Threatened throughout its range and long considered locally extinct across wide areas of the western slope of northern Central America, the jaguar (Panthera onca) is a top priority for our habitat restoration and wildlife corridor efforts. Teaming up with wildlife biologist, Miguel Ordeñana, Paso Pacifico is working to mitigate the loss of jaguars resulting from hunting and human-wildlife conflict in the Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor in the Rivas province of Nicaragua.
Over the past six months, Paso Pacífico has documented the presence of multiple jaguars in the Rivas province through camera traps and track surveys. We have captured photos of a male individual and documented tracks of a female with four cubs. We have also conducted over fifty interviews with local people across Rivas, receiving multiple reports of a melanistic jaguar (also known as a black panther) in the area, with the most recent sighting in June 2010. Ocelots, Jaguarundi, and Puma have also been documented through tracks, interviews, and photos across the isthmus.
Ranching is one of the primary agricultural activities in the area where we work, and cattle deaths attributed to jaguars have led to ranchers killing jaguars. Hunting pressure on big cats is increased by the trade in pelts. While the wildlife trade and the hunting of endangered cats are illegal, Nicaraguan law enforcement does not have the resources to respond to threats to wildlife. To protect jaguars, it is necessary to develop direct relationships and with local people and locally-based hunters.
East of Paso del Istmo lies another corridor of concern, connecting to the Jaguar Conservation Unit of Nicaragua’s Indio Maiz Biological Reserve. South of the Paso del Istmo corridor is the Jaguar Conservation Unit of the Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica. We hope to strengthen big cat populations by creating a buffer through the expansion of conservation efforts across the international border.
You can help us increase protection and improve connectivity for jaguar populations (Panthera onca) in southwestern Nicaragua and the Jaguar Conservation Unit of northern Costa Rica, by donating to our jaguar conservation efforts.