Panthera Honduras

Wild Cat Species

— Jaguar

— Puma

— Ocelot

— Jaguarundi

— Margay

Priority Landscapes

— Cusuco National Park

— Jeannette Kawas National Park

— Pico Bonito National Park

— Uchapa-Pimienta watershed

— Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

Panthera has worked in Honduras since 2009 and is one of the first organizations to document the presence of a Jaguar using camera traps in areas such as Pico Bonito, Jeannette Kawas and the Cusuco National Parks. We also delineated the Jaguar Corridor in Honduras through the use of interviews and genetic samples. In the past, little was known about jaguars in Honduras, but the country is now the backbone of the jaguar corridor. Today, our focus is on strengthening park ranger teams throughout the corridor, on-site security actions, and implementing SMART patrols in key areas. 

Through SMART and acoustic monitoring, we have documented a reduction in poaching activity in some areas of Honduras. Critically, we have gained the trust of the local government to support our work through more rangers and funds. Jaguars continue to surprise us, as we recently documented their presence in a small watershed and in a small private reserve.  In 2020, our staff began our rewilding program, initiating with the reintroduction of collared peccaries in Jeannette Kawas National Park where this key jaguar prey species was extirpated by poaching about 12 years ago. We are also supporting a community base green iguana head start program and continue to work with cattle ranchers to educate and instruct them on how to manage conflict. We will continue to work alongside our local partners to ensure jaguar populations persist and to protect jaguar connectivity throughout the corridor. 

Partners

• Empresa Privada Lacteos de Honduras-LACTHOSA
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Instituto de Conservation Forestal Áreas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre (ICF)
• Fundación PROLANSATE
• The Lodge at Pico Bonito 
• Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre (SINAHP)
• Asociación Mesa de Organizaciones Comanejadoras de Áreas Protegidas de Honduras (MOCAPH)
• Municipality of Puerto Cortes 
• Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
• Washington State University 
• Federación Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Honduras (FENAGH)
• Secretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente (MiAmbiente)
• Operation Wallacea

Social Media

Follow us on Facebook

Contact

Franklin Castañeda
fcastaneda@panthera.org