About: Jaguar
“One of the greatest challenges facing jaguar conservation in Belize is finding solutions for the coexistence of jaguars and the communities which live in and around the jaguar’s habitat”
Lee McLoughlin
Protected Area Manager, Ya’axché Conservation Trust
The elusive jaguar, the largest cat in the western hemisphere, once roamed from south-western America through the Amazon Basin and into Argentina. Today it has been eliminated from much of its range.
The jaguar has a strong association with the water and is found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to swamp areas, grasslands and dry deciduous forest.
Jaguar facts:
- Derived from the Native American word yaguar, jaguar means “he who kills with one leap”
- Jaguars live alone and define large territories by marking with their waste or clawing trees
- They are tan or orange with distinctive black spots but some are so dark they appear to be spotless
High deforestation rates across Latin America and fragmentation of forest habitat is increasingly isolating today’s jaguar populations, making them more vulnerable to human persecution.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is supporting partner organisation, the Ya’axché Conservation Trust, on an important jaguar project in Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape. Ya’axché is monitoring jaguar populations and protecting their forest habitat whilst also raising awareness among local communities about this big cat.
In Brazil, FFI is working to protect important jaguar habitat in and around Cristalino State Park and is supporting the work of researchers to promote the coexistence of people and jaguars.
