## 4 Discussion
### Drawings  
Several ecological studies have used children's drawings as a technique to obtain detailed information about children's knowledge, attitudes and feelings about nature [39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44]. It has been shown that children as young as five can provide reliable information on ecological issues, provided they are asked clearly and appropriately [45]. We found drawings to be a good approach to exploring JMM lower primary children's knowledge of local species. Children drew more local species, which is crucial, as knowledge and empathy are determining factors in establishing a connection with nature [46; 47; 26; 48]. An encouraging result is the low percentage of exotic species (zebra, elephant, lion, tiger, giraffe) that were drawn by the population of children participating in this study. This finding contrasts with what has been observed in other studies conducted in developed countries and urbanised environments, where children have a greater knowledge of charismatic species (e.g., giant pandas, polar bears, great apes, elephants and rhinoceroses, etc.) than of local fauna [48]. We also observed that boys' knowledge of native species was higher than girls', with a difference of 10%. We consider that this situation may be influenced by the fact that boys tend to have more contact with nature, as they accompany their parents from a very young age in various productive activities in the forest (milpa, cattle raising, beekeeping), so that they can observe animals during these tours. At the same time, girls stay at home to help their mothers (JSPF pers. obs.). We found that boys have a higher affinity for birds and mammals, which has been extensively documented in other studies [49; 50; 51; 52]. The mammal group had the highest number of drawings for both sexes due to their high charisma and the fact that they are the basis of many children's toys and books [53]. Furthermore, it should be considered that mammals are one of the most important groups in Selva Maya communities, as in some communities, they are the main source of animal protein and are even kept as pets (e.g.,coatis, deer, kinkajous, monkeys) [54]. In this sense, young children may have seen several mammal species in their homes, which could have influenced their knowledge. One of our findings was that girls drew more mammals than boys, which previous studies have attributed to girls preferring cuddlier and cuter animals, while boys prefer animals that provoke fear and disgust [55; 56]. On the other hand, boys drew more bird species than girls; this finding differs from recent work that found no difference in knowledge of bird species between girls and boys [57]. We believe that the knowledge of birds that the children of JMM have is the result of their daily life, as when they go out to play, they can observe a great diversity of species because birds are attracted to the fruit trees that people are used to plant in these communities (JPF pers. obs.). Interestingly, the two species most frequently drawn by the lower primary school children were deer and peccary or \"jabali\". These species are culturally important in Maya and mestizo communities in southeastern Mexico [54], and are among the species with the highest hunting pressure in the communities in the Yucatan Peninsula [22; 58]. In the Selva Maya, subsistence hunting is a traditional activity in which knowledge is passed from generation to generation, and children participate from an early age (8 to 12 years old) [59]. Hunting could, therefore, be a factor favouring children's knowledge of native fauna, as children are more exposed to local biodiversity during this activity [60; 61]. The jaguar is the most emblematic species of the Selva Maya and has been used in many conservation campaigns by different NGOs; however, it was the third most drawn species for children. This result is similar to what [PERSON] et al. [62] found; when they asked elementary school children (aged 6 to 12) what species live in the jungle, they ranked the jaguar in fourth place.