Value Added Products from Neo Tropical Wildlife Michele D. Singh 1, Wendy R. Townsend 2 and Gary W. Garcia 1 1 The Department of Food Production, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 2 Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica and Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum, Santa Cruz, Bolivia 1 University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

Outline Introduction Neotropical animals Objective Value Added Products *Ethnomedicine *Leathers & Hides *Craft *Ethnocuisine Discussion Conclusion 2

Introduction “Need to use regional materials” (Prof. Sankat, Campus Principal, UWI, St. Augustine) “Need to match available animals with available resources” (Prof. Garcia, Livestock Science) More knowledge is generated on imported species than the animals in our backyards (M. Singh, Student) 3

Animal Diversity- Assets within the Neo-tropics [excluding aquatic species]  MAMMALS >25% of all known mammals  BIRDS 33% of all Birds of the World  REPTILES 19% of World Reptiles  AMPHIBIANS ≈46% of World 4

Introduction “Neo-tropical animal wildlife” – -animals found within the region of the New World Tropics (Mexico  Argentina + Caribbean) Does not include the mega-fauna of the “Old World” “Value” of neo-tropical animal wildlife is beyond meat/food Traditional source of medicine, shelter, clothing, jewelry and musical instruments 5

Neo-tropical Animals 6 Agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) Peccary/ Quenk/Wild Hog (Tayassu tajacu) Capybara (Hydrochaerus hydrochaeris) Manicou/Oppossum (Didelphis marsupialis) Red Brocket Deer (Mazama americana) Paca/Lappe (Cuniculus paca)

Neo-tropical Animals 7 Large Coral Snake (Micrurus lemniscatus) Large Coral Snake (Micrurus circinalis) Mapepire Balsain (Bothrops atrox) Red tailed boa (Boa constrictor constrictor) Green tree boa (Morelia viridis) Machete (Drymobius boddaerti)

Total Hunting Permits Sold ( Rackal 2013)

Ethnomedicine The study of different cultural approaches to health, disease and illness and of the nature of local healing systems 9

Ethnomedicine Skin, fat, bones & feces Sore throat, cough, flu, toothache, rheumatism, inflammations, asthma, osteoporosis cracks in the feet arthritis, backache, swelling, bruises cancer, tuberculosis, edemas, pneumonia, stomach ache (Souto 2011) 10 Red tailed Boa (Boa constrictor constrictor)

Ethnomedicine Venom & Abdominal fat Analgesic in venom more powerful than morphine, used for terminal cancer patients Rheumatism & arthritis (Bisset 1991) 11 Mapepire Balsain (Bothrops atrox)

Ethnomedicine Fat & Tail Earache, deafness, inflammation Sore throat, wounds, swelling, burns and acne (Souto 2011) 12 Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

Ethnomedicine Fat, Skin and Tail Sore throat, cough, pneumonia, sinusitis, asthma, swelling, strain, inflammations, earache, deafness, backache, arthritis, burns, osteoporosis, muscular pain, cracks in the feet toothache, headache, itch, lung problems, infections, injuries, snake bites, and skin diseases 13 (Alves and Rosa 2008) Matte/Tegu (Tupinambis sp)

Skin & Fat Sore throat, flu, cough, asthma, rheumatism, inflammation backache, earache, osteoporosis, arthritis, diarrhea, toothache cancer 14 Bullfrog (Rhinella jimi) Ethnomedicine (Alves and Rosa 2008)

Tail, horn & tibia asthma, sore throat, cough arthritis, rheumatism 15 Ethnomedicine Red Brocket Deer (Mazama americana) (Alves and Rosa 2008)

Leather & Hides A durable flexible material created by tanning raw animal skins 16

Capybara Leather (Hydrochaerus hydrochaeris) Argentina is the only country in the world which uses Capybara leather for making products Capybara skin is waterproof Soft supple leather 17

Peccary/Quenk/Wild Hog Leather (Tayassu tajacu) World’s most luxurious leather Extremely soft and elastic Used in the manufacture of luxury high value clothing Gloves & Shoes 18

Caiman/Alligator Leather (Melanosuchus niger) 19 Durable & pliable SA caiman is one of the most valuable and exotic leathers available on the market. Its savage beauty makes is the diamond star of the leather industry

Rhea - Feathers 20 Rhea ( Rhea americana )

Artisanal Art The art of hand crafting items: jewelry, furniture etc 21

Hand Made Crafts 22 Souvenirs Nine Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) Musical instruments

23 Hand Made Crafts Feather Earrings Llama’s foot- Bottle Opener

Ethnocuisine The use of indigenous materials for food 24

Neo tropical Cuisine 25 Guinea Pig

26 Neo tropical Cuisine “Cola de lagarto” Alligator tail

Neo Tropical Animal Cuisine 27 Rhea Meat (alternative red meat to beef)

Discussion Neotropical animals have been consumed for centuries Provided the indigenous peoples with a source of medicine, food, shelter, craft & clothing Little attention to indigenous animals Ex situ vs in situ conservation practices 28

Conclusion Large numbers of neotropical animals are extracted from the forests each year There is a need for intensive research on the value added components of neotropical animals There is a need to investigate the pharmaceutical and nutritive properties of our indigenous animals 29

The End! 30