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Jaguars on the Run |
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By Marcela Valente*
The
majestic jaguar that once reigned in Argentina has seen its numbers
reduced to just 300 animals, which are living in increasing isolation.
BUENOS AIRES, Apr 30 (Tierramérica) - Two centuries
ago, the jaguar (Panthera onca) reigned across more than half of
Argentine territory. Today these big cats survive in limited spaces
where they are becoming easy prey for hunters.
The species, whose kingdom once extended from the southwest United
States to the northern parts of Argentina's Patagonia region, lost
80 percent of its territory in this South American country. The
jaguar used to be found in 18 provinces -- now only in six, according
to the non-governmental Yaguareté Network.
"There are no more than 300 left in isolated and wild areas," the
Network's Nicolás Lodeiro told Tierramérica. In the northeastern
jungle of Misiones province about 50 jaguars can be found. The rest
are in the northwestern jungle of Yungas, and in the arid Chaco,
Argentina's central-north region.
This is due to "the loss and degradation of their habitat, and to
hunting, provoked firstly as a response to attacks against livestock,
then as sport hunting, and to a lesser degree, they are killed out
of fear," Lodeiro said.
Claudio Bertonatti, of the Argentina Wildlife Foundation, said that
"if we maintain the environment for them, the jaguar has a chance.
But in Argentina, in 200 years the forests and jungles went from
160 million to 33 million hectares. If we continue deforesting,
all the efforts at reproduction in captivity will be useless."
The jaguar is the largest cat native to the Americas, where it is
known also in Spanish as the yaguareté, tigre americano, otorongo,
among other names. Of the eight sub-species identified, the one
found in Argentina -- Panthera onca palustris -- is the largest.
It has orange fur with black rosette-like spots. It measures up
to two meters long and weighs 70 to 100 kg. The big cat feeds on
peccaries (Tayassuidae), tapirs (Tapiridae) and mountain goats (Mazama).
Although the jaguar is relatively abundant in places like the Amazon,
it is included on the "Red List" of the World Conservation Union
(IUCN), and also in Appendix I of the International Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES),
which calls for strict regulations on commerce involving the animal.
According to research in Argentina, in the early 19th century, Buenos
Aires exported 2,000 jaguar skins per year.
In the report "Population Status and Threats to the Conservation
of the Jaguar in the Green Corridor", which extends across Misiones,
experts say that just 15 years ago there were between 440 and 1,200
jaguars in that province. Today there are 50.
Bertonatti explained that the jaguar can live in a variety of landscapes,
from plains and savannahs to forests and jungles, but "we are erasing
it from the map because we have fewer and fewer natural areas."
"The remaining environments are few, and they function as small
islands, and when they lose connections between them, they leave
the species increasingly vulnerable," he added. When the endangered
species is an herbivore, it would not be such a serious situation,
but it is in the case of a large predator like the jaguar.
The jaguar feeds on other mammals and needs vast areas to hunt.
"If it leaves one of those 'habitat islands' and comes across a
dog or a horse and tries to kill it, it's likely that the landowner
will hunt and kill the jaguar," Bertonatti said.
Lodeiro explained that the populations that survive are in areas
that are of difficult access or not fit for human settlement, or
where activities like logging are not possible. But there are areas
where the jaguar is left exposed to illegal hunting.
According to denunciations filed with the National Wildlife Directorate
and presented in federal courts, there are jaguars held in captivity
that are then released onto privately held land for sport hunting.
This practice is explicitly prohibited by law. On Apr. 13, a jaguar
skin was seized, as well as a bracelet made from the skin, after
a complaint from the Yaguareté Network.
Along with the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), the South
Andean deer or huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and the North Andean
deer or taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis), the jaguar is one of Argentina's
four "national natural monuments", however, it is difficult to convince
a farmer not to kill it, says Lodeiro.
The solution is to consolidate the protected areas, create new ones
and establish ecological corridors, control hunting, set up example-setting
legal punishments to discourage killing of jaguars, and "raise awareness
beginning in the schools," says Bertonatti.
On the initiative of non-governmental organizations, the National
Park Administration and the National Wildlife Directorate held two
workshops on the species in 2004 and in 2006. "We defined objectives,
lines of action, and it was made clear that there is no time to
waste," said Lodeiro.
The participants formed regional commissions and have called for
a national coordinator exclusively dedicated to look after conservation
of the species, but so far there has been no response from the federal
government.
"There are some advances, but without a person in charge of obtaining
funds, of bringing the institutions together to work in a coordinated
way, or that foment sustainable development projects, it will be
very difficult to put the brakes on the loss of this species," warned
Lodeiro.
* Marcela Valente is an IPS correspondent. |
