Jaguars
Why WCS?
WCS has been a leader on jaguars for three decades, starting with studies propelled by Dr. George Schaller in the 1980s. When we united with jaguar authorities in Mexico to conduct the first priority-setting exercise for the animal in 1999 we brought together experts from throughout the species' range, establishing a framework for its conservation. That foundation and thirst for a collaborative approach across the region persists today. We deploy biologists across multiple biomes to hold ground against the encroaching threats that are eroding jaguar range.
Conservation Science for the U.S. Jaguar Recovery Plan
WCS played a critical role in providing conservation science and research to guide and support the development of a recovery plan that was announced in late 2016 for the Western Hemisphere's largest cat species along the U.S.-Mexico border. The plan was drafted by a Jaguar Recovery Team (JRT) convened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. WCS's role included:
- Conducting an exhaustive synthesis of all known jaguar observations in the northern part of its range since the 16th Century. The accuracy, precision, and reliability of observations over such a long period of history vary, so WCS built a novel database structure to account for the types of criteria team members might use to include or exclude observations from consideration.
- The public can view the database through an online interface to access more than 400 observations of jaguars across the northern part of their range. Because it is comprehensive, instantly reflects the user's criteria, and can be easily updated by an administrator, the database gives the public an extraordinary data exploration tool for understanding the northern range of the jaguar over time.
- Modeling potential jaguar habitat across the northern part of the range by working closely with the experts on the Jaguar Recovery Team to correlate subsets of the observations data with vegetation, terrain, water, human influence, and other ecological spatial data. The modeled habitat was correlated with existing surveys of jaguars in the Mexican portion of the area to estimate the number of jaguars an area could potentially support in the absence of threats. The report on this work shows support for significant jaguar populations south of the US-Mexico border and the potential for jaguars north of the border. The database also includes a habitat model that depicts the pathways of greatest movement probability across existing or planned roads or other linear infrastructure. WCS pinpointed the best places to plan road crossing structures to mitigate the barriers.
- The WCS Jaguar Conservation Program worked with a group of scientists from within and outside WCS to create an authoritative guide on jaguar survey and monitoring techniques and methodologies relevant to the northern part of their range. The survey and monitoring protocol they developed for the Jaguar Recovery Team served as the scientific foundation for monitoring and decisions by the Fish and Wildlife Service as they structured their Jaguar Recovery Plan.
Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala
The threats to jaguars here include deforestation due in part to conversion to cattle pastures and retaliatory killing because of conflicts with ranchers and small landholders.
Our strategies include:
- Working with communities on economic alternatives that use timber and non-timber forest products and tourism to create incentives for forest and wildlife conservation, accompanied by requirements to conserve .
- Working with the Ministry of Agriculture to support innovations that reduce deforestation and reduce human/jaguar conflict.
- Advising and supporting protected area law enforcement, including through the implementation of SMART.
- Monitoring jaguar populations.
Greater Yasuni Landscape, Ecuador
Roads created for oil and gas extraction allow inadequately regulated access for hunters, and as a result, jaguar prey can be overhunted to feed urban markets.
Our strategies include:
- A communication program for indigenous people who have moved to urban areas on the impact of meat consumption on the wild.
- Promoting ministry patrols of marketplaces to curb the game trade.
- Utilizing the jaguar education curriculum titled "Jaguars Forever" to elevate appreciation for the animals and their ecological needs.
- Monitoring populations in vulnerable areas and establish monitoring sites where threats are high.
Greater Bosawas Landscape, Nicaragua
Forest conversion to unproductive pastures, retaliatory killing by locals due to conflicts with domestic pigs, and the hunting of jaguar prey for local consumption and to satisfy urban markets.
Our strategies include:
- Technical training for park and indigenous territory guards, and improving the efficiency of protected area patrols through SMART.
- Pilot projects to improve domestic pig and cattle management to reduce deforestation and reduce conflicts.
- Environmental education in indigenous schools focusing on jaguars and prey.
- Monitoring jaguar populations in and around reserves.
Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape, Bolivia and Peru
The threats to jaguars here are many, including deforestation and land conversion around the landscape's edges, illegal logging for valuable tree species, road construction and its associated impacts, including habitat loss, and overhunting in accessible areas.
Our strategies include:
- Land use planning and implementation.
- Controlling access to and the use of natural resources.
- Monitoring jaguar populations and prey populations across the spectrum of land uses.
- Developing local capacity to manage and protect natural areas.
- Encouraging sustainable lifestyles: community forestry, tourism, cacao, and improved agriculture and animal husbandry.
Peruvian Amazon
Threats here include illegal logging, overhunting, the introduction of domestic livestock, and deforestation for monoculture crops and pastures.
Our strategies include:
- Assisting authorities through training in biological and law enforcement monitoring to protect parks, monitor human activities, and threats to jaguars and their prey.
- Engaging in participatory community conservation on the margins of protected areas.
- Using a watershed level data base to inform regional and local conservation initiatives.
- Assisting local communities in sustainably managing the hunting of game species that are also jaguar prey.
Gran Chaco, Bolivia and Paraguay
The expansion of ranch developments between significant protected areas is a threat. With that comes increased jaguar mortality due to a generalized antipathy towards jaguars and retaliatory killing in response to attacks.
Our strategies include:
- Working with ranch owners to optimize management for jaguar conservation.
- Working with ranch hands to test methods for conflict reduction.
- Working with the Paraguayan government to implement the national jaguar law.
- Using camera traps widely across the biome to evaluate jaguar status and the effectiveness of the tools we use for conflict reduction.
Amazonas, Brazil
Here, increased road and hydro-power development, an expanding human population, demand for bush meat in urban centers, and retaliatory killings when jaguars attack lightly managed livestock are all serious threats to these big cats.
Our strategies include:
- Assisting development planning to mitigate impacts.
- Working with communities in the Rio Negro watershed on sustainable rural development.
- Working with local authorities to monitor wildlife trade and meat markets in Manaus.
- Developing large-scale monitoring programs to understand jaguar distribution across ecological and anthropogenic gradients.
- With Instituto Mamiraua and eleven other institutions, we founded the Alliance for Jaguar Conservation in 2014, focusing on education, conflict reduction and large-scale monitoring.
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The steering committee of the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Risaralda (CARDER) has approved the expansion of the Cuchilla del San Juan Regional District of Integrated Management (DRMI).
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The European Union (EU) announced a 25.5 million euro investment in the protection and sustainable use of the Five Great Forests of Mesoamerica, and the Indigenous Peoples and local communities that risk their lives as their frontline defenders.
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