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#276

01-22-2021, 11:02 PM

CAATINGA JAGUARS FROM BOQUEIRÃO DA ONÇA

Conservation of the Smallest Jaguar's Population in size.

Credits: Expedição Caatinga

Sources: Amigos da Onça Program and Pró-Carnívoros Institute

Just finished Translation of the most important parts.

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The Caatinga Biome - Northeast Brazil.

The Biome 100% Brazilian.

Caatinga is a Brazilian biome found in the Northeast, in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia and part of Minas Gerais. The whole area of this biome covers about 11% of Brazilian territory.

The Caatinga has a semi-arid climate, vegetation with few leaves and adapted for the periods of drought, in addition to great biodiversity.

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Study Area

Boqueirão da Onça

Carol Esteves: ''Boqueirão da onça obviously we'd like to work in the entire Caatinga territory but its a very extensive area, very large and since Claúdia managed to register caatinga jaguars in Boqueirão da Onça with a still viable population in this region we started working on their conservation there and also for the caatinga Pumas, its an area of 9.000 square kilometers in north Bahia, it covers 6 municipalities with Sento Sé and Campo Formoso both being the most contemplated municilalities so its a preserved area with amazing feats having beautiful areas with scenic beauties, rock arts, vegetations, endemic species, endangered species and its important to note that in 2018 this region was enacted as 2 units of conservation with one being of full protection the Parque Nacional Boqueirão da Onça and also the APA which is the Environmental Protection Area of the Boqueirão da Onça which is of sustainable use along many years, decades the researchers, programs including Cláudia all as a team worked really hard for this decree come out on the creation of this protected area initially with limits only for full protection as a Park but due to many interests there regarding energy issue, mining it ended up becoming 2 polygons one sustainable and the other full protection.''

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Pigsty constructions to avoid Caatinga jaguars/pumas predations on domestic animals.

Carol Esteves: - ''In partnership with Tetra Pak in donations we managed to buld 18 pigsty in 2 communities of Boqueirão da Onça, these are Predator Proof Pigsties so the idea is for the predator not attack the flock of domestic animals, they're confined part of the day and night to diminish encounter with Caatinga Jaguars/Pumas and we've already have positive results despite preliminary, there was 10% reduction of Caatinga jaguars/pumas predations on domestic animals in these regions after the build of these Pigsties. So this is an action the Program do and another action within the human's dimensions is to also work with the quality of life so the Pigsties will not only unable the diminish of encounters with predators in Caatinga but it'll also improve the quality of that flock of animals which are very important for their owners most of the times its a source of income and its a very symbolic value its not only about money''

Left of the photo bellow: Before the Pigsties construction in Boqueirão da Onça.

Right of the photo bellow: After the Pigsties construction by Amigos da Onça and its partners in Boqueirão da Onça to avoid Caatinga jaguars/pumas attacks to the domestic animals.

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Conservation Status of the Caatinga Jaguars and Pumas.

Source for the Jaguars: (Morato et al. 2013)

Source for the Pumas: (Azevedo et al.2013)

Caatinga Jaguar: 250 individuals in Caatinga Biome +- 30 individuals in Boqueirão da Onça

Caatinga Puma: 2.500 individuals in Caatinga Biome +- 180 individuals in Boqueirão da Onça

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Camera Traps - Boqueirão da Onça - Caatinga - Brazil.

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CURIOSITIES OF CAATINGA JAGUARS.

Caatinga jaguars adaptive and unique features for the Caatinga enviorment.

Claudia: - ''As an adaptation for example the Caatinga jaguar's whiskas are a bit stiffer/harder, as the whiskas work as a guide for them to move in the woods so the whiskas alert the cat when its approaching something or a branch so the harshness made Caatinga jaguars whiskas get stiffer and also for example on their paw pads there's more fur on the jaguars from caatinga than on jaguars from other places (biomes) because the jaguars are in the most preserved places of Caatinga, there's naturally forest and in some places have a more exposed ground/soil which is very hot so the jaguar also adapted to this and despite the temperature there's also the thorns so their paw pads are thicker, rougher, with more fur for protection on the places it walks.''

Caatinga jaguars compared in size to other jaguars of Brazil.

Claudia: - ''We got the different sizes of jaguars in the biomes of Brazil because they were adapting to the habitat they reside so in the environment they live along the time made them be the way they are today, we see jaguars in Amazon they are medium sized reaching a maximum of 70-80 kg, in the Cerrado for example there are 90 kg jaguars and it may vary with females being a bit smaller, in the Pantanal size wise its an absurd considering the rest so you see Pantanal jaguars of 90kg, 100 kg, 130, 145 kg its almost a Bull sized, its really a very big animal.''

About Caatinga jaguars evolutionary adaptation for their sizes.

Claudia: - ''In the Caatinga biome due to the harshness of the environment all of the animals had to adapt, so they ( the jaguars ) are small because they gotta be durable to the heat, to the little water availability, to the food they got which sometimes in some regions are scarce to find. So their body gotta be ready to stay way more days without feeding than in other places (biomes) and they spend more time without drinking water than other places, there's a whole adaptation to the environment hence why they're small and also to not lose much heat from the body. If you bring a Pantanal jaguar to Caatinga it will die, it wouldn't survive in our woods and Caatinga is also a forest, its interesting for people to know that the Caatinga vegetation is also considered as a forest, its not because its smaller in height or flat looking in some places some assume its not a forest, It Is a forest and also a native woods.''

Caatinga males sharing one single area in Boqueirão da Onça.

Claudia: - ''Today we know there may not occur the 100% substitution of one male over the other in one area because more than one individual may share that territory despite each one having its small place established, In the past we thought it couldn't happen but in Caatinga since the beginning of the monitoring we noticed there's overlap in territories of males specially due to the scarce resources food, water so it wouldn't be possible only one male occupie a certain large area and not letting other males use it with no overlapping, in Caatinga its very common you find more than one male sharing territory with one another, so with reduced resources one gotta tolerate the presence of the other, think about a natural water spring in one place for example in Boqueirão da Onça there's water springs that during dry season you'll only be able to find water within a 10km radius so these animals inside this 10 km will only have that water point so they gotta share it.''

Migration of Caatinga/Cerrado Jaguars/Pumas from one biome into the other.

Claudia: - ''There are registers of Puma in Ceará northeast Brazil with groups studying them and today lets say in the last 3-4 years people are got more interested on these 2 species in the biome of Caatinga, so much that Amigos da Onça Program is pioneer on studying the species in depth and having the them on hands to know much more about these 2 species, so there's Pumas in some humid forests areas whereas the jaguar won't be present in some of these humid areas but in some areas especially with the transition between Caatinga and Cerrado there's a proximity with the area of Cerrado that has a bit more resources so sometimes some jaguars/pumas from one biome end up moving into the other biome in some points specially in Piauí in the region of Serra das Confusões, Caracol, Raimundo Nonato located a little bit north of the Serra das Capivaras, so there's that transition as well but its much more common to happen with Pumas.''

Capture & Telemetry

Rei ( king of Sertão Cool

) Caatinga male. 40-51 kg

Rei's datas.

Monitored 2017 - 2019

Living area = 573 km2

''Rei was the first jaguar captured (in 2017) and monitored by radio-collar by our program. Its name symbolizes the "King of the Hinterland ( Sertão ). He was monitored for a year and a half in the region of the Boqueirão da Onça National Park, in Bahia. Currently he is without his necklace but he has been recorded in our photographic traps and through tracks. Our jaguars are strong as our beloved Caatinga, their survival is directly related to the success of all biodiversity in this biome.''

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Rei Caatinga male.

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Rei on the other capture.

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Rei's Pugmark

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2 Caatinga Pumas also captured by the Amigos da Onça Program and Pró-Carnívoros Institute and since there's also infos for Caatinga Pumas in this post I'll include both here too.

Gonzaga male ( named paying tribute to Luíz Gonzaga, the king of Baião, a legend of the brazilian popular music )

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Vitória female AKA Vivi.

She was estimated to be 6 years old, weighed 30 kg and measured 1,55 m in length including the tail. Vitória was unfortunately cowardly poached after almost 1 year being monitored and it was a huge tragedy and loss for the program, institute and for the conservation in the Caatinga.

Vitória was the first Puma ever to be monitored in Caatinga.

Vitória when captured.

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Remembering Luísa Caatinga female ( The one who was unfortunately chased and imprisoned by local residents trapped in a cave with its entrance blocked by rocks for 22 hard days and thankfully she was eventually rescued, The full case I already posted here on this thread on post #29 ).

Luísa after the rescue measuring 1 meter in length and 58 cm in height and weighing 35 kg after those long 22 days trapped without eating. She was very weak, dehydrated and malnourished.

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Cláudia biologist of the project Amigos da Onça:

''The jaguars of the Caatinga are naturally smaller than those of other biomes as a result of an evolutionary adaptation to the vegetation and climate of the region (being smaller they need less food, less water, spend less energy and regulate the body temperature more easily). They are smaller but not less strong as they have an incredible surprising strength."

Luísa female already weighing 46 kg during her release back to the Caatinga wilderness.

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Telemetry datas of all Caatinga Jaguars/Pumas captured in Boqueirão da Onça published by Amigos da Onça Program and Pró Carnívoros Institute.

Rei male (Jaguar), Gonzaga male (Puma), Vitória female (Puma) and Luísa female (Jaguar).