ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)

[Matias]

When nature gives them a chance to collab, jaguars aren’t so solitary after all

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Quote:Both the Llanos and the Pantanal are exceptionally rich wetlands. Caimans, capybaras, turtles and fish thrive in the water, while other prey such as peccaries and livestock abound on land. That abundance leads to female jaguars having small and overlapping territories. Therefore, by banding together, males may increase their chances of taking over these areas and defending their access to mating with resident females. In other areas of the jaguar’s range, those conditions — the concentration of prey and subsequently females — don’t generally occur, so coalitions may not form.

“Our research shows that while the genetic factor and evolutionary histories are certainly important, under certain environmental conditions other species can also develop more complex social interactions,” Jędrzejewski said.

Study co-author Allison Devlin, deputy director of the jaguar program at Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, said the discovery points to the benefits of having long-term studies with multiple types of data, and adequate protection so that species can thrive.

“It shows the value of having long-term camera tracking, movement ecology data and direct observations through citizen science,” she said. “And from that we’re able to see that if you have a relatively stable jaguar population, healthy prey base, and protection for the species, we can start seeing these more natural behaviors, and start understanding some of the interactions that a solitary species might have.”

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