Jaguar News nº 16

Jaguar News, nº 16

Brazil, May/2008

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Jaguar and puma research in the Amazonian lowlands of southeastern Peru

By Samia Carrillo-Percástegui and George Powell
Laboratory for Conservation Genetics, School of Natural resources, Arizona University, Tucson, Arizona. samiac@email.arizona.edu
WWF-US, 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC george.powell@wwfus.org

Until today, little information is available about Amazonian pumas and jaguars, their space and habitat use, diet, population structure, survival and recruitment, and dispersal patterns. Since 2005, the WWF has been gathering information about jaguars, pumas and their prey in the Tambopata river and adjacent basins in the lowlands of southeastern Peruvian Amazon. The project uses a new GPS technology to collect detailed data about movement patterns, habitat use and inter and intraspecific interactions of these species. The technology called TrackLog, developed by NAVSYS, a company from Great Britain, uses a post-processing localization algorithm that allows the unit to work even under dense forest cover. Being a data system, it can store 30,000 locations, with batteries weighing only 5 grams. With NAVSYS, we have developed a case that can be attached to a regular medium-sized VHF collar. The collars, equipped with a drop-off mechanism, are recovered after a predetermined period and data is downloaded for processing and analysis. The first data from one male puma and one female jaguar show that the units work in the dense Amazonian forest (Figure 1). In terms of ecology, data shows the importance of riverine forest for both species.
To complement GPS information, we have been using camera traps throughout the last three years in two areas. This equipment gives us important information about the number of individual jaguars using our study areas, their activity patterns and their habitat preferences. The cameras also collect important information about the different prey species. Until today, we have identified 7 jaguars with cameras at the study site (64,000 ha), that together with the 8 captured individuals indicate a high jaguar density at this forest. The GPS information enables us for the first time to validate these numbers and evaluate camera trapping as a means to estimate density of felids in neotropical forests.

Jaguar News

Four months of the life of Paya, a female jaguar (with more than 8 years of age), registered by a TrackTag. The strong association with riparian habitat was also characteristic for two other female jaguars whose home ranges completely overlapped that of Paya.

Also, with the help of our team and other investigator working in the areas, we have collected hundreds of scat samples from cats. Using DNA analysis of these samples, we will determine, which species and sex samples come from, and morphological and genetic analysis to identify prey species represented in the simples, which let us know the diet of the species.
Unfortunately, no paradise is safe, and the pristine forest is being assessed for gas exploitation and the construction of the new Inter-ocean Highway. As a consequence, gold mining and timber extraction are growing, leading to an increased contact between the large felines and the human population. Expansive agriculture and a larger number of hunters directly diminish the number of jaguars and pumas, while their primary prey species, the peccary, serves as a food source for the local population. This year, we have expanded our investigations to assess the impact of the Inter-ocean Highway on the feline population. Our aim is to develop mitigation strategies and work directly with the local communities in solving problems. Also, we will use our findings to help convince local, regional and national governments of the importance to conserve large tracts of pristine habitat to maintain viable populations of jaguars and pumas. In a larger context, the results will be combined with findings from our studies of macaws, parrots and peccaries to develop a quantitative base for designing protected areas that fulfill their role of protecting the spectacular Amazonian ecosystem.

Large cat (Panthera onca and Puma concolor) monitoring in the Sertão of Minas Gerais

By Edsel Amorim Moraes Junior M.Sc.
Biotrópicos - Instituto de Pesquisa em Vida Silvestre. edsel@biotropicos.org.br

The Sertão, or backlands, of Minas Gerais constitute a cerrado region characterized by a vast area along the left bank of the São Francisco river. This area is suffering from anthropogenic pressures like monoculture plantations, cattle pastures and deforestation. Through the project titled "Large cats as focal species for conservation planning in the Sertão of Minas Gerais" the Biotrópicos reseracher Edsel Amorim Moraes Junior plans to study the large cats int the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park and its surroundings, focusing on the concept of top chain predators as indicators of habitat quality and umbrella species for maintaining biodiversity. The study will use camera traps and radio telemetry with the aim to estimate population size and relative abundance, and describe space use and movement patterns of these felids. Studies of habitat use, landscape structure and prey abundance will be implemented and correlated with ecological parameters.

Jaguar News

Jaguar registered by a camera trap in the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park.

The perception of the environment by local comunities in the suroundings of the National Park will also be investigated and cases of lifestock predation in the region will be attended. Results are expected to permit identification and description of landscape elements that are most important for conservation of biodiversity, and help develop a plan for human activities and occupation of the region under study. In a pilot study with camera traps, two individual jaguars were registered, one of them being melanic, and two pumas were captured and fitted with radio collars. Support: Fundo Nacional do Meio Ambiente, Conservation Internacional, Idea Wild, Wildlife Conservation Society, Cenap/ICMBio, Ibama/MG, SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund e Funatura.

P I C T U R E O F T H E M O N TH


This is an adult male jaguar. Its picture was taken by a camera trap in May 2008 at Emas National Park (ENP). At this protected Cerrado area of 132.000 ha and its surrounding region, the Jaguar Conservation Fund develops a Long Term Jaguar Population Monitoring Program and helps to protect an important and representative population of this species in the Cerrado biome. Comparing the animal's spot pattern with pictures taken during previous camera trap surveys, we were able to identify that this male was recorded for the first time in 2001, the year that it was also captured and fitted with a radio collar, and monitored until 2004.		Being a young adult back then, we estimate that today this cat's age today is approximately 9 years, it appears to be in perfect shape. Information on longevity of free-ranging jaguars is virtually not existent and can only be gathered through long-term monitoring efforts like repeated camera-trapping studies. We hope to monitor this male for many years to come.

If you have a picture catching a glimpse of a jaguar's life in the wild and want to distribute it through our newsletter, please send it to jaguar@jaguar.org.br, with a description of the location, date and credits of the picture.