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Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project

The Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project is the first and only program committed to the long-term conservation of jaguars across the Gran Chaco.  Historically, the jaguar ranged across the entire 1 million km2 ecoregion, which is widely believed to contain the largest contiguous stretch of forest in Latin America outside of the Amazon Basin.  The Gran Chaco hosts some of the highest levels of medium-large terrestrial mammal endemism and diversity in the western hemisphere because of its diverse regions that range from impenetrable, seasonal dry thorn forest, to semi-open seasonally flooded palm savanna. While the region’s conservation potential for the jaguar is still currently high, the Chaco is now suffering from some of the highest rates of tropical deforestation on earth.

Large male jaguar recently detected less than 30 km from the border with Argentina in southcentral Paraguay. Jaguars have largely disappeared from the Argentine Chaco, and S.P.E.C.I.E.S. is working to identify possible stronghold habitat along the border.

Custom, weatherproof housing for infrared, motion-detecting camera-traps used in surveys of jaguars in the humid Paraguayan Chaco

Why the Paraguayan Chaco?

Between Bolivia and Argentina, and at the crossroads of south-central South America, lies Paraguay, a country which may contain the largest remaining expanses of undisturbed Chaco, and nearly one-third of the Chaco region overall.  With > 90% of its Upper Parana Atlantic Forest already lost, Paraguay’s last remote frontiers occur in the Gran Chaco and Pantanal.  Although constituting more than 60% of Paraguay’s land area, the Chaco is home to less than 10% of the country’s human population.  Along with the southern Bolivian Chaco and Pantanal, the Paraguayan Chaco could contain the greatest potential for long-term jaguar conservation outside of the Amazon Basin.  The past two decades however have seen dramatic changes to this vast, previously remote area.  Sharply rising beef prices have led to the intensive development of large ranches for raising cattle.  Approximately 1000 hectares of Paraguayan Chaco are being converted daily due to expanding habitat conversion for livestock and urban expansion.  This rapid loss of native habitat is leading to local declines in jaguar prey populations.  In addition, the suitability of the Chaco as forage for cattle has led to a lack of livestock and pasture management in many parts of far northern Paraguay.  These actions are the basis for increased incidents of livestock depredation by jaguars, and thus conflict between jaguars and humans.

Dense, thorny underbrush typical of the northern Dry Gran Chaco of Paraguay. “Chaco” is likely derived from the Indigenous Quechua word, “Hunting Land”, referring to the historical abundance of wildlife in this region.

Palo barrocho, the “drunken wood”, or bottle tree (Chorisia insignis), a tree perhaps most representative of the Dry Gran Chaco and the basis for the CJCP logo

Project Goals

Actual and perceived human-jaguar conflict is the greatest threat to jaguars across the region, and they are routinely killed shortly after their presence is detected.  Driving this problem is the acceleration of deforestation rates and exacerbating it, the development of new roads, which increases accessibility into the region and brings with them more pastures and illegal hunting of prey.

To address these concerns, as well as a relative lack of knowledge about the status, distribution, and ecology of jaguars across the region, we launched the Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project in 2008.

Among its main goals are the following:

  • to map the distribution and status of jaguars across the international Gran Chaco
  • to prevent and/or mitigate human-jaguar conflict, reduce depredation-related jaguar mortality, and explore alternative economic land uses
  • to increase capacity and foster mentoring of emerging and existing conservation professionals, protected area staff, students, and local biologists.
  • to affect successful jaguar monitoring and research, conflict mitigation, and the implementation of successful field and grassroots conservation programs
  • to research the impact of habitat conversion and conflict with humans on jaguar ecology and population dynamics across the Gran Chaco, to better inform and identify targeted solutions and measures for reducing livestock depredation and addressing stakeholder needs and concerns
  • to build a regional genetic reference library for jaguars, to identify the origin of illegally traded jaguar parts, and evaluate the efficacy of habitat corridors in facilitating the connectivity of jaguar populations
  • to engage the general public and citizenry on jaguar conservation issues, promote public education of jaguar conservation needs, and raise awareness regarding threats to jaguars across the Gran Chaco-Pantanal ecoregions
  • to  implement a regionwide conservation and landscape connectivity strategy across the watershed regions of the Gran Chaco and Pantanal, with an emphasis on northern and western Paraguay, southern Bolivia, and north central Argentina

Jaguar scat containing the guard hairs of collared peccaries, which was collected near Chaco Defensores National Park in Paraguay. Recent genetic advances not only allow us to differentiate this scat from that of pumas, but now allow us to tell the sex of the animal, even identify the individuals.

Female jaguar resting the shade in the northern Paraguayan Gran Chaco. In this environment in particular, it is easy to see how well-camouflaged the predator is.

We are also collaborating with institutional partners in the Bolivian and Argentinean Chaco and the Pantanal to advance jaguar conservation efforts in these regions.  Among our objectives in southern Bolivia are to evaluate the effectiveness of Kaa-Iya in maintaining stable long-term jaguar populations, and increase the self-reliance of protected area staff in monitoring those populations well into the future.  In south central Paraguay and north central Argentina, we plan to identify habitat critical to preventing the further contraction of the jaguar’s range, and secure the commitment of landowners to maintaining suitable jaguar habitat.

Our Executive Director, Anthony Giordano, giving a presentation to Chaco landowners during a human-carnivore conflict mitigation workshop in Asuncion, Paraguay

Mixed Dry Chaco and Cerrado along the Paraguay-Bolivia border north of “Defenders of the Chaco” National Park

What can you do?

Make a donation to S.P.E.C.I.E.S. to help support the Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project. Your donation will go a long way to ensure that our projects reach their full potential.

Also be sure to subscribe to our Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project Facebook (@ProgramaJaguarete) and Instagram (@programa_jaguarete)

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