Experts have indicated that ranch workers in Yucatan continue to hunt jaguars to prevent them from eating livestock, something that puts this beautiful and mythological species, worshipped by the Maya, at risk of extinction.
Anuar Hernandez, director of the Conservation Program for Felines and their Pronatura Dams, said that jaguars can be found 40 minutes away from Merida, an indicator that humans are invading their habitat.
One of the municipalities where jaguar sightings have been registered is Hunucmá, it is well known that inhabitants of this municipality own large plots of land that they use for cattle raising.
Due to the devastation of forests in that part of Yucatan, jaguars are getting closer and closer to livestock, and so they end up killing cows and calves, and that’s why cattle famers go out to hunt them .
Anuar Hernandez also stated that although there are fewer cases of jaguars being run over, these incidents do occur throughout the state, since roads are currently passing through their natural habitat.
Many experts sustain that the construction of the Maya Train project will significantly damage and destroy the home of these magnificent animals.
The Yucatan Times
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