A Jaguar Conservation Collaboration

 

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a species well-renowned for strength and hunting prowess.  Their powerful jaws exert a bite force of 1,500 pounds per square inch, enabling them to pierce a turtle shell or the scaly hide of the formidable caiman crocodile.  In North and South America, jaguars are the titans of the feline world.  Worldwide, only lions and tigers are bigger.  Excellent swimmers, jaguars frequently take to the water to hunt, and can cross wide rivers.  Yet jaguars face threats to their survival - key among them are habitat loss, poaching and human intolerance due to livestock predation.  In northern Mexico, jaguars are also blocked off from returning to their historical U.S. range by the border wall. Listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, they are in need of conservation attention.

Initiated in 2003, the Northern Jaguar Project aims to conserve the northernmost breeding population of jaguars and the wilderness ecosystem where they reside.  In addition to habitat protection, fostering the value of living wildlife (especially large carnivores like the jaguar) and creating safe areas of coexistence with local communities is paramount.  Located in a remote, rural region of Sonora, Mexico near the town of Sahuaripa, the Northern Jaguar Reserve covers 55,000 acres, or about 86 square miles.  The reserve is strategically located in the center of a 1500 square mile region of prime jaguar turf.  This protected canyon habitat, located along the Sierra Zetasora foothills range, includes forest, riparian and scrub vegetation. 

Through the conservation of the jaguar as an "umbrella species", the rich biodiversity of species on the reserve benefits from the protected habitat.  The Northern Jaguar Reserve is home to three other wild feline species: pumas (another name for the cougar), bobcats, and ocelots, as well as the coyote and smaller carnivores such as river otters, badgers, and gray foxes.  Herbivores include white-tailed deer and javelina (the two primary jaguar prey animals in the area), jackrabbits, and rodents.  A large variety of reptile and amphibian species, including the Gila monster, and 215 different resident or migratory birds have been documented in the area.  You can view more photos of plants and wildlife on the jaguar preserve here. 

Key to the Northern Jaguar Project's work is the Viviendo con Felinos program, which translates from Spanish to "living with cats".  Agriculture and cattle ranching are the main sources of income for people within the Sahuaripa region.  Loss of cows to jaguar predation has led to rancher retaliation and poaching, both major threats to the big cats.  Through Viviendo con Felinos, jaguar conservationists work directly with local ranches, encouraging and rewarding coexistence with wildlife.   

Landowners participating in the program sign a contract agreeing to not hunt, poison, or otherwise harm wildlife on their land.  In return, they receive a cash reward for each photo of a jaguar, puma, bobcat, or ocelot on that property.  Jaguar photos earn the largest payouts.  Individual jaguars on the reserve can be identified through these photos by their spot patterns.  Sustainable land management practices, such as pasture rotation and keeping cattle away from riparian zones, also improved the jaguar's habitat.   

The initiative has been a success, with one rancher even stating that the cats on his ranch were more economically valuable than the cattle.  "[I am] going to buy more of those cats; they are worth more than cows," he said jokingly.  At least twelve ranches surrounding the Northern Jaguar Preserve participate in the program.  Thanks to this collaborative effort, the wild felines now enjoy an expanded area where they can roam free from persecution. 

Support the Northern Jaguar Project here.