Fig 1.
A hunter capturing an yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) by hand in La Estrella marsh, northeastern Argentina.
Hunting is selective and undersized individuals can be released unharmed. Photo by Programa Curiyú.
Fig 2.
Yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) basking in the sun on the champa at La Estrella marsh, northeastern Argentina.
Photo by Programa Curiyú.
Fig 3.
Yellow anacondas (Eunectes notaeus) harvested by the Programa Curiyú between 2002–2019 in northeastern Argentina.
Total annual captures and captures in the most productive month (in grey) are shown.
Fig 4.
Smoothed trends of yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) harvest parameters measured by the Programa Curiyú between 2002–2019 in northeastern Argentina.
The y-axis represents the smooth term and the EDF value, and the grey area indicates the 95% confidence interval obtained from the Generalized Additive Models (GAMs).
Table 1.
Biological attributes of yellow anaconda skins harvested under the Programa Curiyú.
Mean skin width, mean snout-vent length (cm), and mean snout-vent length of skins > 230 cm are shown, as well as the number and % of skins with snout-vent length > 230 cm of anacondas harvested between 2002–2019. The mean snout-vent length (cm) of giant skins (corresponding to the 5% longest skins) is shown for the 2004–2016 period.
Table 2.
Selected GAM-based models for the trends in yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) harvest parameters measured by the Programa Curiyú between 2002–2019 in northeastern Argentina.
Fig 5.
Effects of the explanatory variables on the parameters of the population of yellow anacondas (Eunectes notaeus) harvested by the Programa Curiyú between 2004–2019 in northeastern Argentina.
Models selected based on the lowest AIC values are shown. The grey area indicates the 95% confidence interval.
Fig 6.
Capture rate (CPUE) in relation to mean temperature (ºC) for the most productive month (July) and for the rest of the hunting season.
The Gaussian regression for captured taxa (CPUE = 1.01–0.03*mean T ºC) is shown.
Table 3.
Selected GLM-based interaction models for yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) harvest parameters measured by the Programa Curiyú between 2004–2019 in northeastern Argentina.
Fig 7.
Different landscape characteristics at La Estrella marsh.
A) Navigable area, suitable for hunting yellow anacondas (Eunectes notaeus). B) Area of difficult access where yellow anacondas are not hunted. Photos by B. Camera.