Seeking justice for Corazón: jaguar killings test the conservation movement in Mexico

Seeking justice for Corazón: jaguar killings test the conservation movement in Mexico 

31-07-2014   Mongabay

Mongabay writes, Eight years ago, a female jaguar cub was caught on film by a motion-triggered camera trap set in the foothills of canyons, oak forest, and scrubland that make-up the Northern Jaguar Reserve, just 125 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Three years later, in 2009, the jaguar reappeared on film as…

Continue reading Seeking justice for Corazón: jaguar killings test the conservation movement in Mexico at Mongabay

Photo: Corazón in 2006. This jaguar, living near the U.S.-Mexican border, was killed and burned in February, sparking calls for conservation reform. Photo courtesy of the Northern Jaguar Project.

Moradores de Palmeirais resgatam onça ferida: Brasil

Moradores de Palmeirais resgatam onça ferida 

27-07-2014 amigadaoncapintada.blogspot.com.br


A TV Globo do Piauí exibiu imagem de onça pintada capturada na cidade de Palmeirais, vizinha de Teresina. O animal estava machucado e aparentava ser uma fêmea.

Moradores se mobilizam para ajudar o felino. O animal foi transportado em uma moto. 

Confirman que iba a gran velocidad el conductor que mató al yaguareté Guasu: Argentina

Confirman que iba a gran velocidad el conductor que mató al yaguareté Guasu

23-07-2014  Misiones Online

El expediente abierto por los guardaparques revela que el conductor del camión que atropelló y mató a un yaguareté en el parque provincial Península, iba a gran velocidad. El felino, llamado Guasu, dejó marcas de las uñas en el asfalto y sufrió numerosas lesiones. El camión de la empresa Viana y Viana Transporte y Logística, dejó la huella de una frenada de varios metros.


El informe de los guardaparques revela que el hecho ocurrió a 2000 metros del destacamento Uruzú. Una denuncia particular los alertó del hecho. Después de hallar al animal muerto, se localizó el camión Iveco con el paragolpes y parte delantera rotos.

“Con una rápida inspección visual ya se podía saber que este era de alguna manera el responsable. Al hablar con el chofer y luego de preguntar si había chocado a un animal silvestre, éste confirma haber sido el autor del hecho”, señala el expediente.

El conductor aseguró que iba dentro de la velocidad permitida y que el yaguareté “saltó” frente al vehículo “sin darme siquiera tiempo para frenar”.

Pero analizando la zona se pudo contar 25 pasos grandes desde el lugar en donde estaba parado el felino y hasta el lugar donde fue a parar el cadáver. Esto se dedujo a partir de que se observó arañazos en el asfalto consecuencia que al estar parado en animal sobre la ruta y ser embestido sus garras arañaron a ancho el pavimento.



También se constató las marcas de neumáticos, producto de la fricción de este sobre el suelo por la frenada.
Dentro del parque está prohibido la circulación a velocidades que excedan los 60 kilómetros por hora, según decreto Nº 1933 de la Ley de Aéreas Naturales Protegidas Nº XVI Nº29 antes nº2932 y decreto reglamentario Nº 944/94.

El yaguareté era monitoreado por el proyecto Yaguareté y había sido registrado por primera vez en 2010 en el Parque Nacional Iguazú. Su territorio abarcaba el sur del Parque Nacional Iguazú, la reserva Forestal San Jorge y parte del Parque Provincial Urugua-í. Guasú era un macho adulto de 94 kilos en excelente estado de salud y en plena edad reproductiva”, señalaron los ecologistas.

Celebran el hallazgo de un fósil de yaguareté; Argentina

Celebran el hallazgo de un fósil de yaguareté 

Investigadores del Nordeste argentino identificaron un fósil de más de 10 mil años encontrado en Formosa. El hallazgo permitió tener el primer registro fósil de un yaguareté en esta zona del país. Además, representa uno de los cráneos mejor preservado de la especie.

12-07-2014   Diario Norte (Argentina)

Los restos fueron hallados en las barrancas del río Bermejo por personal del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Formosa. Pocos días después, docentes e investigadores de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura de la UNNE y del Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral (UNNE-CONICET) reconocieron el excelente estado de preservación de los restos.

 

Si se compara el fósil con el cráneo actual de un yaguareté la similitud morfológica es casi absoluta.

Alfredo Zurita, Alicia Lutz y Ángel Miño-Boilini, del equipo de paleontólogos de la UNNE, confirmaron que el cráneo con mandíbula, una vértebra y parte de un húmero pertenecen a un ejemplar de la especie actual panthera onca.

“Se está ante el hallazgo de un fósil excepcional, que se constituye en el primer registro fósil de un yaguareté para el nordeste del país”, resaltó Zurita.

El cráneo además es de las piezas mejor preservadas que se conoce para esa especie y por el gran desgaste de los dientes se estima que corresponde a un ejemplar adulto.

El equipo de paleontólogos de la UNNE destacó que en las barrancas del río Bermejo en Formosa apareció un alto número de restos de mamíferos fósiles cuaternarios, actualmente alojados en las colecciones del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Villa Escolar.

Con el método del carbono 14, para medir los niveles de donde proceden los restos fósiles, la antigüedad es cercana a los 10.000 años, tiempo en el cual ya faltaba relativamente poco para que gran parte de los grandes mamíferos (algunos de más de tres toneladas), que habitaban no solamente esta región sino toda América del Sur, desaparecieran por causas aún no del todo conocidas.

Crazy tourists push their luck by getting right under the noses of pair of scrapping jaguars in Brazilian Pantanal

Who would like a closer look?: Crazy tourists push their luck by getting right under the noses of pair of scrapping jaguars

• Wildlife photographer Paul Williams came across the elusive big cats in their natural habitat while filming TV series
• But he started to become increasingly concerned as he watched tour boats jostling to see which could get closest
• Mr Williams had planned to film the animals but was quickly blocked by several tourist boats wanting to get best view

09-07-2014  By James Rush, The Daily Mail (UK)

This is the uncomfortable moment a group of tourists put themselves 'directly in the line of danger' as they got close too close for comfort to a pair of fighting jaguars.
Wildlife photographer Paul Williams was overjoyed when he came across the elusive big cats in their natural habitat, the Brazilian Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland area, while filming for a television series.

But Mr Williams, 34, who works for the BBC Natural History Unit, soon found himself becoming increasingly concerned as he watched tour boats jostling to see which could get closest.

A group of tourists put themselves 'directly in the line of danger' as they get close too close for comfort to a jaguar

Wildlife photographer Paul Williams was planning on filming the animals but was blocked by several tourist boats who watched the animals as they fought

Mr Williams said the tourists 'went far too close for comfort. These cats have powerful legs and can jump several metres in one bound'

Mr Williams had planned to film the animals, but was quickly blocked by several tourist boats wanting to get the best view.
He said: 'I came across this group of young males on the corner of a river in the northern Pantanal - they appeared to be play-fighting. It wasn't long before a group of tourist boats also spotted the scene but I kept my distance knowing how dangerous jaguar are.
'The tourists went far too close for comfort. These cats have powerful legs and can jump several metres in one bound. In fact their name comes from the Native American word yaguar meaning "he who kills in one leap".

'At the time we guessed that they were about 5 metres away just of the edge of the bank.
'I was in the Pantanal to film various animals for a TV series. What I really wanted to film and photograph was jaguar - the biggest cat in the Americas and one of the most elusive and difficult to see.

'I couldn't believe my luck when we stumbled across a scene of four jaguar on a bend in the river (we only ever got a shot of 3 in the same frame) - a female and three large, but immature, males. We assumed that they were closely related and this would be a unique opportunity to film and photograph natural behaviour.'

Mr Williams was overjoyed when he came across the elusive big cats in their natural habitat, the Brazilian Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland area, while filming for a television series

Mr Williams said while the area is officially protected, it is down to common courtesy and an unwritten code between guides for good practice to be observed

Mr Williams said he was guided by a Mr Toto, who grew up navigating the waterways of the Pantanal.
He said: 'His philosophy is very much the same as ours - to observe natural behaviour and not to influence it. So we did the safest and least intrusive thing we could and moved our boat to the opposite bank where we could use our long lens to capture the action from a safe distance.

'Unfortunately less than 10 minutes later several boats sped into the scene, straight in front of us, blocking our view and putting themselves directly in the line of danger. As the numbers of boats increased the drivers became more aggressive towards one another, cutting each other up to get closer and closer until they were too close for comfort.

'The cats were clearly disturbed by this and didn't stay around long - but had they been so inclined it would have been easy for one of the jaguar to run and leap straight into a boat.'

Mr Williams said while the area is officially protected, it is down to common courtesy and an unwritten code between guides for good practice to be observed.

Mr Williams counted himself lucky on the trip, having had 'seven stunning Jaguar sightings in three days', although he describes the experience as having an unsettling aspect

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

Mr Williams said at one point during the journey he 'had been following otter along a river in the northern Pantanal when I looked up and saw the transfixed eyes of a Jaguar staring out from the shade. It's one of the few times that I've looked an animal in the eye knowing that I was the prey'

He said: 'Mr Toto said that many of these boat drivers had no training in good practice and did not realise, or care about how their behaviour influenced the animals.

'Sadly it's a scene that's too common in natural parks around the world, but it's important to remember that without tourism many of these areas would be under threat. Everyone has the right to experience nature and wildlife, but the organisations and companies who manage this have a responsibility to ensure that the welfare of the wildlife is paramount.'

Mr Williams counted himself lucky on the trip, having had 'seven stunning Jaguar sightings in three days', although he describes the experience as having an unsettling aspect.

He said: 'I had been following otter along a river in the northern Pantanal when I looked up and saw the transfixed eyes of a Jaguar staring out from the shade. It's one of the few times that I've looked an animal in the eye knowing that I was the prey.'

Private Reserves Support National Parks in Big Cat Conservation, Costa Rica

Private Reserves Support National Parks in Big Cat Conservation 

Posted by Luke Dollar of NG Big Cats Initiative in Cat Watch National Geographic on July 3, 2014

Fig. 1: Aerial view of the Lapa Rios Ecolodge and private nature reserve located on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica (map inset).

National parks offer large core habitat that is critical for conserving large cats, but national parks alone are not sufficient to sustain a connected and genetically healthy population. Smaller adjacent private reserves improve connectivity and increase habitat extent in areas outside these parks. Sustainable, low-impact ecotourism often incorporates private nature reserves, which can serve to create a matrix of interconnected protected areas, providing corridors to larger core habitat areas. Ecotourism areas often involve non-consumptive human use and conserve both primary and secondary forests.

One excellent example of such an operation is the Lapa Rios (Fig. 1) private nature reserve – 1,000 acres of mixed primary and secondary rainforest on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, and a substantial percentage of the last remaining tropical lowland rainforest in Central America. Within one week of camera trapping here in April 2014, we captured photos of puma (Puma concolor), and their preferred food source, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), locally known as chanchos de monte.

Unfortunately, national parks often suffer from budget declines due to variable national and international economic conditions and shifts in political priorities. Between 2001-2005, for example, more than 50 park guards were removed from guard duties at Corcovado National Park, resulting in a dramatic increase in illegal hunting activities. White-lipped peccary populations were reduced to a tenth of what had been recorded in 1990 (when monitoring activities began) – the smallest population numbers ever recorded. Due to the loss of this primary food source coupled with habitat loss, fragmentation, and a transition by ranchers to using cheap and available rat venom to extirpate jaguars (Panthera onca) feeding on their cattle, the jaguar population is now estimated at less than 25 individuals in the Osa Peninsula. 

Private nature reserves like Lapa Rios, and a number of other eco-lodges surrounding the Corcovado National Park, generally have had more reliable protection from illegal hunting and forest degradation, due to the more consistent presence of economic impetus from ecotourists over the last 20 years. Although the home ranges of white-lipped peccary and big cats are much larger than any single private reserve, these areas provide critical assistance to national parks, buffering their core habitat from the threats of illegal hunting and forest degradation which occurs intensively not just in Costa Rica, but throughout the tropics.

The non-profit organization Osa Conservation is now leading a collaborative multi-institutional effort to establish the first regional network of citizen science supported camera traps, incorporating private nature reserves throughout the Osa Peninsula and Golfito region of Costa Rica. This project will establish baseline information and provide continued monitoring capacity for big cats and other their prey into the future.

Please see www.osaconservation.org for more information on the network or if you are interested in becoming involved in this effort. And see www.inogo.info and inogo.stanford.edu for additional information on the exceptional biodiversity, and its myriad threats, in the Osa and Golfito region.
Sincerely,

Eben N. Broadbent ^1,*, Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz ², Angélica M. Almeyda Zambrano ¹, Daniel Alvarez ³, Sandra L. Almeyda Zambrano ¹, Carlos Alberto Quispe Gil ¹, Tavis Forrester ⁴, Rodolfo Dirzo ⁵, William H. Durham ⁶.
¹ Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab, Department of Geography, University of Alabama (www.speclab.org); ² Osa Conservation, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (www.osaconservation.org); ³ Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (www.laparios.com); ⁴ Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institution (nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi); ⁵ Department of Biology, Stanford University (biology.stanford.edu); ⁶ Department of Anthropological Sciences, Stanford University (anthropology.stanford.edu).

* Email: eben@amazonico.org