Jaguar photographed in central Mexico for first time in 100 years

11/02/2009 09:10:58 February 2009. Mexican and Spanish scientists have photographed a male jaguar in central Mexico for the first time in a century. In recent decades the jaguar has become endangered due to the fragmentation and deterioration of its habitat, as well as hunting and illegal animal smuggling.

The lack of published records about the jaguar in Mexico and concerns about whether this animal may have become extinct in the forests of the 674 square kilometre Sierra Nanchititla Natural Reserve led to researchers from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) and the University of Alicante (UA) successfully seeking out and monitoring this cat.

Photographs
The Mexican-Spanish research project includes the first documented recording of Jaguars in the centre of Mexico, in the Río Balsas river basin. "The photographs provide information about new recording sites, and allow us to deduce that the area where the animal was observed may be a corridor connecting jaguar populations," said Octavio Monroy-Vilchis, lead author and a researcher at the UAEM.

Not observed by humans
The researchers carried out 86 interviews with inhabitants of villages near the study area between October 2002 and December 2004, as well as collecting feline dropping samples and installing automatic photographic detection systems.

"Even though not one of the interviews mentioned sightings of jaguars, we obtained three photographs of a male, and ten of the 132 excrement samples found have been attributed to the jaguar", says Monroy-Vilchis.
It is thought that there may be 15 locations in which it is possible that these animals still exist in the area, where there is still suitable habitat. These areas are important for scientific studies, because they could include crucial zones for the felines' long-term survival.

The jaguar's habitat, a limited territory
Of 1800 photographs taken, just three contained evidence of a jaguar. Despite the photographs taken, the researchers themselves were unable to see the animal. "The lack of evidence highlights the fact that the jaguar is highly elusive, and that its presence in the area is sporadic - possibly because it has access to other resources near to Michoacán and Guerrero," says Monroy-Vilchis.

The recording of this individual and the presence of excrement in a range of sites in the south east of the State of Mexico now mean its known range has been extended to 400 kilometres to the south east of Arroyo Seco, 27 km to the north east of Purísima de Arista, and 140 km to the north of Puerto del Gallo.

According to the scientists, the fact that the animal was captured on film at 1,845 metres "supports the theory that jaguars travel along the sides of mountains because their habitat has been fragmented by hunting and other human activities", says the scientist.

The research was published in The Southwestern Naturalist