A Critical Study of Primate Reintroduction Projects in the Mesoamerican Region.

Very little is known about primate reintroduction projects in Mesoamerica. The aim of this study was to focus on existing projects concerning primate re-introductions, conservation-introduction, translocation, as well as on reinforcement-supplementation of parallel initiatives. In order to create a database, a survey was sent to a panel of scientists in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, and we visited five projects in Costa Rica from March to August 2006. A total of 19 projects were found: Costa Rica hosted the higher number (7) while Salvador and Nicaragua did not host any. Fourteen out of those 19 projects concerned confiscated animals. Six of the 7 Costa Rican projects used confiscated primates; the other ones came from wild populations or were born in captivity. Alouatta palliata and Ateles geoffroyi are the most common species subject to reintroduction effort in the Mesoamerican region. A wide range of factors seem to influence reintroduction success such as: the project’s budget, the release site, the mode of transportation, the caging setting, the support from local communities, the presence of environmental education programs, but also the age of primates, etc. Each project seems to work as a completely separated entity, with its own definition of reintroduction success and its own policy. There’s no communication between the projects, no matter if they are based in the same country or work on the same species. A reintroduction guideline for this region should be established as well as a regional network coordinating the information