The Llanos Jaguar

[Dark Jaguar]

Hope for Colombia's Jaguars ( forest and wetlands )

https://www.panthera.org/blog/2016/05/12...as-jaguars

May 12, 2016

For five months, I woke at sunrise alongside my team, which included Vice President Dr. George Schaller and Regional Director Dr. Esteban Payàn. In groups of two or three, we hiked or drove through the sweltering heat (and swarms of mosquitos) to install and check camera traps in order to learn more about Colombia’s jaguars.

We already know that jaguars play a key role in keeping Colombia’s landscapes healthy. We also know their numbers are declining because of habitat loss, conflict with people, and over-hunting of their prey. So how do we protect this big cat? First, we figure out where they are.

*This image is copyright of its original author

As a wide-ranging species, jaguars don’t just require protected areas—they also need corridors connecting these areas so they can move freely between them. As Colombia’s agriculture and other developments grow, it becomes increasingly important that we understand how jaguars use these unprotected corridors.

To do so, we set up about 50 camera stations across 250 km2 in two areas of Colombia: the Magdalena River Valley and the Llanos region. These areas include forest and wetlands (prime jaguar habitat), but they are also home to cattle ranches and oil palm plantations.  

Our camera traps yielded a wealth of information. We saw new jaguars we hadn’t seen before and learned more about the habits and personalities of jaguars we knew. I was thrilled to see photos of individuals we first recorded in 2012, including a female who had cubs then and who I named Hope.

Ultimately, we found that landscapes containing a mixture of agriculture, forests, and wetlands harbor lower jaguar densities than pristine protected areas—but importantly, these partially developed areas can host resident jaguars and their offspring.

*This image is copyright of its original author

With this baseline data—the first in Colombia outside of the Amazon—we can monitor jaguar populations across space and time, detect population declines, and respond with appropriate conservation actions. As agriculture expands, we’ll continue to collaborate with landowners and the local and national governments to ensure habitats are maintained and human-jaguar conflict is minimized.

Given its strategic position between Central and South America, Colombia is extremely important for jaguar conservation across all of Latin America. With the results of this study, we’re now even better equipped to protect this stunning big cat here and across its range. Reply