Unsustainable hunting threatens biodiversity in the tropics through the removal of key seeddispersing frugivorous primates. Traditionally, hunting in the Amazon Basin was managed
through hunter territoriality, with the threat of social sanctions for overexploitation. We examined hunter territoriality and differential prey selection as alternative hypotheses to centralplace foraging. Territoriality occurred beyond common hunting grounds, which were on major
rivers and immediately surrounding the community. Hunters displayed selectivity in prey
choice, with 50% of hunters not hunting primates. The combination of hunter territoriality
and differential prey selection means that over 22% of the hunted area of the Sucusari river
basin could be considered primate refuge. Of the remaining hunted area, 16% was hunted relatively little by primate hunters. We suggest that the combination of territoriality and selection
against primates creates refuges, mitigating the effects of sustained hunting pressure and
contributing to the conservation of these species.