Unprecedented monitoring study conducted on the border between Peru, Ecuador and Colombia will contribute to the conservation of this species.

Unprecedented monitoring study conducted on the border between Peru, Ecuador and Colombia will contribute to the conservation of this species.
Over the last 100 years, jaguars have lost almost 50% of their historical distribution range. About 90% of its population is in the Amazon basin.
In Peru, the initiative was conducted with the support of HP.

The results are impressive. Thanks to a joint effort by Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, about 2000 jaguars have been estimated to inhabit the Napo-Putumayo Corridor, at a density of 1.5 jaguars per 100 km². Between 2018 and 2019, WWF installed 129 camera traps to determine the occupation and abundance of this species and its prey in 3 areas of the Corridor: Cuyabeno Faunistic Production Reserve (Ecuador), Gueppi-Sekime National Park (Peru) and Putumayo Indigenous Reserve (Colombia).

This arduous task involved the analysis of over 64,700 photos, and more than 10,500 hours of work, along 540 km². These findings allow us to promote the protection of Amazonian ecosystems and facilitate decision-making by the authorities.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the main predator of the Amazon and is the largest and most iconic feline in America. Unfortunately, its range of distribution has declined by half in the last hundred years, due to various conflicts between wildlife and people: deforestation, illegal hunting, habitat destruction and loss of prey species. All this has generated a reduction and even extinction of their populations in some countries such as El Salvador and Uruguay.

"The jaguar has become a priority species for WWF, and it is essential to generate mechanisms to ensure its conservation hand in hand with other organizations, the private sector, and the government. International cooperation and joint efforts among different actors are crucial to address this problem," stated José Luis Mena, Science Director at WWF Peru.

Until the 70s, these felines were persecuted for their skins, a situation that was stopped due to the creation of stricter laws that guarded the protection of this species. However, with the increase in Chinese investment in Latin America, the demand for jaguar parts such as fangs and claws is increasing again, providing incentives for poaching, even in the Amazon.

Almost 90% of its population is in the Amazon basin. The jaguar, considered a protector and symbol of power for many peoples, is also the greatest representative of the mysterious beauty of the Amazon. "In addition, it plays an important role in controlling the populations of other species in the area and helps maintain a healthy ecosystem. Ensuring the jaguars' well-being key, and one way to achieve this is to conserve the biological corridors, which are areas that connect two or more regions surrounded by natural forests, to avoid the isolation of populations of species," Mena continued.

The monitoring results prove that the Napo-Putumayo Corridor is of great importance for the jaguar and its prey. The results demonstrate the enormous value of this area composed of protected areas and indigenous territories, evidencing the possibility of the coexistence between nature and human beings, through the sustainable use of resources. In Peru, the initiative was conducted with the support of HP.