IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Pitman, R.L.; Williams, R.; Cleaveland, S. | |
| Highway and Diseases Threatening the Conservation of Felids in the Pristine Forests of the Anden-Amazon Region of Southeastern Peru | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
The Interoceanic Highway, connecting Brazil to the Pacific, is under construction. Catastrophic impacts have been predicted for the high biodiversity forests of the western Amazon and eastern Andes. In Peru, the highway will bisect a globally important complex of protected areas where at least seven species of cats occur. Surveys of domestic dogs and their diseases inside and around two of the largest and pristine national parks in the region (Manu and Alto Purus National Park, with ~4.5 million ha) show that there is no control of domestic animals inside these protected areas and that canine parvovirus and distemper (which has been demonstrated as a potential threat to large felids) occur widely in the domestic dog population, even in the most remote parts of these parks. Contact between domestic dogs and wild felids are often reported by local people. Rabies poses an additional threat, with transmission from vampire bats a potential threat, as demonstrated by camera trap evidence of a vampire bat attacking a puma, and high levels of infection in vampire bats resulting in ~20 recent human deaths recorded in the region. In this study, we propose a series of management measurements to minimize adverse impacts on wild felid populations, addressing issues associated with control of domestic animals and their diseases, maintenance of habitat next to the highway, underground passages for wildlife and economic alternatives for the local people based on ecotourism opportunities. |
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