<
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/jaguar-population-doubles-around-brazils-iguacu-falls/>
"Once vanishing from view in the dense Atlantic Forest, jaguars are again
stalking the undergrowth of Iguaçu National Park in Brazil. Their comeback —
numbers have more than doubled in the region since 2010 — is a rare success in
the world of large carnivore conservation, reports Mongabay contributor Sarah
Brown. The recovery owes much to an unusual alliance of biologists,
bureaucrats, border-straddling NGOs and a crochet collective of local women.
The jaguar (
Panthera onca) population in the Brazil-Argentina Green Corridor,
a 185,000-hectare (457,000-acre) stretch of forest, had collapsed by the late
2000s. Habitat loss and retaliatory killings had reduced sightings to almost
none. But cross-border collaboration — between Brazil’s Jaguars of Iguaçu
Project and Argentina’s Proyecto Yaguareté — has helped the population grow to
at least 105 individuals. It may still be isolated from other jaguar
populations, but it is now stable and even cautiously expanding.
Such progress did not come from enforcement alone. Efforts have ranged from
ecological monitoring and rapid-response conflict mitigation to educational
programs in local schools and technical support for farmers losing livestock to
predation. Crucially, outreach efforts have built trust. Landowners who once
reached for rifles now call biologists.
A notable innovation is the Jaguar Crocheteers, a women-led artisan group
supported by the conservation team. Based in communities bordering the park,
they produce jaguar-themed crafts sold to tourists and used in awareness
campaigns. For some, the income is substantial. For many, the emotional
connection is transformative.
All of the members are “united by the jaguars,” said Claudiane Tavares, a
project coordinator and participant.
Institutional backing has followed. Foz do Iguaçu’s airport became the first in
Brazil to earn “Jaguar Friendly” certification. In 2024, the Paraná state
government adopted a five-year jaguar action plan, outlining measures to
improve habitat connectivity, curb hunting and roadkills and reduce conflict.
The effort was catalyzed in part by public outcry in 2021 against plans to
reopen a road through the park — plans now shelved.
Yet challenges remain. The region’s jaguars remain genetically isolated, and
pressure on their habitat continues. Yara Barros, who leads Brazil’s
conservation push, warns that long-term survival depends on stitching
fragmented habitats together and sustaining political will.
Still, the jaguars’ resurgence offers hope. Where there are jaguars, Barros
likes to say, there is life.
In Iguaçu, at least for now, that life is roaring back."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
