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Balam · 12-10-2020, 10:37 PM

(12-10-2020, 10:21 PM)Pckts Wrote:

What he paid the ultimate price for

That was a stunning large melanistic male, I have a good feeling that the perpetrators will be apprehended since there's a lot of uproar online. That jaguar was absolutely huge and it's such a shame to lose an impressive specimen like that.

A lot of cattle ranchers will complain that jaguar kill the cattle while they simultaneously void the ecosystems that jaguars inhabit off their natural prey. A large male like that needs of big game to sustain its size, when key prey stone species like marsh deer or tapir are reduced in number, they have no other option but to kill cattle and horses.

Pckts · 12-10-2020, 10:44 PM

(12-10-2020, 10:37 PM)Balam Wrote:
(12-10-2020, 10:21 PM)Pckts Wrote:

What he paid the ultimate price for

That was a stunning large melanistic male, I have a good feeling that the perpetrators will be apprehended since there's a lot of uproar online. That jaguar was absolutely huge and it's such a shame to lose an impressive specimen like that.

A lot of cattle ranchers will complain that jaguar kill the cattle while they simultaneously void the ecosystems that jaguars inhabit off their natural prey. A large male like that needs of big game to sustain its size, when key prey stone species like marsh deer or tapir are reduced in number, they have no other option but to kill cattle and horses.

Unfortunately this is the position all of our beloved big cats are in.
Loss of habitat to make room for the humans ever expanding demands.

Dark Jaguar · 12-14-2020, 07:32 PM

Male and Female interaction - Pantanal - Brasil.

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Dark Jaguar · 12-22-2020, 12:07 AM

Caiman manages to escape from old female Jaguar attack.

By: Corey Charlton for Mailonline

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...river.html

''Caiman manages to win fight for life with jaguar after it is pounced on in Brazilian river.

Visibly starving jaguar attempted to ambush caiman by pouncing on it while it swam near the shore.

But the caiman managed to successfully fight off the attack by wiggling free and swimming into deeper water.

With a violent flash of teeth, this is the moment a wounded and starving jaguar tried to snatch a caiman from a river in a last ditch effort to eat.

But despite initiating the sneak attack, the cat slunk away empty-handed after the caiman successfully fought it off and swam to safety.

The brutal fight to the death was spotted by a photographer, who watched the visibly unhealthy jaguar creep up on the caiman along the banks of the Piquiri River, Pantanal, in Brazil.

credits: Chris Brunskill

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Chris Brunskill said the elderly female was first spotted hunting along the riverbank with visible wounds.

He said: ''We found this old female Jaguar who was in very bad condition with several visible wounds on her stomach possibly caused by a fight with another Jaguar.

''She looked in desperate need of a meal and was actively hunting along the river bank when she grabbed this caiman right in front of my boat.''

credits: Chris Brunskill

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Unfortunately, the bold cat's plan went awry with the caiman successfully slipping from her hold and hurriedly disappearing underwater.

Mr Brunskill added: ''There was a big splash and I took five pictures in about half a second, before the caiman escaped from her grasp and disappeared from view.''

credits: Chris Brunskill

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In recent years footage and photos have emerged of the predators launching sneak attacks on the caimans while they bask on riverbanks in the sun.

However, in this instance, the cat actually jumped into the water to catch its prey - which is likely to show it was in desperate need of a meal.

The jaguars found in the region are the largest and most powerful of the species in South America, enabling them to take down larger prey.

They have also become a tourist attraction because they can be regularly seen in broad daylight. Elsewhere, jaguars are often hunted and tend to be shy and reclusive, making them much harder to see in the wild.''

credits: Chris Brunskill

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Dark Jaguar · 01-19-2021, 02:48 AM

Sighting of Pirata male in Fazenda San Francisco - Pantanal.

video by Roberta Coelho

Dark Jaguar · 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).

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Dark Jaguar · 01-23-2021, 06:14 PM

Studying Jaguars in the Wild: Past Experiences and Future Perspectives

Mariana M. Furtado1,2,, Samia E. Carrillo-Percastegui3, Anah Tereza A. Jácomo1, George Powell3, Leandro Silveira1, Carly Vynne4 and Rahel Sollmann

https://bigcatswildcats.com/download/jag...hods_s.pdf

Jaguars have been studied in the wild since the late 1970’s. However, compared with other large cat species, jaguars are still one of the least known. We describe capture methodologies and study methods used in jaguar research, their application, advantages and disadvantages. Over the years, capture methodologies have improved, primarily in relation to safety measures. Telemetry studies are shifting from VHF to GPS systems with the capacity to collect more information on the species. Among non invasive methodologies, camera trapping is used to study jaguar density and feces collected with the help of detector dogs can provide information on diet, genetics, health and hormonal status. With improving methodologies and more published information about their applicability, studying jaguars in the wild will hopefully become less challenging.

The first scientific-based information on jaguars in the wild came mainly from anecdotal accounts of hunters in the mid 1970’s (Guggisberg 1975; Almeida 1976). Soon after, a research project in the Pantanal investigated jaguar predation on capybaras by examining kills (Schaller & Vasconcelos 1977), followed by radio telemetry investigations of jaguar movement patterns (Schaller & Crawshaw 1980). Since then, different methodologies have been tested for studying the species in the wild. Still, considering its large distribution, and in comparison to other large cats, little information is available on the jaguar. One of the evident explanations for this lack of knowledge is the difficulty associated with studying the species in its natural environment, considering its generally low population density and cryptic habits. Here, we summarize the methodologies in current use and discuss the future trend for jaguar studies in the wild. The authors cumulatively have experience with all methods described here.

Capturing Jaguars

There are three different techniques to capture jaguars in the wild: trained hounds, snares and live traps with bait. While all three methods are associated with some risk, they have different degrees of success, depending on the study area, field effort, climate, and experience of the capture team.

Capturing with trained hounds

Capturing jaguars with trained hounds is currently the most frequently used capture method. It involves releasing between four and 25 trained hounds on fresh jaguar spoor (Fig. 1). The hounds follow the jaguar scent, chase the jaguar and force it to either tree or stop on the ground (Rabinowitz 1986; Schaller & Crawshaw 1980; Crawshaw & Quigley 1991; Silveira 2004; Soisalo & Cavalcanti 2006; McBride Jr. & Mc-Bride 2007; Azevedo & Murray 2007). Tree climbing when being followed by hounds was observed by the Jaguar Conservation Fund (JCF) in 74.4% of 43 jaguars captured in the Pantanal, Cerrado and Amazon. A short or long range dart projector is used to dart the animal, preferably at the proximal region of the rear limb. After the jaguar has been darted, the dogs are leashed to reduce stress to the jaguar and allow it to descend from the tree before sedation takes effect. In JCF studies, 18.75% of jaguars that climbed a tree upon being chased by hounds descended from it after being darted. If the jaguar moves off, the hounds are released to lead researchers to the immobilized cat. If the jaguar stays in the tree after being darted, a capture net is set up to avoid traumatic falls and a “bed” of leaves is made bellow the net to prevent the animal from hitting the ground. However, if the jaguar becomes aneasthetized in the tree, a team member should be prepared to climb the tree, tie a rope to the animal’s chest and lower it to the ground (Fig. 2). This procedure was necessary in 10% of the cases a jaguar was treed in JCF studies.

Fig. 1. Jaguar Conservation Fund hounds being led to fresh tracks of a jaguar in the Pantanal (Photo by Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada).

*This image is copyright of its original author

The use of hounds assures some selectivity in the capture, as the dogs are trained to track only animals previously identified by their tracks. This assures the researchers that jaguars and not pumas (Puma concolor) and adults, not cubs, are tracked. It is also an efficient method. Of the 43 successful captures undertaken by the authors, on average the target animal was aneasthetized after only one hour of tracking, and at a mean distance of 1.8 km from the hounds’ release site. However, hounds used to capture jaguars should be experienced, obedient and well trained to chase only the target species. Although efficient, the method does offer some risks to all parties involved. For instance, the falling of an anesthetized jaguar from a tree can result in traumatic injuries of the animal. To avoid this some authors recommend not to dart a jaguar more than 5 meters up in a tree (Deem & Karesh 2005), but the risk of falling even from low or moderate heights still involves the possibility of injury or death (Mc-Cown 1990; JCF unpublished data). While a capture net placed directly underneath the animal greatly reduces the risk of injuries, people setting the net have to get dangerously close to the jaguar. Also, setting the net may take from 10 to 15 minutes, enough time for the jaguar to jump to another branch or tree. Finally, it is important to consider that hunting of jaguars is prohibited in most of the jaguars’ range countries and the contracting of hunters and hounds violates legal and ethical principles. For trained hounds and handlers to be a capturing option, the researcher should hire experienced staff with hounds from existing scientific research or from countries where hunting is permitted.

Fig. 2. During captures with hounds, jaguars may become aneasthetized up in the tree they seek refuge in. In these cases it is necessary to lower the animal down with a rope (Photo Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada).

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Snaring jaguar

Leg-hold snares modified for research have been used to catch various large cats (Logan et al. 1999; Goodrich et al.2001; McCarthy et al. 2005). A leg-hold snare consists of a ¼ inch thick stainless steel cable forming a loop that will close around the animal’s foot when it steps on the trigger. The snare cable is attached to an anchor cable through a swivel that allows the captured animal to rotate freely – this swivel is critical to prevent injury. The snare loop has a one-way lock that prevents the loop from loosening. To avoid injuries, a slide stop is been added to the cable to prevent the loop from closing too tightly and cutting off circulation in the foot. The stop can be adjusted for the target species, allowing smaller non-target species to easily escape. A bungee cord and metal coil spring inserted in parallel in the cable work very well as shock absorbers. Snares can be set along trails, drainages, places where cat spoor are frequently found, or around kills and carcasses which function as bait. The success of the snares can be enhanced with a “caller,” an MP3 player, with amplifier and speaker, that is programmed to continuously play recordings that may attract the cats and is hidden between two snares. Setting places should be carefully selected to avoid potential dangers for the trapped animal and the researches later trying to release it (e.g. sharp rocks, steep terrain, flash floods, sites too exposed to the sun, etc; Logan et al. 1999; Logan & Sweanor 2001). With snares and callers combined, the WWF AREAS-Amazonia study of jaguars in the Peruvian Amazon caught 17 jaguars in the Amazon of southeastern Peru (Fig. 2). No serious injuries or deaths caused by the snares were observed, only swollen paws and minor cuts. There are several methods that help avoid capturing non-target species.

A branch can be placed above the snare to deflect ungulates. The trigger can be supported by either a firm sponge or three short pieces of metal strips from a measuring tape to insure that lighter mammals or birds cannot set it off. Still, snares should not be set at places frequently used by non-target species. One of the most important ways to avoid injuries is to check the traps at an appropriate frequency. Checking snares more than once per day and/or constant monitoring with some kind of device like VHF collars/radio transmitters (Logan, pers comm., Nolan 1984; Halstead 1995) is highly recommended. A further recommendation is to close traps when climate conditions are adverse and might cause hypothermia or over-heating to the trapped animal (Powell & Proulx 2005). While there will always be a potential for injury or even death, with proper use, snares have generally proven to be an efficient method to capture large cats.

Fig. 3. Jaguar trapped on a snare by its front paw in the Peruvian Amazon (Photo S. Carillo-Percastegui).

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Live Traps

Cage traps baited with live animals (e.g., domestic pig or sheep) can be placed along natural trails, transect or roads (Rabinowitz 1986; Morato et al.2002; Azevedo & Murray 2007). The trap may or may not allow the animal to have access to the bait. Jaguar trap dimension should be of approximate 0.90m x 0.90m x 2.0m with a strong enough welded wire mesh able to constrain the animal inside until it isis anesthetized. Traps must be checked at least once per day to guarantee the captured animals’ well-being. Also, the bait requires that food and water be regularly replaced. Traps must be set in the shade to avoid exposition of the bait or trapped animal to the sun.

Captured jaguars inside cages can be very aggressive and inflict serious injury to themselves by biting and hitting the cage (Fig. 4). The most common injury is teeth breakage (Rabinowitz 1987). To avoid this risk, traps should not be made with grating, should not allow the animal to get caught in any parts or dispose loose hard pieces that can be bitten or chewed by the cat. If left in the cage to recover after anesthesia, the animal can be aggressive and cause harm to itself, and there should be caution during release as the cat can turn back to a unprotected person instead of fleeing from the scene. Alternatively, the animal can be placed in a quiet, padded and protected area to recover and leave the site. Risks are involved with both recovery situation as even outside of the trap the jaguar can injure itself by falling, banging itself or drowning in a water puddle while not fully recovered. It is important to remember that with this methodology it can take a longer trapping effort to achieve a capture. The method also involves the risks of capturing non-target species. Another limitation to the use of this method is the expense: steel trap costs, along with transportation and operational costs of feeding the live bait and checking the trap, can become very high.

Fig. 4. Cerrado Jaguar captured in Emas National Park, central Brazil with a cage trap baited with a live pig. Note that the cage is not properly designed. The jaguar should not have access to the cage bars as they may allow the animal to bite and injure itself. A metal mesh over the bars is recommended to prevent injuries (Photo Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada).

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GPS (Tracktag) versus VHF telemetry for tracking jaguars

While radio telemetry is in general an excellent technique for determining jaguar home range size (Fig. 5), habitat use, movement patterns, and other spatial attributes (see Schaller & Crawshaw 1980; Rabinowitz & Nottingham 1986; Crawshaw 1995), its effectiveness in dense habitat such as the Amazon forest may be limited. The dense canopy of tropical forests reduces the range of radio signals to a few kilometers at best and ground accessibility is usually limited. The only viable large scale monitoring alternative is the use of small fixed-winged aircraft. This approach is limited to diurnal monitoring and tends to be very expensive. Additional problems associated with radio telemetry are triangulation errors caused by low accuracy of the reading, bouncing signals or moving animals, as well as a bias of collected data towards more accessible areas. There is also a trade-off between the number of locations that can be collected for each individual and the number of individuals that can be monitored. Therefore, GPS collars have become popular for studying large cats (Anderson & Lindzey 2003; Hem-son et al. 2005, McCarthy et al. 2005) and have been employed successfully in jaguar studies in the Atlantic Forest (Cullen et al. 2005; Cullen 2006), Pantanal (Soisalo & Cavalcanti 2006) and the Paraguayan Chaco (McBride & Mc-Bride 2007).

In late 2007, the World Wildlife Fund - US fitted four jaguars in the Amazon of southeastern Peru, with a new type of GPS system called TrackTag (NAV-SYS Limited, West Lothian, UK). The TrackTag is an archival GPS unit with a capacity to store up to 30,000 locations in its onboard memory, adapted to fit on a VHF radio-collar. The tag has very low power requirements and its own light-weight energy source. Currently the tag must be retrieved and connected to a computer for data downloading and processing. However, the unit is currently being redesigned to include remote downloading capacity. Like other GPS collars, the unit can be set to collect locations at determined time intervals and can also be equipped with a timed drop-off mechanism. To date, the authors have recovered and processed five collars. Those collars recorded between 662 and 4,250 locations during 3.8 to 7 months that they collected data. This is between 10 to 100 times more data than would typically be collected from a VHF-based study. Cullen (2006) reported five to 15 times more data collected with regular GPS than with VHF collars, depending on density of forest cover.

Although the initial costs of the GPS collars were ten times the cost of a typical VHF collar, the quantity and quality of data collected far outweighs the added cost of purchase as they are more precise and unbiased by time of day or ease of access. While VHF collars are still useful for some studies where infrequent locations are needed, such as monitoring problem cats or reintroduced or translocated individuals, most studies interested in collecting detailed data on the ecology of jaguars should probably consider using GPS collars. For relatively open areas a large number of different models are currently available; from simple store-on-board units, to units that automatically transmit data through a satellite or cell phone connection. For densely forested areas the TrackTags are a viable GPS option, and new more sensitive designs are currently being tested.

Fig. 5. Male radio-collared Cerrado jaguar passing a camera trap station in Emas National Park, central Brazil (Photo Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada).

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Camera traps for estimating jaguar density

Camera trapping to estimate large felid density was initially developed for tigers (Karanth 1995, Karanth & Nichols 1998), but was soon adopted for jaguar studies (Wallace et al. 2003), and has since been implemented throughout the species’ range (Maffei et al. 2004; Silveira 2004, Silver et al. 2004, Cullen et al. 2005, Soisalo & Cavalcanti 2006, Salom-Perez et al. 2007). Camera trapping takes advantage of the unique spot (or stripe) pattern on each cat that permits individual identification of registered animals (Fig. 4). The information on photographic captures and recaptures of the different individuals can be analyzed with capture-recapture models to estimate abundance, which can be translated into a density estimate, dividing abundance by the sampled area. The study design has to consider two model assumptions: 1) All animals within the sampled area have a capture probability larger than 0, thus, cameras must be placed so that there are no internal gaps that could contain an individual’s entire home range; and 2) The population under study is closed, i.e. during sampling, no losses or recruitments occur, so a maximum sampling period of two to three months is recommended (Silver 2004). When calculating the sampled area, a buffer around the outer camera trap polygon has to be considered, as portions of the home ranges of registered animals will be located outside of this polygon (Karanth & Nichols 1998). Estimates of buffer width can be obtained in various ways, and as density estimates are sensitive to buffer width, this is subject of ongoing discussion (e.g. Soisalo & Cavalcanti 2006).

Jaguars occur at low densities and consequently, large areas (several hundred km²) have to be sampled with a large number of camera traps (from 25 upwards) to guarantee sufficient data, both in number of individuals captured and in number of recaptures (Karanth & Nichols 2002), making these studies quite expensive (Maffei et al. 2004, Soisalo & Cavalcanti 2006) and work intensive. In tropical, open-habitat study areas, camera traps with passive heat-in-motion sensors are likely to be triggered frequently by direct sunlight or even daytime heat. Depending on the model, camera traps can produce more than 50% of pictures of hot air. This increases material costs and creates the need to check cameras more frequently to avoid sampling gaps. Due to financial and logistic constraints, under these conditions researchers may have to con-fine sampling to night time hours.

Even when functioning properly, only a small fraction of pictures will be of the target species, between 5% and 25% depending on study area, with success rates of two to four jaguar registers per 100 trap nights. To optimize success, traps need to be set at locations with a high probability of jaguar movement, such as roads or trails (Silver et al. 2004). This can conflict with the need to cover the entire sampled area without internal gaps, in which case additional trails may have to be opened. Depending on their accessibility, these trails increase time spent checking traps disproportionately. While Silver et al. (2004) found manmade trails to work well, the Jaguar Conservation Fund observed low to no jaguar camera trapping success on such trails (JCF, unpublished data). Salom-Perez et al. (2007) suggested that differences in use of manmade trails existed between the sexes due to females being more timid. Several studies report a sex ratio of detected animals skewed towards males (Wallace et al. 2003; Silver et al. 2004; Salom-Perez et al. 2007), owing to the females’ smaller home ranges and less movement, rather than an actual skewed sex ratio in the population.

Still, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks: Camera traps are non-invasive, can sample large areas continuously, and collect enough data for a reasonable density estimate within two to three months. Some of the drawbacks mentioned can be compensated, at least partially, with site specific sampling designs and choice of the right equipment. In terms of data analysis, capture-recapture models provide a sound statistical basis for density estimation, and data can also be used to investigate jaguar activity pattern and spatial distribution. Recently developed spatially explicit capture-recapture models that estimate density directly without the need to determine the size of the sampled area (Borchers & Efford 2008) hold the potential for more flexible sampling designs and more accurate density estimates. Furthermore, with constant advances in the field of digital photography, a robust, battery-economic digital camera trap should not be too far away.

Using Scat Detector Dogs to Study and Monitor Jaguars

The use of scat-detection dogs is increasingly recognized as a valuable wildlife assessment and monitoring tool (Long et al. 2007a). Chosen for their drive for play-reward with a tennis ball, these dogs enable researchers to seek out scat samples of rare and otherwise difficult-to-study species (Fig. 6). The dogs are able to cover large areas, are non-biased in their sampling of gender, and have demonstrated accuracy in their ability to hone in on their targets while ignoring non-target species (Smith et al. 2003). In comparison with camera traps and hair snag survey methods, detection dogs have demonstrated superior effectiveness at locating species presence as well as number of individuals (Wasseret al. 2004; Harrison 2006; Long et al. 2007b). Scat samples can be used to understand wildlife movement, for diet and disease studies, as well as for DNA and hormone analyses (Wasser et al. 2004).

Scat detector dogs offer a valuable tool for non-invasive study of jaguar. In a study at Emas National Park (ENP) and surroundings in central Brazil (Vynne et al. 2007), scat dog teams were employed over 12 months between 2004 and 2008 for a five species survey including jaguars. Of all putative jaguar samples (n=49), 80% were found off of roads or major trails, and thus would not have been encountered by human search teams alone. We found evidence of jaguar using open, grassland-dominant habitats bordering the agricultural matrix where jaguar had not previously been recorded.

While scat dogs may be the most effective survey method available for detecting presence of elusive species, the required field time is extensive as compared to other methods (Harrison 2006). This is likely to be even more exaggerated for the very wide-ranging jaguars. In the ENP study, we spent approximately 22 hours in the field for every putative jaguar scat encountered.When jaguars are targeted as the focal species or sampling is restricted to known jaguar niche habitat, detection rates are expected to climb. For example, 90% (n=44 of 49) of the samples were found within the jaguar niche, realized by Silveira (2004) during a radio-collaring study. If we consider only survey days spent in the defined niche, we had an 88% probability of detecting a jaguar on a given field day. Studies in Cantão State Park (Amazon-Cerrado ecotone) and on a private reserve in the Pantanal, where jaguar densities are much higher and where dogs were trained only on jaguar and puma resulted in a much lower search time of about 1.3 hrs per putative large cat scat (Almeida et al. 2008).

Well-trained scat dog teams have a demonstrated high accuracy of honing in on target species from 93% to 100% (Smith et al. 2003; Vynne, unpublished data; Wasser et al., unpublished data). However, inexperienced handlers may inadvertently train dogs onto non-target species by misidentifying scat samples in the field and/or rewarding errantly interpreted dog search behavior. In our study, two experienced dog-handler teams had an 81% accuracy rate of collection for jaguar and puma scats, while a new handler-dog team collected 50% as non-target species. This can introduce significant costs in laboratory analyses or bias in cases where genetic confirmation is not being done prior to analysis. Thus, only experienced dog teams should be considered for use on a study (Long et al. 2007).

Another consideration of the method should be the objectives for the study. As jaguars cover extensive areas and have low defecation rates, we cannot expect to get detailed movement information. When physiological, genetic, presence/absence, disease and parasite, or diet information is warranted, however, scat samples will provide the most effective means of gathering this health panel of information. However, for some laboratory analyses, samples have to be reasonably fresh. In general, study design is crucial for effective sampling and professional outfits can provide advice for effective study design.

Fig. 6. Author Carly Vynne with scat detector dog surveying for jaguar scats in the surroundings of Emas National Park, central Brazil (Photo M. Baker).

*This image is copyright of its original author

Conclusion

The choice of any methodology for studying jaguars depends on the purpose of the study, site location and the research team’s experience and available resources. While jaguar capture is still the most reliable methodology for biological sample collection and necessary for telemetry studies, due to the risks involved in these procedures researchers tend to substitute them for non-invasive methodologies. Information of species-specific capture accidents and fatalities need to be published so that future captures do not repeat past mistakes. Camera traps and especially GPS collars are still relatively young technologies that continue to be improved and adapted to particular field situations, as demonstrated by the TrackTag collars used in the Amazon. Likewise, training of detector dogs is becoming more sophisticated allowing even identification of individuals from scats (Kerley & Salkina 2007). Until the last decade, the jaguar was the second least studied large cat in the world. With improving technology and analytical methods, the upwards trend in jaguar research stands a good chance to continue.

Dark Jaguar · 01-25-2021, 02:52 AM

The challenging conservation of the last jaguars in the Atlantic Forest of Capixaba - Espírito Santo.

http://sbzoologia.org.br/uploads/1500060...un2017.pdf

Author: Ana Carolina Srbek-Araujo1

The jaguar is the largest feline species of the American continent and, consequently, is the largest land predator in Brazil. Its historical geographical distribution stretched from the southwest of the United States to the northern portion of Argentina, but today it is considered extinct in more than half of its original distribution. In addition, the current area of occurrence is divided into smaller regions and, in many cases, isolated from each other. In Brazilian territory, the most representative populations are located in the Pantanal and in the Amazon, while the Atlantic Forest represents the biome in which the species is most threatened.

The Atlantic Forest consists of one of the most threatened areas of great biological wealth on the planet, with high rates of habitat loss and a large number of endemic species, being classified as a world 'hotspot' of Biodiversity. Although its original area occupies the Brazilian coastal strip, between Piauí and Rio Grande do Sul, extending also to some states in the interior of the country, the Atlantic Forest today is restricted to approximately 12% of its original forest cover. In addition to being extremely small in relation to its original extent, the remaining area in the biome is mainly divided into fragments of small size and only a small portion of them is legally protected. This is especially due to the process of occupation of the Brazilian territory since the times of Brasil Colônia, the Atlantic Forest being currently the biome responsible for sheltering and providing some of the basic ecosystem services for more than 60% of the Brazilian population. In this scenario of loss and decharacterization of natural environments, jaguars have become increasingly rare in the Atlantic Forest. Currently, only 7% of the remanescent area is in good condition to house jaguars, with the species restricted to less than 3% of the biome.

It is estimated that there are less than 300 individuals in the entire Atlantic Forest, which are divided into seven areas ( called Jaguar Conservation Units ), occurring at low population densities. Only three of these areas are home to populations of more than 50 individuals and most of the populations are very isolated, with no possibility of natural flow of individuals between areas ( Paviolo et al. 2016 ). Espírito Santo is one of the five Brazilian states that still harbor jaguars in the Atlantic Forest, but the current situation of the species is considered very critical, as is the situation of the biome in Espírito Santo. The state had its entire area originally occupied by natural formations of the Atlantic Rainforest, but the remaining portion of the forest is currently restricted to less than 11% of the original cover. As a result, jaguars have been reduced to a single population, located in the northern portion of the state, where a large forest remnant called Linhares-Sooretama Block is located. This is composed of four protected areas ( Sooretama Biological Reserve, Vale Natural Reserve, Recanto das Antas Private Natural Heritage Reserve and Mutum--Preto Private Natural Heritage Reserve ), besides small fragments located in private properties ( legal reserves and permanent preservation areas ), which together add up to a little more than 10% of the area with remaining forest cover in the whole of Espírito Santo, representing the largest continuous forest formation in the state.

In addition to the fact that it is restricted to a single population, the situation of the jaguar in Espírito Santo is aggravated by the fact that carnivorous mammals have wide demands on their area of life, especially because they have a high demand for food resources and because they generally feed on larger prey, requiring large areas for the maintenance of numerous populations of predators and the prey they consume. For this reason, small areas are home to a small number of individuals and it is estimated that the Linhares-Sooretama Block is home to no more than 20 jaguars today ( Srbek-Araujo 2013 ).

This is alarming because small and isolated populations are more vulnerable to extinction because they are more susceptible to demographic and genetic problems. In this sense, the increase in inbreeding, the reduction in genetic variability, the reduction in reproduction and survival rates, among other ecological and biological problems, limiting the ability of populations to adapt to environmental changes in the medium and long term, stand out. Genetic data obtained for the Linhares-Sooretama Block, from a non-invasive method of obtaining DNA ( fecal samples ), indicate low levels of genetic diversity for the local jaguar population, although it still maintains genetic information ( alleles ) that has not been detected in other populations of the biome, demonstrating its importance for the maintenance of the remaining genetic variability in the Atlantic Forest jaguars ( Srbek-Araujo 2013 ).

Figure 1. Atlantic Forest Jaguar monitored in Linhares-Sooretama Block, ES ( Projeto Felinos ).

*This image is copyright of its original author

If the problems of isolation and small population size were not enough, jaguars face other problems of anthropic origin. In this sense, the occurrence of hunting in the Linhares-Soore-tama Block stands out, despite daily actions to protect the area, and the risk of jaguars running over the stretch of the BR-101 Highway that intercepts this large forest remnant, dividing it into two portions. Hunting has increased in recent years in the region and, although it is not directed to large cats, it reveals to be an additional component of overloading populations of species consumed by jaguars and that are preferred targets of hunters, such as the Paca (Cuniculus paca) and the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), for example, increasing the vulnerability of this large predator due to the potential reduction in the availability of prey. In addition, the risk of jaguars being killed by hunters cannot be ruled out, either accidentally (use of non-selective traps, for example), intentionally or out of fear. In relation to the BR-101 Highway, at least one jaguar was run over in the stretch associated with the Bloco Linhares-Sooretama, which occurred in 2000.

Recently it was approved a project to duplicate this highway in Espírito Santo, in all its extension, without an impact study or any special evaluation related to the Linhares-Sooretama Block. If special measures are not adopted to reduce or avoid the running over of wild animals in the region, the duplication of the highway will increase the risk of running over jaguars, pointing out that some individuals use the portions of forest located east and west of the BR-101 highway, crossing the highway during territorial surveillance activities. Despite the existence of structures under the highway ( galleries and shackles for draining rainwater and/or associated with water bodies ) and which are used by some mammals to cross the BR-101 from one side to the other, there is no evidence that large cats use these elements. Considering that there are still many uncertainties and difficulties in defining the best design for the transposing structures and that they include the largest number of species, the most recommended alternative for the region is to change the current route of the highway, diverting it from the Linhares-So-oretama Block. This action will not only remedy the current problem and prevent its potentialization with duplication, but it will also solve a historical environmental problem, contributing to the protection of jaguars, as well as the species present in the region in general.

Regardless of the cause, the loss of a single jaguar represents a great loss for a population already so fragile. It should also be noted that the local extinction of jaguars would represent for the Linhares-Sooretama Block not only the disappearance of a species, but also the alteration of ecological processes that maintain the integrity of this great remnant as we know it today. Being a large and top predator species, jaguars contribute for the control of other cat populations, such as pumas, through mechanisms of competition and control the species of prey preventing their populations from increasing in number reducing the proliferation of diseases and keeping in balance the ecological interactions in which they participate ( dispersion and predation of seeds, for example ). In this way, the local extinction of jaguars will bring negative consequences and effects for other animals and also for plant species present in the Linhares-Sooretama Block.

Capixabas jaguars face a situation complex and delicate, and the implementation of emerging conservation actions for effective protection of last individuals, including effective hunting and review of the process of duplication of BR-101 Highway in the section associated with the Linhares-Sooretama Block, as well as the application of management actions that promote restoration of genetic connectivity among the remaining populations ( integrated action ). Loss of habitat, population isolation, reducing the population to a small number of individuals and loss of genetic diversity are elements that make up a common scenario to other ( if not all ) populations of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest, alerting to the fragility of the species in the biome as a whole. If no effective action is adopted, in short term, the jaguars capixabas, thus as in other areas of the Atlantic Forest, will be present only in scientific records and in the memory of those who have had the opportunity to dazzle the greatness of these fascinating predators.

References

Paviolo A, Angelo C, Ferraz KMPMB, et al. (2016) Biodiversity

hotspot losing its top predator: The challenge of jaguar conservation in the Atlantic Forest of South America. Scientific
Reports 6: 37147.

Srbek-Araujo AC (2013) Conservation of the jaguar (Panthera onca Linnaeus, 1758) in the Atlantic Forest of Tabuleiro do Espírito Santo. Doctoral Thesis. Graduate Program in Ecology, Conservation and Wildlife Management, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 224p.

About the author:

Ana Carolina Srbek de Araujo is a Full Professor of the Program of Post-graduation in Ecosystems Ecology at Vila Velha University, ES. Works in ecology and conservation of vertebrates, with emphasis on mammals, and has an interest in approaches related to ecosystem services. From 2005, through the Felines Project, is dedicated to conservation of the jaguar in the Espírito Santo.

One of the very few Altantic Forest Capixaba Jaguars left from Espirito Santo is spotted by a group of friends - Photo: Divulgação Expedicionários/Arquivo Pessoal

*This image is copyright of its original author

Projeto Felinos

*This image is copyright of its original author

He was captured by Projeto Felinos.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Its a male and weighed 70 kg.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ana Carolina Srbek and the sedated male.

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After the established time, the collar attached to the jaguar disconnected from the animal's body and was recovered in the woods by the researchers - Photo: Projeto Felinos/Divulgação

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ana Carolina Srbek de Araujo founder and coordinator of Projeto Felinos:

year: 2020

https://g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/...mota.ghtml

"Based on computational analysis, we estimate that the region's reserves hold up to 20 individuals, restricted to the Linhares-Sooretama Forest Complex. In the first years of the study, we registered 11 individuals in an area equivalent to half the available habitat, which reinforces the estimates obtained by computer."

"We had an advance with the capture, but hunters who go into the woods looking for other species break and steal equipment such as the camera traps. In September, after a pause due to the pandemic, we noticed the loss of two more of them. The hunting action can reduce the availability of jaguar prey generating food crises and increased competition among cats. The reduced animal populations also live haunted by the mating tendency among relatives, which can cause the reduction of genetic variability of the species and accelerate its disappearance.''

says Ana Carolina Srbek de Araujo.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Dark Jaguar · 02-11-2021, 08:29 PM

Miranda River - South Pantanal

Jaguar right after crossing the Miranda River unexpectedly bumps into another jaguar (female) who jumps right onto the other one engaging a brief fearsome fight.

Dark Jaguar · 02-14-2021, 05:36 AM

Fera female and the Tortoise - South Pantanal

Dark Jaguar · 02-17-2021, 11:33 PM

Hero male and Jani female mating

Another angle

credits: Saiyu Travel

*This image is copyright of its original author

Acinonyx sp. · 02-20-2021, 04:24 AM

Jaguar plays with a plastic bottle in Brazil in startling highlight of the world's plastic pollution problems

*This image is copyright of its original author

Link-https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7567797/Wild-jaguar-plays-discarded-plastic-bottle-Brazil.html

Dark Jaguar · 03-01-2021, 12:43 AM

Mick on a Mission.

Dark Jaguar · 03-01-2021, 03:41 PM

The young siblings Daryl male and Constantina female.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Fabiano Oliveira:

''We found again these two siblings during a private jaguar safari in late November (Deryl male licks his sister Constantina).''

photo: Fabiano Oliveira

*This image is copyright of its original author

photos: Erisvaldo Almeida

*This image is copyright of its original author

Daryl

*This image is copyright of its original author

Constantina female winking to the camera.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Dark Jaguar · 03-02-2021, 05:31 AM

Pantanal Jaguar Camp.

''We are always studying jaguars and their behavior so that we can put together a puzzle. In the picture there's a couple, the lactating female is probably....

1 - Distracting this male to protect his young?

2 - Any hormonal problems?

We still need some pieces of this puzzle to understand this rare behavior.''

*This image is copyright of its original author

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