Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars

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#517

03-30-2021, 03:32 AM

Capture of Brazuka male during capture expedition of Onçafari Project under the Supervision of Onçafari's coordinator CENAP/ICMBio.

credits: wconservation

April 2012

The Founder and President of the Onçafari project Mario Haberfeld on his second capture season followed by Ronaldo Morato the Head of CENAP/ICMBio and Rômulo Mello ex president of ICMBio on a capture in Miranda south Pantanal at Fazenda Caiman area where Mario Heberfeld and his onçafari project works and all datas of the Jaguar captured were collected for the CENAP archive.

Brazuka

Brazuka ( portuguese slang for ''Brazilian'' ) is a male jaguar who's territory was covered completely inside the Fazenda Caiman (Pantanal - Brasil) during his prime and onçafari's President Mario Haberfeld thought it would be great him to be monitored as his territory is completely within the area of Fazenda Caiman where he works at, unlike 110 kg Nati male captured in October 2011 along with 85 kg Chuva female, Nati's territory covered only 30% of the Fazenda caiman area towards south with the other 70% of Nati's territory covered outside of the Fazenda Caiman boundaries.

THE CAPTURE.

http://www.wconservation.com/revista.pdf

ON THE TRACK OF THE ONÇA.

Summary

Written by: SILVANA ASSUMPÇÃO

Photos: MARIO HABERFELD PRESIDENT OF ONÇAFARI

''Part of the team gathered in Fazenda Caiman for the second capture season had already been there for 11 days when I arrived on the last day of March. Besides Bernardo and Helder, who live there, Mario Haberfeld ( Founder and President of Onçafari ), Simon and Joares May the vet responsible for setting up the loop traps for the capture of jaguars. On the same flight as me, from São Paulo, Ronaldo Morato another veterinarian and the Head of CENAP.

Two days later the group was joined by Rômulo Mello, an agricultural engineer from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Preservation ( ICMBio ) a large division of Ibama to which CENAP is linked. Yes, you can't go around out there capturing jaguars and putting collars on them without all the proper official permissions.

Linked to the project since the beginning, these Institutions support and help directly in the research and with inputs, such as, for example, the camera traps - a large part of the 60 installed in Refúgio Ecológico Caiman are from CENAP.

The first morning I set off to check the traps with Mario Haberfeld, Ronaldo Morato and Joares May, Tracking the footprints would be used to guide the placement of the traps. The nine used this season had already been installed before my arrival, but several times some were moved or a new one set.) I took Simon's lessons. The slightest sign let him know whether it was a female or male jaguar, whether it was moving fast, cautious or running where it had stopped. At a certain moment a magnificent Giant Anteater of almost 2 meters long (those from Brazil are the largest in the world) appeared at a short distance. I had a fascinating moment. Simon took me by the hand and always checking the wind direction, he took me closer and closer to the distracted Anteater. We spent a very long 15 minutes "hanging out" with it, and stood less than 2 meters away while he scrutinized a bush with compassion. Some more time and Simon warned us that the owner of those very powerful black claws (did you know that the Giant Anteater is the only animal in the Pantanal that the jaguar respects, that can kill it?) it was showing signs of uneasiness with our observation presence, we then lightly moved away as did the Anteater in another direction. I followed the trap review in the mornings and afternoons of all the following days feeling closer and closer to the expected jaguar that might not come.

*This image is copyright of its original author

The round was not to see if there was a jaguar there, but for Joares to verify if everything was as it should be or to change some detail. Day after day the anxiety grew. Adding up the spaces between the snares set up to trap the jaguar by the paw. To be successful the jaguar would have to step on 4.5 square, the sum of the areas of the nine armed traps, within the 53 thousand hectares of the Fazenda Caiman.

Joares May checking a very subtle loop trap ( all the vegetation around and the pieces of woods which are displaced are ''landscaping'' of it to guide the paces of the animal ).

*This image is copyright of its original author

A trap transmitter, connected to the trap mechanism and placed high up, would be in charge of transmitting a signal to a device in the hands of the team, which would be consulted every two hours, day and night from anywhere.

But the locations of the traps were perfectly strategic and little by little I gained absolute confidence that a jaguar had to go through them. A jaguar is like us, it prefers to walk on a clean path not blocked by branches, it avoids potholes if it can, it goes on or near the road. And in all the traps there were attractants, like the smell of glands or urine of the animal (very expensive products brought by Mario from the United States). Ronaldo Morato also went to some of them to give a Esturro ( as the jaguar's vocalization is called ) using a device for this purpose. If any jaguar heard it, it would step by there later to see what it was all about. And the days went by, revisions were made, new trails were tracked, traps were changed, and everyone kept an eye on the transmitter. But no jaguar... The day arrived for the team to leave.

Since there were many traps to disassemble, Mario Haberfeld and Joares May got up very early to begin the work which would take hours. I heard about it later, when I was asleep. I had gone to bed the day before with unrestrained sadness for everyone, for Mario, for me, who wanted so much to see a jaguar! My cell phone alarm goes off at 6 a.m. At the same time the phone in my bedroom goes off too. How strange! It took me a few seconds to jump out of bed to see what it was. On the other end of the line, Ronaldo's voice, or Helder's - I was so excited that I don't remember anymore. "Silvana, run, we're waiting for you here in front of the headquarters. We caught a jaguar!" Honestly, I cried. I got onto my clothes and went out into the wind, and look at that, the transmitter hadn't picked up anything! Mario and Joares stared at his figure in surprise. Joares first thought, seeing against the light that it was a big Tapir, it was going to be such a hard work to get it out of there! But it happened to be Brazuca, a majestic male jaguar weighing 112 kilos lying there. Time has passed and Brazuca proved to be perfect for the project, his whole territory is in Caiman Refuge area and he has even been filmed together with Chuva female. There must be a cub coming along, a jaguar only roams together when it mates. The third season started while this text was being written. A new " 90 kilos female has already joined the group... It is beautiful to see all this love for jaguars in the country.''

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ronaldo Morato Head of CENAP (on the left) and Mario Haberfeld Founder and President of Onçafari project (on the right) putting and adjusting a collar on Brazuka male.