Conhecimento ecológico local sobre serpentes e etnoecologia no Norte de Roraima, Brasil

Abstract

Among the huge variety of animals in which people interact, the reptile group of snakes is one of those that most inflict antagonistic feelings, considering that even in fear, people acknowledge the importance of these animals to the ecosystem. This topic is approached by the Ethnoecology, an interdisciplinary science that dialogs with Anthropology searching for contributions regarding conservation and recognition of local ecological knowledge from the comprehension of human behavior before the ambient. Considering the relevance of understanding how human beings engage with the snake fauna and what is the result of these relations in the conservation status of this reptile group. Parting from an interdisciplinary approach, the present study Sought to characterize the local ecological knowledge and the resident’s relation with the fauna of snakes at Tepequém Village, considering the cultural and ecological aspects, and the implications to the conservation of these animals. The Tepequém Village is situated in the far north of Roraima state, approximately 200 km from the state’s capital, Boa Vista. In total, 36 people (8 women and 28 men) participated in this study: Brazilians, over 18 years old, gold miners or ex-gold miners, living in the village for more than 10 years. The informers were selected intentionally through the Snowball technique. The information was collected between the months of December 2019 to March 2020 and during the month of September 2020, through semi-structured interview, free list techniques and informal conversations. The date interpretation was made from Content Analysis, Multiple Regression Test and Relative Frequency of Citation (RF). To amplify the comprehension of results, the narratives were interpretated based on the anthropological theories of Cultural Arch and Kellert’s Typology. The most representative snake in the local context of the false Jararaca(Leptodeira annulata) (RF = 0,94). Generally, the informants demonstrated knowledge of the main ecological aspects of snakes’ fauna, such as: habitat, diet, reproduction and seasonality and this knowledge is similar to the scientific literature. The informants stated that they know how to differentiate snake species according to the presence or absence of venom. This information is considered useful from the local point of view, as it is used to avoid snake accidents, that is, as survival strategies. Even though they are afraid, people consider that snakes are important for environmental balance. For this reason, they try not to kill these animals. In addition, it was possible to understand that cultural aspects also positively influence the conservation of the reptile group, and the legends that exist in the region contribute to a positive view of these animals. The most representative snakes in the local narratives were: Boa Cosntrictor (LINNAEUS, 1758), Eunectes murinus (LINNAEUS, 1758) Bothrops sp. (LACERDA, 1884). The ecological knowledge of residents of Tepequém Village must be considered to endorse animal conservation strategies locally as well as in large scale.