Absence of Large and Presence of Medium-Sized Mammal Species of Conservation Concern in a Privately Protected Area of Rain Forest in Southeastern Mexico

Tropical forests are home to a rich biodiversity, and protected natural areas (PNA) represent one of the approaches adopted for conserving this biodiversity. However, PNAs are under constant threat of becoming too isolated in a landscape matrix frequently hostile to most of the species they harbor. A new system of conservation has recently been proposed in the form of areas under private protection (privately protected areas or PPAs) that complement the existing PNAs in their task of conservation. The objective of this study was to document the richness of mammal species that inhabit a 100 ha fragment of rain forest and pasture decreed as a PPA in southeastern Veracruz, Mexico, and to compare it to two nearby PPAs and one PNA of contrasting conservation values. Mammals were monitored in the three climatic seasons of the year through direct observation, track identification, and the use of Tomahawk, Sherman, and camera traps, as well as mist nets. We recorded 32 mammal species—including seven threatened species—belonging to 28 genera and 15 families. These results are important considering that 29 and 14 species have been reported for two other PPAs in the region that are 10 times larger. However, large mammals of the Orders Carnivora, Artyodactyla, and Perissodactyla were absent and are probably locally extinct. We propose that, under specific favorable conditions, forested PPAs can make an important contribution to strategies designed for biodiversity conservation in tropical ecosystems, by helping to conserve endangered species of both medium- and small-sized mammals.