Victor Diaz, l’ami des Cracidés au Pérou

Cracids are a family of gamebirds (Cracidae), found predominantly throughout the Latin American tropics. Cracids live in a variety of tropical and subtropical habitats, The northern most species gets into the extreme southern portion of Texas, and the southern most species ranges as far south as the Plate River Basin in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina! Sizes range from small pheasant to a large turkey.
Their larger size compared to most species of birds makes them an ideal protein source for people living in the same region. However; unfortunately, they are not always harvested sustainably (i.e., Severely overhunted in many regions), and consequently their populations are plummeting rapidly throughout their range. The other factor that threatens Cracids is depletion of their natural forest habitat. Although some species can tolerate moderate forest alteration, most species disappear when their natural habitat is destroyed.
Peru has the largest number of Cracids species (15). The association Crax Peru (www.craxperu.org), which was created in 1999, manages a rescue and breeding Center in Olmos Cacerío Las Pampas. It is involved in several conservation projects of endangered species, such as the White-winged Guan (Penelope albipennis). We interviewed his director, Victor Diaz.