Skip to content

Javier Ramírez Magaña — The Kind 50

Javier Ramírez Magaña crouches in the dark beside a jaguar lying on a blanket, one gloved hand on its side.

Wild neighbors

Javier Ramírez Magaña has spent more than 12 years protecting jaguars in Sierra de Vallejo, Nayarit, Mexico.

It all started in 2013, when he watched a poisoned jaguar die.

The sun setting behind dark clouds over a hillside of dense green scrub.

5to10

jaguars were estimated to be killed in the area each year from 2013 to 2020

Abattle for survival

As urban development takes over more of their natural habitat, jaguars are pushed closer to cattle ranches.

For many, calves become their only way to survive.

When a jaguar kills a calf, a rancher can lose around $7,000 MXN (about $390 USD). Some ranchers retaliate by poisoning the jaguar.

A jaguar resting its head on a tree branch, green leaves above it against a bright sky.

one calf paid, one jaguar saved

Out of his ownpocket

Javier has spent more than $500,000 MXN of his own money paying ranchers for lost calves, preventing retaliation. He says jaguar deaths have since dropped to around 3 to 5 per year.

El Güero

El Güero is a male jaguar notorious for preying on around 18 calves over the years, putting him at constant risk of being poisoned. His GPS collar helped keep him safe, but it’s stopped working. The ranchers don’t know that yet.

El Güero, a jaguar wearing a GPS collar, walks through bright green grass. A handwritten note reads “El güero” con su collar de monitoreo.
A black-and-white trail-camera image of La Tuerta, a jaguar with one eye glowing, among rocks at night. A handwritten note reads “La Tuerta” con su lesión ocular.

La Tuerta

La Tuerta is a female jaguar named for an injury to one of her eyes. She’s another jaguar Javier monitors in Sierra de Vallejo.

A jaguar looking down from a tree branch, mouth open, among green leaves.

$500k mxn

Javier’s GoFundMe goal

A hand holding a small hand-made jaguar mask in front of green trees.
Javier’s team gathered under a covered patio. A handwritten note reads “El equipo”.

Javier started a GoFundMe when he could no longer fund the work on his own. Donations compensate ranchers for lost calves and cover GPS collars, trail cameras, field work, and emergency veterinary care.

A man in a blue shirt crouches at night to fix a trail camera to a tree.
A camouflage-patterned trail camera strapped to a rock.
A family of coatis walking along a forest trail toward the camera, a round concrete culvert behind them.
A flyer with Javier crouching beside a jaguar, a GoFundMe QR code and the words Dona ahora y conviértete en protector de jaguares.Ayúdanos a salvar a los jaguares de Nayarit$301,483 MXN raised

Javier hopes to build a sanctuary for jaguars. But his care for Sierra de Vallejo doesn’t stop with them. He spends his time in the field surrounded by the region’s wildlife, from snakes to white-tailed deer to wild boars.

Furadan, the poison used against jaguars, doesn’t only harm them. It contaminates the whole ecosystem, putting other species at risk. By helping prevent poisoning, Javier is looking out for all the wildlife in the area.

Save a species

Start a GoFundMe