The jaguar population is recovering in Southeast Mexico

The National Jaguar Census (Cenjaguar) carried out by researchers from the Institute of Ecology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) showed that the jaguar population in the country has recovered by 20 percent, and that in regions and protected areas such as Calakmul, in the state of Campeche, a gradual increase in the recovery and distribution of this species has been observed.

The results of this work estimate that the population of this feline at the beginning of the 20th century was of 20 thousand specimens, but within the first phase of the census that was carried out from 2008 to 2010, it was found that the feline was an endangered species, because there were only 4 thousand of them in the country.

However, the second stage of the count showed that the population increased by 800 specimens in 2018, reaching 4 thousand 800, in which the species is still found in almost all of “its historical range”.

The Census results point out that there are jaguar sightings on the Pacific slope, from Sonora to Chiapas, and on the Gulf of Mexico, from Tamaulipas to Tabasco, as well as on the Yucatan Peninsula.

In addition, the Census highlights actions such as the national strategy for the conservation and increase of the jaguar population, which consisted of supporting the federal government to create natural reserves to increase the protected area, implementing the national program “Payment for Environmental Services”, where the federal government pays, through Conafor, to rural communities to encourage the conservation of their forests, as well as the populations of jaguars and other wild animals and plants.

“To that end, a poster was published, with messages in eight local languages (Mayan and Nahuatl) and in Spanish, to inform that this animal is in danger of extinction and must be cared for. And in case of loss of livestock due to depredation, to go to the authorities to repair the damage through livestock insurance,” says Cenjaguar.

All these preservation actions have helped the recovery of the jaguar, whose population in Mexico has increased 20 percent in 10 years. From 4,000 to 4,800 specimens.

TYT Newsroom