Bigcats News

[Balam]

(10-25-2020, 08:26 PM)Balam Wrote: Excellent news regarding jaguar conservation in the Argentinian Chaco. Qaramta 107 kg male was able to gain access to Tania, a captive female that was brought to an enclosure in the Impenetrable National Park with the hopes of breeding with Qaramta and increasing the population of jaguars in the region, which is very low.

Direct translation from Rewilding Argentina:

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QARAMTA AND TANIA JOINED FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE YAGUARETS OF THE CHACOAN IMPENETRABLE 

For the first time in history, a wild male and a captive female jaguar got together, with the aim of saving the species from extinction in the Argentine Gran Chaco. Qaramta, a wild male of about 5 years old, and Tania, a captive female of 9, entered a joint pen where they could meet after almost a year of seeing each other through a fence.

With this project, Fundación Rewilding Argentina, together with the Government of Chaco and the Administration of National Parks, seek to recover the jaguar, the largest feline in the American continent. This key species of the Chaco forest —when found in healthy populations— plays a vital ecological role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

*This image is copyright of its original author

In addition, the presence of the jaguar will help create a nature tourism destination capable of promoting the development of the neighboring communities of the protected area. As is the case in Iberá, Corrientes and Pantanal, in southern Brazil, the Impenetrable Chaco can become an engine of local economies by promoting sustainable and inclusive ventures linked to nature tourism.

The jaguar is virtually extinct in the Argentine Chaco, where researchers speculate that fewer than 20 individuals survive in a very large territory. The last records of the species have corresponded to solitary males, and many of them have already been hunted.

“For a first meeting, it was very positive. They were together for four days and everything went according to plan; they got along well and there were no assaults. The process of recovering the jaguar in the Impenetrable Chaco continues its march, with more and more advances. We know that there is still a lot of work to do, but it is starting in the best way ”, enthuses Sebastián Di Martino, Conservation Director of Fundación Rewilding Argentina.

In order to carry out this delicate management action, a group of Chaco people from the neighboring communities of El Impenetrable National Park built a complex of three large corrals - the largest, one hectare - that will allow the species to be recovered in this region of Argentina.

How was the meeting of Qaramta and Tania?

For several months, Tania lived in a small corral in this protected area of the Chaco, where Qaramta often visited her. During these visits — the gate in between — they spent long hours together, communicating and keeping company.

The first step in setting up the meeting consisted of moving Tania to a small space attached to the hectare and a half board corral, and waiting for Qaramta to find her and encourage herself to cross the small entrance hall to the large enclosure. She did it calmly on a nocturnal visit, during which she visited Tania, still separated, toured the corral and, hours later, left.

When Tania went into heat, Rewilding Argentina's technical team reopened the large pen, this time activating the self-closing gate so that, upon entering, Qaramta was inside. This happened, and that same morning Tania was allowed to enter the same corral, achieving that they finally meet.

When they found that Tania no longer showed symptoms of heat, they were separated, and Qaramta left the large corral to return to the mountain. Thanks to the videos of the camera traps placed in the corral, the team was able to observe that, although there is no record of copulations on the cameras, the interaction between them was perfect: they spent a long time together and very calm.

“In one of our daily rounds, Tania came over because she heard us and we could see that it was in perfect condition, without scratches; a very good sign. There we already relaxed much more, because meetings can sometimes be aggressive, especially if he was nervous about the confinement, ”says Sebastián.

The main objective of this ambitious company is that the offspring that are born from this project are released to form part of the population nucleus that seeks to save the jaguar in the Chaco region.

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Original source in Spanish by Rewilding Argetina

Excellent news from this saga, Tania has given birth!

THE CUBS OF QARAMTA AND TANIA ARE ALREADY THE HOPE OF THE IMPENETRABLE

Last Sunday we were able to confirm one of the news most awaited by all of us and all of you: Tania gave birth to two beautiful cubs, the result of her union with Qaramta last October in El Impenetrable National Park, in Chaco. The cubs were born on January 30 at dawn.

Their birth is a very important step for the conservation of the jaguar in the Argentinean region of Chaco, where it is estimated that less than 20 specimens survive.

It is also, above all, a message of hope. Hope that Qaramta can leave offspring, something that until today was unlikely. Hope that Tania's cubs can live free in the Chaco region, from where their wild great-grandparents were snatched in 1989, when they were still cubs and had killed their mother. Hope that the strategy that she managed, for the first time, to cross a large wild carnivore with another captive will be used in other areas to save species from extinction. Hope that the shores of the Bermejo River will cease to be the land of poachers and will be visited by those seeking to connect with its landscapes and wildlife. Hope that through wildlife observation ecotourism, quality employment will be generated in this still depressed area, but with infinite dreams to fulfill.

The cubs are not the end of one of our country's most poignant conservation stories. They are the beginning of a new era, full of challenges, but that must lead to their future life in freedom, where people and the jaguar share the wild beauty of the Chacoan mountain.

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Qaramta has managed to leave a legacy and these cubs have been sired by a strong 114 kg male. Tania is a pioneer in jaguar conservation since her previous litter of cubs will be soon released into the Ibera wetlands, were similar to this new litter of cubs, they will help repopulate and rewild the biome. She's a pioneer for Argentine jaguar conservation. Reply