Controversial Question:

Do you think that it is fair to create corridors  to protect the Jaguar populations, even though these areas may help in the development of the economy in the respective country?

A Jaguar at Amazona Zoo in Cromer, Norfolk, England.

New ideas to protect the Panthera Onca:

There are several ways to prevent the hunt of the Jaguar. This prevention can be achieved in a way in which the Jaguars and the People involved can be benefited. One of the most important reasons why the Jaguar gets hunted is because it is an excellent hunter and predator, therefore people who work in animal husbandry must kill them in order to prevent the dead of their cattle. A solution for this case is to move the farms away from the habitat of the Jaguar, as a result of this movement, the people that work in animal husbandry will not be forced to kill Jaguars with the goal of protecting their livestock. In addition, Panthera and the Wild Conservation Society are developing a project of enclose the livestock using plant barriers to protect them from the Jaguars.

Another important cause of Jaguar hunting is the trade of the precious skin. Nonetheless, thanks to several legislations that protect the Jaguar, poaching of the species is forbidden nowadays and it is not a major threat for the survival of the species. The contemplation of focusing the species in natural parks would bring benefits both to the Jaguar and the cattle ranchers because the Jaguars would be protected by the legislation of National Parks and the ranchers would not have to worry about the loos of their livestock due to Jaguars.

A portrait of a Black Panther captured by Bruce McAdam in Hungary.

Strategies Developed to protect the Jaguar:

The Jaguar is classified as an Appendix I species under CITES, this means that commercial in wild-caught specimens of this species is illegal as well as trade of any part of the animal. In addition, the Jaguar is protected at a national level by almost every government within its range; hunting of the species is forbidden in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, United States, and Venezuela. Hunting restrictions exist in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. 

Due to the habitat fragmentation as a major threat to the survival of the species,  and taxonomic research suggesting little significant differences, an ambitious, new program has been launched. This program is called the Jaguar Corridor Initiative and it searches to keep the Jaguar populations connected within all Latin America to avoid speciation. The initiative  was developed by Panthera and is supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society and by several non-governmental organizations.

"Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor Initiative is the most comprehensive and transformative conservation strategy ever, using a range-wide approach and a targeted set of activities, and ensuring the future of this magnificent carnivore across its entire range. Panthera is working in partnership with local communities, governments, and other conservation organizations every step of the way, to secure the long-term presence of jaguar populations and to ensure their safe passage from Mexico to Argentina." (Panthera)

"Addressing livestock management and problem animal issues is a high priority for conservation effort in many jaguar range countries." (IUCN)

A Jaguar in Zoo

Factors threatening the Jaguar:

The jaguar populations are declining rapidly. The Jaguar is considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Near Threatened. The very high deforestation rates in Latin America represent an important loss of the animal's habitat and the fragmentation of the forests which isolates Jaguar populations. The conversion of wild lands to agriculture is a main cause for the deforestation. This loss of environment makes them more vulnerable to human persecution. There is an increasing competition between people and jaguars for prey, as a result, jaguars are often shot at sight, despite the protective legislation. "An estimated 27% of jaguar range has a depleted wild prey base" (WCS 2008). The Jaguars also get killed by ranchers because they are known to kill livelihoods. The jaguar has demonstrated that it is a vulnerable species to persecution by the mid-1900's from the south-western US. The Jaguars are suffering because of the lack of natural prey because of the loss of habitat; as a result they're forced to prey cattle which fuels the conflict between ranchers and Jaguars.

Before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), 15,000 jaguar pelts were brought from the Brazilian Amazon each year. Nonetheless, after the CITES in 1973 and the several anti-fur campaigns, the hunting and trapping of jaguars for their pelts has decreased significantly. But, although the decrease of hunting there is still demand for jaguar teeth, paws and other products.

Role of the Jaguar on its environment:

The jaguar is an apex predator, which means that is an animal at the top of the food chain with no or nearly no predators. This species has been classified as a keystone species, which means that it has a very large effect on its environment relative to their abundance. It has been shown that a species at top of the food chain is essential to maintain the ecological integrity in the area. The loss of the jaguar, a species that accomplishes such features, would represent dramatic changes in the interaction among other species within the food web. An example of this would be the increase that small and mid-sized carnivores and preys' populations would undergo.The jaguar is as well assumed to control the populations of its preys such as herbivorous and granivorous mammals.

However, determining flawlessly the environmental and ecological importance that the jaguar has on its habitat is difficult, because data must be compared among the regions in which the jaguar once was present but is not currently and the areas in which the species is present nowadays.

Jaguars at Chester Zoo, Cheshire, England.

Description:

The Jaguar, whose scientific name is Panthera Onca, is the largest feline of America and the third largest in the whole world, after the tiger and the lion.  This species has yellow fur with rosettes and black dots. There may be color morphism, as a result a near-black melanistic variation occurs frequently. The individuals with that variation receive the name of Black Panthers.

Jaguar Rosettes

This species is both diurnal and nocturnal. In addition, the Jaguar is solitary. Nevertheless, in a male's territory are usually two or three females that interbreed exclusively with that male. The female gives birth to commonly two cubs after a gestation period of 93 to 105 days. After the birth of the cubs the female does not tolerate the presence of the male due to the risk of infanticide. In the wild the lifespan is around 12 to 15 years.

The habitat in which the Jaguar populations are found is a dense forest. However it includes as well rainforest, seasonally flooded wetlands and dry grasslands. Of these the preferred by the species is the dense, tropical, lowland forests that offer plenty of cover. The locate from northern Arizona and New Mexico to Argentina and Northeastern Brazil.

A stunning shot of a male jaguar near Fazenda Porto Jofre - Pantanal, Brazil

A male's weight is between 60 and 100 kilograms, whereas a female's weight is between 50 and 70 kilograms. Jaguars measure almost two meters.

The Jaguar is a opportunistic hunter; in the wild it is an apex predator, which means the it is at the top of the food chain and has little to no predators. As all the cats it is a carnivore and usually hunts large animals. The sole species that may be a predator for the jaguar are the humans and the anaconda. 

The taxonomical classification of the Jaguar is:

• Kingdom - Animalia
• Phylum - Chordata 
• Class - Mammalia
• Order - Carnivora
• Family - Felidae 
• Genus - Panthera
• Species - Onca