Honduras

The serene pattern of raindrops reverberates on a giant kapok tree while tiny droplets sift onto the shaded forest floor. Colorful macaws and playful spider monkeys frantically scurry about, seeking shelter from the gathering thunderstorm. At a distance, a jaguar remains watchful, observing the turmoil as the storm's crescendo reaches a thunderous roar. 

In countries with little conservation infrastructure, like Honduras, how does Panthera help protect wild cats? This Central American country is an important setting for biodiversity and is home to several protected areas that support resident populations of jaguars, cougars, ocelots, margays and jaguarundis. While other areas may not have resident populations of wild cats, they still play an important role as stepping stones for dispersing populations of jaguars and cougars.

The title says it all — a jaguar was caught on camera trap eating a marine dolphin! Not a tapir, not a deer, but a dolphin (Castañeda et al., 2013)! How does a jaguar get its paws on a large marine mammal? Like jaguars in the Pantanal jumping into the depths of the river, can they swim into the ocean? What an unusual sight! 

In part one of this blog series, Winston Cobb Memorial Fellowship recipient Allison Flores documented her exciting experience looking for jaguars in Belize. Now, she’s off to Honduras to continue her work. Learn about her work in the country’s forests, teaching local children about wild cats and the one wild cat she was able to capture on camera trap... 

November 29, 2021

Edited by: Rafael Hoogesteijn, DVM, Conflict Program Director, Jaguar Program

On November 29, we celebrate International Jaguar Day! Panthera’s team of big cat experts has answered some of your most frequently asked questions about jaguar behavior, conservation and culture below.  

This is the third installment in our series meant to shine a light on the 33 species of small wild cats found around the globe. You can read our first blog on the flat-headed cat here and our second installment featuring the fishing cat here.

Home to the Americas’ largest wild cat, Sierra del Merendon is a mountain range that extends across the border of Guatemala and Honduras. This region incorporates two protected areas - National Park Cusuco in Honduras and the Water and Forest Reserve of Sierra Caral in Guatemala – but due to severe habitat fragmentation and human disturbance, the area has been shown to have produced limited connectivity for jaguars within Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. 

Ever since I started working in the jungle, I’ve dreamed of coming face to face with a wild jaguar. I’ve walked countless hours in the forest with my camera at the ready, just in case I was lucky enough to spot one of the elusive cats. After 25 years of waiting, my day finally came. This is the heart-pounding story of my encounter with Esperanza, a female jaguar from Honduras.

Across the entire jaguar corridor, which stretches from Mexico to Argentina, perhaps the most critical link is 500 km of hazardous agricultural landscapes and fragmented forest in Honduras and Guatemala. Camera trap surveys indicated jaguar presence in both countries — but can they move between the two?