TESTING THE ECOLOGICALLY NOBLE SAVAGE HYPOTHESIS - INTERSPECIFIC PREY CHOICE BY PIRO HUNTERS OF AMAZONIAN PERU

Native peoples have often been portrayed as natural conservationists, living in ''harmony'' with their environment. It is argued that this perspective is a result of an imprecise definition of conservation that emphasizes effects rather than actual behavior. Using foraging theory as a contrast, an operational definition of conservation is offered. Foraging theory assumes that foragers will behave to maximize their short-term harvesting rate. Hunting decisions that are costly in terms of short-term harvest rate maximization, yet increase the sustainability of the harvest are deemed conservation. Using this definition, alternative hypotheses are tested using data on the inter-specific prey choice decisions of a group of subsistence hunters, the Piro of Amazonian Peru. Results indicate that hunters do not show any restraint from harvesting species identified as vulnerable to over-hunting and local extinction. Decisions are made that are consistent with predictions of foraging theory.