma (UNA), Costa Rica. Celia Harvey Departmento de Agricultura y Agroforesteria, CATIE, Costa Rica. Eduardo Naranjo and David Munoz Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Marleny Rosales-Meda Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala.