The documentation of the endangered red siskin, a rare bird, in Guyana inspired the creation of the South Rupununi Conservation Society.The organization has built a multi-community grassroots conservation approach that is grounded in traditional knowledge, organizes across 16 village boundaries and includes Indigenous villagers, farmers and teachers who research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology.Projects include community conservation zones to protect wildlife such as giant anteaters, the genetic documentation of species and monitoring.Short-term funding, development pressure and cultural change threaten the model, even as communities invest their own money into projects.
WICHABAI, Guyana — At sunrise in Guyana’s South Rupununi, Leroy Ignacio stops beside a tree scored with large claw marks. The animal responsible was a giant anteater.
“They even rub their backs on the trunk to leave a scent behind,” says Ignacio, president of the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), as he demonstrates the motion.
Indigenous researchers had long observed anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) climbing and marking trees, behaviors previously documented by scientists only in isolated cases. Working with four Indigenous communities, SRCS placed cameras at trees identified by locals. The resulting 883 recorded visits suggested the solitary animals use the trees to communicate.
