Based on an ethnozoological approach we obtained historical and present information on the mammalian fauna of the municipality of Fênix, located in the mid-western Paraná state, Southern Brazil. To do so, in 2004 we interviewed 19 local residents. The interview consisted of an informal talk based on a questionary followed by the presentation of photographs of potential mammalian species of the study region. As a result, we recorded 39 species, of which at least six are new records for the study area. Hunting revealed to be not only common in the past, but also still practiced nowadays, even inside nature preserves, like the Parque Estadual Vila Rica do Espírito Santo. The species more appreciated by the hunters are the same cited for other neotropical regions. At present, however, Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1766) (Hydrochaeridae) is the species more frequently sought since it is still common in several natural areas of the region, including those that have been largely modified by man. With regard to mammalian predation upon domestic animals, almost 80% of the interviewees declared that they had lost some breed, especially chicken, as the result of the attack of medium-sized carnivores. Data on temporal modifications of the mammalian species composition were also obtained with the interviews, as the local extinctions of some large mammals (Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Felidae), Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Tapiridae) and Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795) (Tayassuidae)) or the population increases of Cebus nigritus (Goldfuss, 1809) (Cebidae) and Nasua nasua (Linnaeus 1766) (Procyonidae), which are supposedly related to the consumption of corn and other plantations.
Endangered species; forest fragmentation; hunting; interviews; mammalian inventory
