CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Live capture and shearing of wild guanacos may affect their reproductive success and population resilience, so it is important to evaluate these impacts to assess the biological sustainability of fiber production. We evaluated the use effects on survival and reproduction, population density and structure, daily movements, ranging behaviour and spatial distribution in a sedentary and a migratory population. We assessed these population variables using radiotelemetry and line-transect surveys before and after capture. We estimated high post-shearing survival rates in both populations and yearling production was similar in sheared and non-sheared females. We did not find significant variations in density and population structure before and after management in the sedentary population, while density declined and population structure changed significantly after assembly of the capture structure in the migratory population. Average distance moved by radiocollared guanacos during the first two days after shearing was 3 times longer than the average daily distance moved during the following 30 days, with high variability in daily movements among individuals. Average home-range size of shorn guanacos was 25 to 35% smaller during the two months immediately after shearing than during the same period the following year. In the sedentary population the handling modifies the spatial distribution pattern. Conversely, we did not observe significant differences in the spatial distribution pattern in the migratory population. Management of wild guanaco, if closely monitored, may contribute to develop a productive activity that complements livestock production, increasing tolerance towards guanacos and promoting conservation of wildlife and habitats.

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