Harvesting trees without harming wildlife

Photo of a jaguar in Brazil taken by a camera trap

Issue: Winter 2019

CHICO MENDES EXTRACTIVE RESERVE :: BRAZIL

A chainsaw buzzes. A tree thunders to the ground. Yet nearby, monkeys, anteaters, and other animals carry on, looking for shelter, food, and mates. New camera-trap images from the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon demonstrate what conservationists have long known: that people harvesting trees responsibly can live harmoniously with animals.

Remarkable Rodents

The rarely seen pacarana has a heavyweight relative: the prehistoric Josephoartigasia monesi, which at more than a ton is the largest rodent known to science.

Forest Rover

The bush dog is the rarest of Brazil's wild dogs and the only one that lives and hunts cooperatively.

Size matters

The tapir is South America's largest native land mammal, with adults weighing up to 700 pounds.

Social Life

White-lipped peccaries are social animals that can live in herds of 100. They are a main source of food for jaguars, pumas, and ocelots.

Barking Monkey

The red howler monkey's call sounds like a roar or a bark and can be heard 3 miles away.

Eater of Ants

The giant anteater uses its 2-foot-long tongue to capture and eat up to 30,000 termites and ants a day.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

WWF-Brazil helped train members of the local communities to operate and check camera traps in the reserve—part of the Amazon Region Protected Areas program. Unfortunately, biodiversity in the Brazilian Amazon is at risk, as deforestation and forest fires are up by more than 70% compared with the same period last year.

REMOTE DATA

Some 20 camera traps recorded approximately 4,000 times, capturing more than 30 species. The remote cameras automatically take a picture or start recording when an animal passes by, day or night.

ANIMAL-SAFE

The reserve trees were harvested in accordance with Forest Stewardship Council™ standards, which ensure wildlife and their habitats are not harmed.

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About: World Wildlife magazine provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the connections between animals, people and our planet. Published quarterly by WWF, the magazine helps make you a part of our efforts to solve some of the most pressing issues facing the natural world.

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