Jaguars

Once believed to be extinct in Nicaragua, jaguars are slowly recovering on the Pacific Slope of Central America in the Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor. Paso Pacifico has been using camera traps placed in strategic locations across our reserves to monitor and document the recovery of the species in Nicaragua.

The jaguar’s decline has largely been due to deforestation and human predators. Our reforestation projects across Nicaragua’s Pacific Slope are restoring habitat for carnivorous felids such as the jaguar, ocelot, and mountain lion, as well as contributing to the conservation of the landscape.

Because farmers and ranchers have seen jaguars as a threat to their livestock, jaguars are often shot on sight. In an effort to improve farmers’ perception of jaguars, we have implemented workshops with landowners and other community members to learn about the jaguar and its importance to the ecosystem. At these workshops, landowners also receive livestock management training to better protect their animals from jaguars and other large carnivores. We also offer farmers compensation for any livestock that they lose to carnivores in an effort to prevent farmers from shooting jaguars on their property.

Protecting jaguars is the primary goal of this program. We use camera traps to help us map critical habitat areas for jaguars and to identify the availability of prey to these large predators. The “community” of forest wildlife can provide us clues about the health of the forest. For example, when this program began (2010), it would be rare for the camera to photograph the lowland paca, a large forest rodent, on the forest floor. Today, we are not only observing pacas on a regular basis, but we are also seeing larger prey species such as the peccary. This year, we have even documented tapirs, a large herbivorous forest mammal that is sensitive to disturbance. These developments signal a forest recovery that is occurring thanks to community members and Paso Pacifico rangers who have worked to plant trees and protect forest wildlife during the past decade.

Additionally, we have developed an environmental education module focused on the jaguar as part of our Junior Ranger Program. By engaging youth in jaguar conservation efforts, we increase the likelihood that this species will be protected in the future.