In the late 1970’s, Dr. George Schaller and Dr. Howard Quigley, both current Panthera staff, initiated the first comprehensive, ecological study on jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal. In the 1980’s, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, President of Panthera, captured and radio-collared the first jaguars in the rainforests of Belize, leading the country to establish the world’s first jaguar preserve and Belize’s first wildlife protected area. Since then, the work hasn’t stopped. Spanning nearly four decades of experience, the staff of Panthera have been striving to study, understand, and protect the Americas’ largest cat and a significant cultural icon throughout its range.
Read Panthera's Jaguar Report Card: The State of the Jaguar.
In 2000, new information on jaguars surprised felid biologists: detailed genetic analyses using new investigative tools indicated that there were no subspecies of jaguars. From the Southwestern US to Argentina, all jaguars are the same. There is no other large, wide-ranging carnivore in the world with this characteristic genetic continuity throughout its existing range. This revelation led to the creation of a range-wide conservation model that is the defining mandate for Panthera.
The implications of these findings significantly altered biologists’ thinking about jaguar conservation. While Latin America was experiencing some of the highest deforestation rates in the world, there were still pathways outside of protected areas, both natural and human made, that jaguars used to move between populations. Since genetic isolation is one of the major causes of species extinction, it became imperative to seek out and protect these pathways to ensure the future survival of the jaguar. Thus was born the Jaguar Corridor Initiative, with the mandate of preserving habitat connectivity by identifying and protecting the genetic pathways between existing jaguar populations.
The jaguar corridor model
As a first step, a Least Cost Corridor Analysis (LCCA) was performed for each country within the Mesoamerican region using the most detailed and up-to-date geographic data available. This analysis was based on the basic ecological requirements for jaguars and predicted likely routes for travel, called corridors, between protected areas or secure populations. Panthera staff then developed a field protocol to ground truth, or verify, jaguar use of a corridor area, determine prey availability and human land use patterns, and assess human perceptions of jaguars and future threats to the area. Based on this information, Panthera can establish corridor boundaries and draft detailed plans for the maintenance or restoration of a corridor. Working with government agencies and local partners, these plans are then incorporated into the land use planning strategies for the region, ensuring that these corridors stay intact.
With most corridors occurring outside of protected areas, the long-term preservation of a jaguar corridor depends on the understanding and cooperation of local people living in these areas. Since livestock depredation plays a large role in the public’s distrust of jaguars, it is critical to work with farmers and local residents to mitigate conflict issues and garner more public acceptance of these big cats. Panthera is conducting a full spectrum of activities in jaguar range areas, from helping ranchers improve livestock husbandry to advising villagers on caring for their pets.
Working through partnerships
Sustained jaguar conservation requires commitments at all levels: local, regional, and national. Fortunately, the robust scientific rationale for the corridor falls within the mandate of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), which is supported by Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD; the Central American Commission for Environment and Development). In 2006, the CCAD gave unanimous approval for the Jaguar Corridor at the Ministerial level.
Building on this commitment, Panthera and the Wildlife Conservation Society convened a meeting in July 2007 attended by Directors of Wildlife and Protected Area Agencies and national jaguar experts throughout Mesoamerica. Each country developed a list of the priorities that national leaders considered critical to advancing the jaguar corridor and conserving the species in their country. Panthera is now moving forward on the tasks identified by each country, while engaging locally with ranchers, park managers, indigenous groups, school teachers, mayors, and non-governmental organizations. As part of Panthera’s strategy, national jaguar teams are being formed in each range country so that they might carry on with future jaguar conservation efforts.
The jaguar corridor in South America
As the Jaguar Corridor Initiative becomes fully integrated throughout Mesoamerica, Panthera is now moving into South America with initial efforts on jaguar conservation and corridor work in Colombia, the Guiana Shield, and Brazil.
