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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
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Beautiful Pantanal Jaguar
Credit to Steve Winter  *This image is copyright of its original author
Instituto Onça Pintada
Rogério cerrado male and his datas and journey mapped over the wilderness of Cerrado. Leandro- ''Good Morning! Checking today the data of the male jaguar Rogério, recently captured here in the Região das Nascentes do Rio Araguaia (region of the headwaters of the Araguaia River). Excellent Sunday to all.''  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Population Genetics of Jaguars (Panthera onca) in the Brazilian Pantanal: Molecular Evidence for Demographic Connectivity on a Regional Scale
Abstract Habitat loss and fragmentation are important threats to carnivores worldwide, and can be especially intense for large predators. Jaguars have already been extirpated from over half of their original area of distribution, and few regions still maintain large populations. For these, detailed understanding is crucial for setting appropriate recovery targets in impacted areas. The Pantanal is among the best examples of a region with a large jaguar population in a healthy environment. Here, we analyzed 12 microsatellite loci to characterize genetic diversity and population structure of 52 jaguars sampled in 4 localities of the southern Pantanal, and compared them with prior studies of heavily fragmented populations of the Atlantic Forest. Although we observed some internal structure among the Pantanal localities, our results indicated that this area comprises a single population with high genetic variability. Moreover, our comparative analyses supported the hypothesis that the strong population structure observed in the Atlantic Forest derives from recent, anthropogenic fragmentation. We also observed significant but low levels of genetic differentiation between the Pantanal and Atlantic Forest populations, indicating recent connectivity between jaguars occurring in these biomes. Evidence for admixture between the Pantanal and a population on the western boundary of the Atlantic Forest corroborates the transitional nature of the latter area, where the jaguar population has already been extirpated. Our results can be used to understand jaguar population dynamics in a region that is less disturbed than the Atlantic forest, and to support the design of conservation strategies that maintain and restore natural connectivity among currently isolated areas. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26245785 
A somewhat zen timelapse for #viztober:
Follow the tracks of a single jaguar in Brazil as it seemingly plays The Floor Is Lava with lower elevations. (Made in @Carto) pic.twitter.com/x5H69X6oeg — Dipika Kadaba (@DipikaKadaba) October 7, 2018
New Border Wall Segments Would End U.S. Jaguar Recovery
TUCSON, Ariz.— The Trump administration’s latest border-wall plan will wall off all remaining jaguar corridors across the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it will waive dozens of environmental and public health laws to fast-track border wall construction in Arizona, California and Texas. “The new border walls will mean the end of jaguar recovery in the United States,” said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This tragedy’s all the more heartbreaking because walling off these beautiful wildlands is completely unnecessary and futile. It has nothing to do with border security and everything to do to with Trump’s racist campaign promise.” The new wall segments lie in remote, mountainous, extremely rugged terrain that correspond perfectly to the handful of remaining corridors jaguars use to move back and forth between the United States and the core of a small, vulnerable breeding population of northern jaguars in Sonora, Mexico. During wall construction under the Secure Fence Act in the 2000s, the Border Patrol decided it was unnecessary to build walls in these places, despite migrant traffic being far greater than it is now. “The Border Patrol decided years ago that border walls weren’t needed in these remote areas,” said Serraglio. “It would be incredibly expensive and an engineering nightmare, and there’s no justification in terms of border security. Sacrificing the wildlife and living landscapes of the borderlands for Trump’s vanity wall is criminal.” Many other species use these remote areas to migrate across the landscape. A 2017 Center report identified 93 threatened and endangered species along the 2,000-mile border that would be harmed by Trump’s wall. “Jaguars are a key part of the stunningly diverse web of life in the borderlands that will fall apart if these walls are built,” said Serraglio. “The crisis of runaway extinction is devastating wildlife and wild places all over our planet. Trump’s border wall is pouring gas on that fire, and we’ll continue to fight it every step of the way.” The Center and allies have sued to challenge Trump’s emergency declaration, which would fund this border-wall construction. These groups have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review federal court rulings allowing the Trump administration to waive laws to speed border-wall construction from the Pacific Ocean to the Rio Grande Valley. Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands, local businesses and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity.  *This image is copyright of its original author
  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Almeida also speaks of a Jagaur who was chased by dogs and did the same, he ran until he found a place he thought suitable then he'd run no more and was ready to take on all comers.
It seems as though these big cats know their terrain and understand how which area offers them the best protection and forces the attackers to take them head on. It also seems to prove that they have supreme confidence in themselves and know the advantage is theirs if something is forced to come at them head on.
Spatially explicit capture recapture density estimates: Robustness, accuracy and precision in a long-term study of jaguars ([i]Panthera onca[/i])
Abstract Camera trapping is the standard field method of monitoring cryptic, low-density mammal populations. Typically, researchers run camera surveys for 60 to 90 days and estimate density using closed population spatially explicit capture-recapture (SCR) models. The SCR models estimate density, capture probability (g0), and a scale parameter (σ) that reflects ranging behaviour. We used a year of camera data from 20 camera stations to estimate the density of male jaguars ([i]Panthera onca[/i]) in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, using closed population SCR models. We subsampled the dataset into 276 90-day sessions and 186 180-day sessions. Estimated density fluctuated from 0.51 to 5.30 male jaguars / 100 km2 between the 90-day sessions, with comparatively robust and precise estimates for the 180-day sessions (0.73 to 3.75 male jaguars / 100 km2). We explain the variation in density estimates from the 90-day sessions in terms of temporal variation in social behaviour, specifically male competition and mating events during the three-month wet season. Density estimates from the 90-day sessions varied with σ, but not with the number of individuals detected, suggesting that variation in density was almost fully attributable to changes in estimated ranging behaviour. We found that the models overestimated σ when compared to the mean ranging distance derived from GPS tracking data from two collared individuals in the camera grid. Overestimation of σ when compared to GPS collar data was more pronounced for the 180-day sessions than the 90-day sessions. We conclude that one-off (‘snap-shot’) short-term, small-scale camera trap surveys do not sufficiently sample wide-ranging large carnivores. When using SCR models to estimate the density from these data, we caution against the use of poor sampling designs and/or misinterpretation of scope of inference. Although the density estimates from one-off, short-term, small-scale camera trap surveys may be statistically accurate within each short-term sampling period, the variation between density estimates from multiple sessions throughout the year illustrate that the estimates obtained should be carefully interpreted and extrapolated, because different factors, such as temporal stochasticity in behaviour of a few individuals, may have strong repercussions on density estimates. Because of temporal variation in behaviour, reliable density estimates will require larger samples of individuals and spatial recaptures than those presented in this study (mean +/- SD = 14.2 +/- 1.2 individuals, 37.7 +/- 4.7 spatial recaptures, N = 276 sessions), which are representative of, or higher than published sample sizes. To satisfy the need for larger samples, camera surveys will need to be more expansive with a higher density of stations. In the absence of this, we advocate longer sampling periods and subsampling through time as a means of understanding and describing stability or variation between density estimate
Illegal trade in wild cats and its link to Chinese‐led development in Central and South America
Abstract Seizures of hundreds of jaguar heads and canines in Central and South America from 2014 to 2018 resulted in worldwide media coverage suggesting that wildlife traffickers are trading jaguar body parts as substitutes for tiger parts to satisfy the demand for traditional Asian medicine. We compiled a data set of >1000 seized wild cats (jaguar [Panthera onca ], puma [Puma concolor ], and ocelot [Leopardus pardalis ]) from 19 Central and South American countries and China. We ran generalized additive mixed models to detect trends in wild‐cat seizures from 2012 to 2018 and assess the effects of socioeconomic factors of source countries and between those countries and China on the number of wild cats seized. Jaguar seizures increased over time, and most of the seized jaguar pieces were canines (1991 of 2117). Around 34% (32 of 93) of the jaguar‐part seizure reports were linked with China, and these seizures contained 14‐fold more individuals than those intended for domestic markets. Source countries with relatively high levels of corruption and Chinese private investment and low income per capita had 10–50 times more jaguar seizures than the remaining sampled countries. The number of Chinese residents in Central and South America was not significantly related to the number of jaguars seized. No socioeconomic factors influenced the seizures of puma and ocelots. Legal market chains may provide structure for the illegal chain; thus, the influx of illegal jaguar products is potentially a side effect of the economic partnership between Central and South American countries and China. Poverty and high levels of corruption in the source countries may motivate local people to engage in illegal activities and contribute to the growth of this trade. Supply‐side interventions to curb this threat to Neotropical wild cats may include improved training for officials and promotion of governance and the value of protecting these animals to local people. 
Today, Panthera Colombia had a live conference with the USAID guided by the US ambassador of Colombia regarding the ecology of jaguars, the development of tourism, and the gains done in the Llanos and Pantanal regarding jaguar protection.
Among the speakers, there's Esteban Payan, the president of Panthera Colombia, and Rafael Hoogesteijn. Some of the findings shared in the live include the first recorded case of infanticide from a female jaguar into another female's cub in the Pantanal:  *This image is copyright of its original author They stated how rich the density of jaguars in the protected areas of the Pantanal that sightings such as this one of two females sharing a cattle carcass can be reported:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The speaker when into detail regarding the similarities between the Llanos and the Pantanal and about how certain private ranches turned into reserves such as la Aurora are trying to replicate the Pantanal model as jaguar tourism has proven to be a multi-million dollar industry in the Pantanal alone. Francisco Santos, the US ambassador, asked Rafael about the differences or similarities between la Aurora (Llanos) and Pantanal jaguars, and he said: "It's the same jaguar, there is partially no difference, the Pantanal jaguars from the analyses we have done are slightly larger, slightly heavier, but in the Casanare Llanos (Colombia) and the Llanos of Apure (Venezuela) you will also get some very heavy males, as heavy as the ones on Pantanal", for visual comparison among both types of jaguars, see the post above. The team covered other topics more in-depth regarding the promotion of jaguar tourism in Colombia and Brazil, they also touched upon the current fires situation in the Pantanal. The 1-hour full video can be seen here in English:
SENSITIVE IMAGE:
This jaguar was poached in the department of Antioquia in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, the sex and weight were not provided as this was recorded as a criminal activity. Thankfully those responsible for it were apprehended.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author This area, alongside the Maracaibo lake basin in Venezuela, appears to produce large jaguars as well. I posted a record of a male of 110 kg of weight that was captured by ranchers after it killed some of their livestock and was later successfully released back into the wild. Another older record of an alleged 136+ kg male that was a cattle killer, all from the same eco-region. This population of jaguars is renowned for being domestic buffalo killers, most of the records involving said predation come from this region. Male registered by camera trap pictures, by Conservation Leadership Programme: Final Report  *This image is copyright of its original author
Librao Vs Fantasma
This is a comparative image between two exceptional jaguar specimens from the two largest populations, in the Llanos and Pantanal. Fantasma (Ghost), on the right, is thought of as being one of the largest jaguars ever registered in the Pantanal, known for his massive skull and jaws. Likewise, Librao was the ruler of the Hato La Aurora for several years. The two images show the males' side profile and has been scaled based on their paw size and limb width. I knew Librao was large, but putting him in perspective next to Fantasma really highlights his size. In my opinion, both males were similar in size but noticeable difference can be appreciated in the size and shape of their skulls and the girth of their mid section. We won't know for sure how large these Llanos jaguars really get from the Colombian side until studies and several captures are performed, but IMO, based on the photographic evidence it's pretty clear that the largest males in the Llanos can grow as big as the largest males from the Pantanal, which is an opinion held by Rafael Hoogesteijn.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Information pertaining to the jaguar in Uruguay, where it has been locally extinct since the beginning of the 20th century, and speculation of jaguar mass across overlooked areas of South America:
The book El Jaguar en el Siglo XXI. La Perspectiva Continental contains some very detailed information about jaguars from historical narratives and data across their historic Holocene range. Jaguars used to be very plentiful in Uruguay, where most of the land consists of grasslands that belong to the Pampa biome. The historic fauna from this area was very similar to what is seen in most floodplains from southern South America (i.e. the Pantanal, Chaco, Ibera, etc.), with very large populations of capybara, peccary, deers, and rheas; as a result, the jaguars that inhabited this area were described as very large and strong. Sadly, not many records exist of jaguar skulls, prints, or gathered weights and measurements from Uruguay, as the jaguar was thought extinct by 1901; however, we do have one record of one specimen whose weight and measurements were provided, and descriptions from people visiting Uruguay at the time:  *This image is copyright of its original author "In 1715, William Toller reported the presence of the species in several areas of its territory. This author alludes to the tigers on the east coast of the Plata river, likewise mentions sightings in Santa Lucia (east of the department of Montevideo), and the capture of a jaguar that measured 1.4 meters from head and body, 0,6 meter in tail length and 95 kilograms in weight (Toller, 1715)"  *This image is copyright of its original author "... mentiones tigers that were common to see at the shores without showing fear for the presence of humans (Buschiazzo, 1941). Describes the species and is amazed by its size for being much greater than the African leopard, highlighting that when trying to measure one skin, it was taller than his body with his arm extended. Mentions as well the indigenous habit of sleeping outdoors surrounding a fire to avoid being attacked by the jaguars. Likewise, when being close to the vicinities of Salto Grande, he stated that an "invasion of tigers that came to visit us, attracted by the smell of meat" of cattle they had in the "camp", as well as several encounters and hunting of jaguars in the area, even of cubs they drowned in the river for fear that "their relatives would come to visit us". All this suggests that the jaguar was an abundant species, that had an extensive distribution in the country, that they were of large size and didn't see humans as a threat." It's important to highlight that the sex of the specimen spoken about in question was not given, but nonetheless, the habitat in which these jaguars existed had all the essential elements required to sustain larger specimens, as reaffirmed by their descriptions from people who had seen other felid species around the world at the time. As the size of jaguars is a direct reflection of the environment and biomass they live in, we can infer that extinct Holocene populations in the Pampas, and places from central and southern Argentina, like the Ibera wetlands, held jaguars that likely were similar in size to those from the Pantanal and the Llanos: the prey items they consumed were similar and at times the same (i.e. capybara, caiman, mid-sized and large-sized cervid, peccaries, etc.), and used to be found in large congregations as well. We will never know the exact extent of their sizes since the information on it was lost with their extinction, but it's very clear that jaguars were capable of attaining a large mass of over 100 kg in several places of South America outside of the two well-known floodplain populations that have been recently popularized as being the only areas that support big jaguars (the Orinoco Llanos and the Pantanal). Another area that has all the right conditions to sustain jaguars large in mass is the Bolivian Beni savanna, also known as Llanos de Moxos. This area is very sparsely populated, but it is the third-largest floodplain ecosystem in South America after the Orinoco Llanos and the Pantanal and contains a mixture of species from the Pantanal and the Amazon rainforest, where taxa like Melanosuchus meets with Blastocerus. This area is so remote and unstudied that there are no records of photographs or video footage of jaguars, but thankfully they have not gone extinct there yet. In-depth studies about the ecology and morphology of these jaguars, as well as the health of populations inhabiting the biome, are long overdue and I'm hopeful we will get them eventually within the next decade. To summarize, large jaguars are not a rare phenomenon that occurs exclusively in the two aforementioned floodplain areas, as it's wildly believed online. Instead, there are historical areas and present biomes where jaguars became extinct on, or are understudied, where their size potential is similar to the Pantanal or the Orinoco Llanos: Pampas (extinct), Ibera wetland and surrounding area (extinct, being reintroduced), the Cerrado, the Llanos the Moxos, and the Great Chaco. Historically the Atlantic forest and the forested areas of the valleys and basins of northern South America such as the Magdalena Medio and the Maracaibo lake, too display cases of jaguar reaching or slightly surpassing the 100 kg mark, but the health of these ecosystems have been greatly compromised and it's likely that their size potential has been diminished by the reduction in the abundance of prey, and the depletion of their DNA thanks to the lack of proper corridors that connects these populations and being overhunted. Opposites attract: Wild and captive jaguars mate in Argentina to save species ANTIAGO/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Conservationists are taking an unorthodox approach to save jaguars from dying out in Argentina’s northern forests: matchmaking a captive female with a wild male. Tania, a female jaguar brought up in a zoo, is seen in her enclosure at the Impenetrable National Park, in the Chaco Province, Argentina September 23, 2020. Rewilding Argentina/Handout via REUTERS The unusual courtship of Tania, brought up in a zoo, and Qaramta, meaning “The One Who Cannot Be Destroyed” in the regional Qom language, began last year around a specially constructed enclosure in the dense forests of Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park. With jaguars all but wiped out from the area, conservationists were thrilled in late 2019 to detect a young male, first by a pawprint in a muddy river bed, then using camera traps. Seeking a mate for him, they brought in Tania, who had produced cubs in a breeding programme in a neighbouring park after being donated by a local zoo. Over nine months, the two jaguars got acquainted through the fence of her enclosure, their affectionate nuzzling and purring assuring handlers they would not fight. Once permits had been secured and Tania was in season, Qaramta was allowed into the enclosure for a face-to-face encounter. Tania and Qaramta spent just under a week together bathing, sleeping and playing, watched by an anxious team of researchers. “We could not fully verify that they mated because they went deep into the forest but we could see that they had a good time together,” Marisi Lopez, field coordinator for Rewilding Argentina, said in an interview. “There was no aggression and seemed to be a very good chemistry between them.” Lopez’s rewilding group is a local partner of Tompkins Conservation, founded by the husband and wife team behind the North Face and Patagonia clothing brands which created the 320,000-acre Impenetrable National Park in 2014. Since Qaramta’s release from the enclosure, he has returned to see Tania through the fence almost nightly and will be granted renewed access once she is in season again. Meanwhile, Tania is being monitoring for signs of pregnancy. The breeding of captive and wild big cats is thought to be a world-first, although project leaders sought advice from colleagues who had success with Iberian Lynxes in Spain. Rewilding Argentina has bred captive jaguars in nearby Ibera National Park, along with giant anteaters and bare-faced curassows. ‘DESPERATE MOVE’ Slideshow ( 4 images ) Howard Quigley, Jaguar Program director for Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, said the biggest hurdle of compatibility appeared to have been cleared. “In zoos it’s not uncommon to have a female or male killed in these encounters,” he said. “In this case it looks like they’ve done their homework. Hopefully they now have a pregnant female who can be used for the next step.” The plan may seem unorthodox but the traditional approach of protecting what remains is no longer enough given the extent of environmental degradation, said Sebastian di Martino, Rewilding Argentina’s conservation director. “You have to go a step further and bring back what’s been lost. It’s a somewhat desperate move but there are really no other options. We do this or we lose the jaguar.” In the worst case scenario, he said, Qaramta could be caught by hunters before he manages to impregnate Tania. In the best, their couplings will produce cubs, making them progenitors in the bid to repopulate one of the Americas’ most iconic apex predators, and their offspring a potent symbol of the value of ambition in conservation. The Americas’ largest feline, jaguars have lost over half their historical range from the southern United States to Argentina. Remaining populations in isolated pockets are unable to find mates. In Argentina’s northern Chaco region, home to Impenetrable National Park, just 20 are thought to still survive. When predators die out, Di Martino said, the populations of the herbivores they hunt surges, unbalancing ecosystems and damaging vegetation key to keeping carbon dioxide levels in check. Predators also play an important role in weeding out sick animals, he added, slowing the spread of zoonotic diseases such as the coronavirus. |
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