About the Deer Research and Conservation Center (NUPECCE)

   Projects with Neotropical deer were initiated in 1988, when Professor José Maurício Barbanti Duarte began his research career at UNESP, Jaboticabal. At that time, the first works with brown brocket deer were carried at the Wildlife Sector, created within UNESP to study some Brazilian wildlife species, such as lowland paca, rhea, and the red-winged tinamou, as well as deer.

​

    In 1994 a bold research project began. From north to south, a team traveled around 200,000 km of roads throughout Brazil with the aim of carrying out a complete sampling of all deer found in captivity in the country. Results of this effort resonate to this day! Through the analysis of the material collected during this expedition, totally unknown aspects came to light. This generated new doubts and, together with them, the certainty that there was still much to do to know the different species and their needs. Thus was born NUPECCE, which during the last 2 decades has been contributing decisively to the generation of knowledge and the training of qualified people who work for the conservation of this and other species of the fauna in Brazil.

​

   Throughout its history, NUPECCE has already done work whose impact is sometimes difficult to assess. Among the main results, it is worth mentioning the discovery of a new species of deer in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, off the coast of the states of São Paulo to Santa Catarina, which has the scientific name of Mazama bororo or, simply, a small red brocket deer; and the confirmation and revalidation of a different species in the Amazon called Mazama nemorivaga or just amazonian brown brocket deer. In addition, large-scale works have already been done with the pampas deer for the evaluation of their populations in the Pantanal and Cerrado biome in central Brazil, and with the marsh deer, in the Paraná river basin. The latter may have been the largest project developed within NUPECCE.

    According to the marsh deer project, about 1.5 million reals were invested for its realization. The main objective was to obtain the greatest amount of information about the species and the impact caused by the construction of the Sergio Motta Hydroelectric Plant (also known as the Porto Primavera Plant) on its populations, as it caused the flooding of floodplains, habitat occupied by the marsh deer. Nevertheless, from the sad episode experienced with the construction of the Porto Primavera Plant, new knowledge was generated, and it is being applied for the conservation of this species. In addition to making a clear diagnosis of the impact this type of enterprise has on animals, the project reintroduced the marsh deer in a region where they had already become extinct. In this area, located in the center of the state of São Paulo, the new population has been reproducing and growing under the watchful eye of the researchers, bringing new hope for the long-term survival of this species. The establishment of a captive population was also the objective of the efforts of NUPECCE, and today the marsh deer is present in several zoos and scientific breeding institutions in the country, which are part of an ex situ conservation program.

​

    With the hard work of hundreds of people who have already passed by through NUPECCE, the research carried out throughout the years seeks to contribute solidly to the conservation of the different deer species in the continent. Through the knowledge generated and the issues that species face, NUPECCE seeks to respond and propose solutions to these issues, providing tools for its conservation, either directly through actions on remaining populations, or indirectly through influence in the establishment of public policies.