Protect the Jaguar
Donation protected
The objective of this program
To have a resilient population of jaguars that is managed by the local people living in their native range.
The Jaguar
The largest big cat in the Americas is the best way to protect these wild landscapes. The jaguar’s current range has been reduced to less than 40 percent of their historic range. The monitoring and management of this species depends on reliable population estimates, which can be both difficult and very costly for cryptic large vertebrates that live in heavily forested habitats, such as the Amazonian jungle. The species will continue this sharp rate of population loss without local peoples help and the skill sets to protect and manage them.
Photo: Adam Dewey
Project Background
Large tracts of tropical jungle now look like mixed canopy forest with scattered ranching operations and farms. People are flowing through these forests in ways that effect not only the jaguar of the region but also the unspoken species that thrive there- the candango mouse, white-bellied spider monkey, northern tiger cat and the red brocket deer. All species within the ecosystem benefit from the protection of jaguars.
The team's 6 month Plan
Collaboration with Ranchers
Jaguars are a threat to your cattle, you say? We are going to show you the lessons we learned ranching alongside apex predators. Reducing conflict with large predators means showing local ranchers healthier herds in less space, better cattle birth rates and better ways to export local beef. Increasing tolerance of jaguars across this changing landscape involves lessons from successful ranchers demonstrating innovative ways to raise cattle while simultaneously protecting the jaguars there.
Collaboration with Hunters
Improving the populations of jaguar prey species (85 documented so far) means more predictable food for both jaguars and local hunters. Right now there is a risk of overhunting the same species eaten by both, which forces unnatural movements and population declines in jaguars. Putting in place hunter harvest reporting and teaching hunters how to manage areas for better long term hunting will be a benefit to jaguars and men.
Collaboration with Government
The local government and scientific community have very little data about jaguar ranges, birth rates, movements and population densities. Giving them the skills and demonstrating how to map-out the lives of jaguars and then sharing that data with local government and residents covers those objectives and allows them to continue protecting the large cats for years after we leave.
Team
We recruited the top wildlife veterinarians, big cat biologists and law enforcement trainers in a small band of 12 that will go from selected points of the jaguar’s range teaching indigenous tribes, ranchers and local biologists the skills they need to be self-sufficient in managing their wildlife.
We will use the same successful curriculum taught in central Africa of combining population mapping, tracking and protection skill sets - modified to protect this iconic species, the jaguar. This will be the first time this program has been given to the protectors of South American wildlife.
Involving donors
With your donation, be sure to include your contact information. Whether it is your email or phone contact you have chosen, we will update you on the progress as the project unfolds. This is important to the whole team. We want to send pictures, population data and new insights into jaguars to your phones and email accounts as this trip progresses. This has never been done in the “gofundme conservation world” and we want to change that.
“We accomplish more together than separate”
To have a resilient population of jaguars that is managed by the local people living in their native range.
The Jaguar
The largest big cat in the Americas is the best way to protect these wild landscapes. The jaguar’s current range has been reduced to less than 40 percent of their historic range. The monitoring and management of this species depends on reliable population estimates, which can be both difficult and very costly for cryptic large vertebrates that live in heavily forested habitats, such as the Amazonian jungle. The species will continue this sharp rate of population loss without local peoples help and the skill sets to protect and manage them.
Photo: Adam Dewey Project Background
Large tracts of tropical jungle now look like mixed canopy forest with scattered ranching operations and farms. People are flowing through these forests in ways that effect not only the jaguar of the region but also the unspoken species that thrive there- the candango mouse, white-bellied spider monkey, northern tiger cat and the red brocket deer. All species within the ecosystem benefit from the protection of jaguars.
The team's 6 month Plan
Collaboration with Ranchers
Jaguars are a threat to your cattle, you say? We are going to show you the lessons we learned ranching alongside apex predators. Reducing conflict with large predators means showing local ranchers healthier herds in less space, better cattle birth rates and better ways to export local beef. Increasing tolerance of jaguars across this changing landscape involves lessons from successful ranchers demonstrating innovative ways to raise cattle while simultaneously protecting the jaguars there.
Collaboration with Hunters
Improving the populations of jaguar prey species (85 documented so far) means more predictable food for both jaguars and local hunters. Right now there is a risk of overhunting the same species eaten by both, which forces unnatural movements and population declines in jaguars. Putting in place hunter harvest reporting and teaching hunters how to manage areas for better long term hunting will be a benefit to jaguars and men.
Collaboration with Government
The local government and scientific community have very little data about jaguar ranges, birth rates, movements and population densities. Giving them the skills and demonstrating how to map-out the lives of jaguars and then sharing that data with local government and residents covers those objectives and allows them to continue protecting the large cats for years after we leave.
Team
We recruited the top wildlife veterinarians, big cat biologists and law enforcement trainers in a small band of 12 that will go from selected points of the jaguar’s range teaching indigenous tribes, ranchers and local biologists the skills they need to be self-sufficient in managing their wildlife.
We will use the same successful curriculum taught in central Africa of combining population mapping, tracking and protection skill sets - modified to protect this iconic species, the jaguar. This will be the first time this program has been given to the protectors of South American wildlife.
Involving donors
With your donation, be sure to include your contact information. Whether it is your email or phone contact you have chosen, we will update you on the progress as the project unfolds. This is important to the whole team. We want to send pictures, population data and new insights into jaguars to your phones and email accounts as this trip progresses. This has never been done in the “gofundme conservation world” and we want to change that.
“We accomplish more together than separate”
Organizer
Janelle Kaz
Organizer
Grants Pass, OR
