Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Jaguar - Panthera onca
Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 01:05 AM (22,201 Views)
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

Dwindling jaguar population facing extinction

Tuesday, 28 January 2014
AFP

Posted Image
The jaguar's disappearance would cause major environmental imbalance in the 'Mata Atlantica'

The jaguar could soon become extinct in Brazil's tropical Atlantic forest, threatening the shrinking primitive forest itself, Brazilian scientists warn.

A study by the Brazilian conservation authority Cenap indicates the adult jaguar population in the region may have fallen to just 250, "an 80 per cent slide over the past 15 years."

And just a fifth of the remaining jaguars are of reproductive age, the study asserts.

The 'Mata Atlantica' or Atlantic forest ecosystem, home to unique species and comprising a variety of tropical forest habitats, has itself lost more than 90 per cent of its original volume over the centuries.

It once made up more than 1.2 million square kilometres — roughly 25 per cent of the Amazon region and around 15 per cent of Brazilian territory.

But deforestation, ranching and increased urbanisation have seen that shrink to just 28,600 square kilometres, according to the SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation.

The habitat loss puts pressure on the jaguars both in terms of seeking food sources and from hunting. Agricultural workers will, for example, not hesitate to kill a jaguar if it has eaten a cow, biologist Pedro Galetti told Folha.

Yet with the jaguar at the top of the region's food chain, its slumping numbers pose a clear threat to forest biodiversity, warns Cenap head Ronaldo Morato.

Morato told the Folha de Sao Paulo daily the jaguar's disappearance would cause major environmental imbalance and "the prompt demise of the Atlantic forest."

Cenap will next week embark upon new research to monitor the remaining jaguars using satellite imaging to track their movements.

Given widespread alarm at the decline of the forest, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization conferred world heritage status on the region in 1999.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/01/28/3933312.htm
Edited by Taipan, Jul 10 2017, 06:09 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
figantee
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
maker
Member Avatar
Apex Predator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
The effect of habitat fragmentation on the genetic structure of a top predator: loss of diversity and high differentiation among remnant populations of Atlantic Forest jaguars (Panthera onca)
bitisgabonica
Sep 7 2013, 05:09 PM
is thwere any report or phots of interactions between Jaguar and anaconda?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRmvAgl67Zw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnQ-vR4bjkQ1zDDMx3v6xag
Edited by maker, Dec 21 2014, 01:26 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kurtz
Kleptoparasite
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]

in this video Fantasma one of the biggest male Jaguar in Pantanal in @ 120 ++ kilos
http://projetooncafari.com.br/en/meetourjaguar/fantasma
Edited by Kurtz, May 17 2015, 10:31 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceratodromeus
Member Avatar
Aspiring herpetologist
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Accounts of predation on caiman by Jaguar:

"In September 1995, we
found the remains of a female C. crocodilus (skull
length 5 18.5 cm, estimated total length 5 1.3 m)
adjacent to a depredated nest with the remains of
12 eggs scattered around the nest. In June 1999,
we found a male M. niger 3.8 m TL that
apparently had recently been killed by a jaguar.
Based on the paw marks around the site, the
caiman had been attacked by the jaguar while on
a thick mat of floating vegetation in a canal
located along the margin of Lago Mamiraua´. In
August 2007, a camera trap set along a trail in the
Mamiraua´ Reserve captured a photograph of a
jaguar with the remains of a C. crocodilus in its
mouth. The photograph was taken in low
restinga forest habitat, approximately 30 m from
the nearest water body, and the estimated size of
the caiman, between 1.2 and 1.5 m TL, is
consistent with it being an adult female.
A camera trap recorded an adult female jaguar
locating and consuming the eggs of a M. niger
nest at Lago Tracaja´ (Mamiraua Reserve) on 17
December 2008. The jaguar found the nest at
1157 h and remained at the nest eating the eggs
until 1313 h. It then left and returned at 1345 h for
a brief visit (3 minutes), and again the following
morning at 0842 h, but the jaguar had apparently
consumed all the eggs on its initial visit."
...
"Caimans were eaten by jaguars only in
seasonally flooded habitats—two sites in Amazonian
varzea flooded forest, two in the
Brazilian Pantanal, and two in Venezuela. One
of these was localized in the Venezuelan Llanos
and the other in the north central region, in a
site where 73% of the cover was represented by
seasonally flooded lowland savanna or seasonally
flooded semideciduous forest (Table 2).
Caimans were the most frequent reptilian prey
for jaguars in four of six seasonally flooded
habitats. At one Venezuelan site, caimans were
consumed as frequently as squamates. In the
Mamiraua´ Reserve, 54% of the prey items consumed
by jaguars were reptiles, and 48% of these
were caimans. In one Pantanal site, caimans were
the only reptiles preyed on by jaguars
"

Reference material: Da Silveira, Ronis, et al. "Depredation by jaguars on caimans and importance of reptiles in the diet of jaguar." Journal of Herpetology 44.3 (2010): 418-424.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kurtz
Kleptoparasite
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Hi chui, what do you think about the jaguar weighed in Pantanal of about 148 kilograms by Dr. Cavalcanti and Dr. Guy Balme? Have that male some content in the stomach?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
chui
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Hey Kurtz, the capture of that male was caught on video which can be seen on youtube. In it Guy Balme clearly says the huge male had just eaten and was as a result 'fat' but was not overly gorged. Therefore while this was still an absolute monster jag this was not an empty stomach weight (maybe 130-140kg empty stomach). Any jaguar over 130kg should be considered exceptional based on tons of data available on this cat's size.



The weight was taken as 315lbs (142kg) but appearently the head was being held so it was recalculated as 148kg afterwards. GauteGojjra from the AVA board contacted Dr. Cavalcanti and recieved this info.

Posted Image

It should be borne in mind that these huge swamp jaguars from the Pantanal (and Llanos) prey routinely on cattle and generally live very easy lives. Under more natural circumstances they probably wouldn't be so big and bulky. I'm more interested in the jaguars which persist on wild prey like peccaries and tapirs, these are the true jaguars IMO. In the Paraguayan Chaco which is adjacent to the Pantanal, jaguars live on an entirely natural diet and the average weight of 8 adult males there was 88.5kg. Same genetics but no easy prey.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kurtz
Kleptoparasite
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
chui
May 24 2015, 07:01 AM
Hey Kurtz, the capture of that male was caught on video which can be seen on youtube. In it Guy Balme clearly says the huge male had just eaten and was as a result 'fat' but was not overly gorged. Therefore while this was still an absolute monster jag this was not an empty stomach weight (maybe 130-140kg empty stomach). Any jaguar over 130kg should be considered exceptional based on tons of data available on this cat's size.



The weight was taken as 315lbs (142kg) but appearently the head was being held so it was recalculated as 148kg afterwards. GauteGojjra from the AVA board contacted Dr. Cavalcanti and recieved this info.

Posted Image

It should be borne in mind that these huge swamp jaguars from the Pantanal (and Llanos) prey routinely on cattle and generally live very easy lives. Under more natural circumstances they probably wouldn't be so big and bulky. I'm more interested in the jaguars which persist on wild prey like peccaries and tapirs, these are the true jaguars IMO. In the Paraguayan Chaco which is adjacent to the Pantanal, jaguars live on an entirely natural diet and the average weight of 8 adult males there was 88.5kg. Same genetics but no easy prey.
thank you Chui! 148 is too much even for a freak specimen ..with an empy stomach.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ntwadumela
Member Avatar
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image
First time I see a wild jaguar preying on an anaconda (in this case is a yellow anaconda).
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

El Jefe, only wild jaguar in US, captured on video in Arizona

Posted about 4 hours ago



The first publicly released video of the only known wild jaguar in the United States has provided a rare glimpse into the life of the endangered creature.

The rare cat, named El Jefe, which means "the boss" in Spanish, was captured on remote sensor cameras in the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona by the Conservation CATalyst and the Centre for Biological Diversity.

Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate with the centre, said it was a "big thrill" to know the "amazing cat" was "right out there".

"El Jefe has been living more or less in our backyard for more than three years now. It's our job to make sure that his home is protected and he can get what he needs to survive," he said in a statement.

The male cat has been photographed in the Santa Ritas over the past few years, but this is the first time footage has been released.

"Studying these elusive cats anywhere is extremely difficult, but following the only known individual in the US is especially challenging," said Chris Bugbee, a biologist with Conservation CATalyst.

"We use our specially-trained scat detection dog and spent three years tracking in rugged mountains, collecting data and refining camera sites; these videos represent the peak of our efforts."

Aletris Neils, executive director of Conservation CATalyst, said the video would help researchers unlock "the mysteries of these cryptic cats".

"We are able to determine he is an adult male jaguar, currently in prime condition. Every new piece of information is important for conserving northern jaguars and we look forward to building upon on these data so that we can collectively make better decisions on how to manage these fascinating and endangered cats," he said.

The Centre for Biological Diversity hopes El Jefe will soon be joined by more jaguars that wander up from Mexico.

He is the last verified wild jaguar in the country. The last wild female jaguar was shot by a hunter in 1963 in Arizona's Mogollon Rim.

Jaguars are the third-largest cats in the world after tigers and lions.

They have disappeared from their US range over the past 150 years, primarily due to habitat loss.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/footage-captures-wild-jaguar-in-arizona-el-jefe/7139760
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ManEater
Member Avatar
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Jaguar and dolphin, don't know if it is predation or scavenging:

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]

First record of jaguar predation on giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

Article (PDF Available) in Animal Biology 65(1):81-86 · March 2015 with 182 Reads

Abstract
Top of the food chain predators are often not predated upon. However, even though the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is in that category, the literature mentions many species as potential predators, including the jaguar (Panthera onca). Notwithstanding up until now there has been no registered confirmation of jaguar predation on giant otters. A predation of a jaguar on an adult female giant otter was recorded for the first time during our radio-telemetry study on giant otters in Balbina hydroelectric reservoir in Central Brazilian Amazon. The female had had a transmitter implanted on February 2012 and was killed by a jaguar ninety-four days after the surgery. This giant otter was a solitary specimen, which was captured by a jaguar while asleep in a shelter under a fallen tree trunk on the banks of one of the reservoir’s islands. The solitary pattern found in such individuals combined with the frequent use of shelters, allows predators to access them more easily and may have contributed to the predation observed in this study.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273131102_First_record_of_jaguar_predation_on_giant_otter_Pteronura_brasiliensis
acta ethologica ISSN 0873-9749 acta etholDOI 10.1007/s10211-016-0233-4

Jaguar mobbing by giant otter groupsCaroline Leuchtenberger, SamaraBezerra Almeida, Artur Andriolo &Peter G.Crawshawacta ethologica

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292589966_Jaguar_mobbing_by_giant_otter_groups
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

Jaguar scat study suggests restricted movement in areas of conservation importance in Mesoamerica
Noninvasive genetic survey on wild Mesoamerican jaguars is largest of its kind, reveals conservation priority


Date: October 26, 2016
Source: American Museum of Natural History

Posted Image
A photo of "Junior," a jaguar conservation ambassador at the Belize Zoo.
Credit: © Claudia Wultsch

A research group led by the American Museum of Natural History and global wild cat conservation organization Panthera has published the largest gene-based survey of its kind on wild jaguar populations in Mesoamerica. The analysis, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is based on nearly 450 jaguar scat samples collected in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. This work identifies areas of conservation concern for Mesoamerican jaguars and underscores the importance of large-scale genetic monitoring efforts when prioritizing conservation and management efforts for this near-threatened, and elusive, carnivore species.

"Mesoamerica has one of the highest deforestation rates worldwide, potentially limiting movement and genetic connectivity in forest-dependent jaguars across this fragmented landscape. Large-scale conservation genetics studies on wild jaguars spanning across several range countries assessing these threats are rare and suffer from low sample sizes for this region," said Claudia Wultsch, the lead author of the paper, a scientist in the Museum's Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, and a conservation research fellow at Panthera. "Over the last 100 years, jaguars in Mesoamerica have been pushed out from more than 77 percent of their historic range."

To get a better idea of the genetic health and connectivity of jaguar populations in this area and the effectiveness of the existing wildlife corridors (i.e., stretches of habitat that facilitate movement between local populations), the researchers turned to DNA obtained from field-collected jaguar scat.

This non-invasive technique lets researchers gather large DNA sample sizes of difficult-to-study wildlife species, such as big cats, without physically capturing, handling, or disturbing the animals. Since these samples quickly degrade in the warm and humid conditions of the tropical countries, however, a great deal of laboratory work has to be done to successfully analyze the DNA.

"We believe that these jaguars were once continuously distributed over the whole landscape of Mesoamerica, but human activity has resulted in smaller populations that are isolated from other groups," said George Amato, director of the Museum's Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and the paper's senior author. "We want to know whether this fragmentation is resulting in reduced gene flow or inbreeding or other things that might be detrimental to the animals. But most importantly, we want to figure out ways to reconnect these populations or, even if they're not completely isolated, to engage in activities that allow jaguars to move more freely across the landscape. One of the only ways to do this is through genetic analysis."

The researchers analyzed DNA from 115 individual jaguars spread across five Mesoamerican countries. Overall, they found moderate levels of genetic variation in the jaguars, with the lowest diversity in Mexico, followed by Honduras. Low levels of genetic diversity could decrease reproductive fitness and resistance to disease, and generally lower animals' potential to adapt to a changing environment.

When assessing genetic connectivity in Mesoamerican jaguars, the scientists found low levels of gene flow between jaguars in the Selva Maya -- the largest contiguous tropical forest north of the Amazon, spreading over northern Guatemala, central Belize, and southern Mexico -- and those in Honduras. This suggests that there is limited jaguar movement between these two areas, which is somewhat surprising since they are so geographically close. Although more data are needed to fill gaps in the study, the authors say that the region connecting these sites faces rapid land-cover changes, which have severely increased over the last two decades, putting remaining stepping-stone habitats for jaguars at further risk. This region represents a conservation priority and the authors recommend continued management and maintenance of jaguar corridors and mitigation of jaguars' main threats (e.g., human-wildlife conflict).

"Large-scale conservation strategies such as Panthera's Jaguar Corridor Initiative, which are instrumental to protect broadly distributed species such as jaguars, maintain their connectivity, and by doing so to ensure their long-term survival, need to incorporate genetic monitoring of wild populations to fully understand how these species respond to environmental changes and increasing levels of human impacts," Wultsch said.

Story Source: American Museum of Natural History. "Jaguar scat study suggests restricted movement in areas of conservation importance in Mesoamerica: Noninvasive genetic survey on wild Mesoamerican jaguars is largest of its kind, reveals conservation priority." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161026151152.htm (accessed October 31, 2016).




Journal Reference:
Claudia Wultsch, Anthony Caragiulo, Isabela Dias-Freedman, Howard Quigley, Salisa Rabinowitz, George Amato. Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Mesoamerican Jaguars (Panthera onca): Implications for Conservation and Management. PLOS ONE, 2016; 11 (10): e0162377 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162377

Abstract
Mesoamerican jaguars (Panthera onca) have been extirpated from over 77% of their historic range, inhabiting fragmented landscapes at potentially reduced population sizes. Maintaining and restoring genetic diversity and connectivity across human-altered landscapes has become a major conservation priority; nonetheless large-scale genetic monitoring of natural populations is rare. This is the first regional conservation genetic study of jaguars to primarily use fecal samples collected in the wild across five Mesoamerican countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. We genotyped 445 jaguar fecal samples and examined patterns of genetic diversity and connectivity among 115 individual jaguars using data from 12 microsatellite loci. Overall, moderate levels of genetic variation were detected (NA = 4.50 ± 1.05, AR = 3.43 ± 0.22, HE = 0.59 ± 0.04), with Mexico having the lowest genetic diversity, followed by Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Costa Rica. Population-based gene flow measures (FST = 0.09 to 0.15, Dest = 0.09 to 0.21), principal component analysis, and Bayesian clustering applied in a hierarchical framework revealed significant genetic structure in Mesoamerican jaguars, roughly grouping individuals into four genetic clusters with varying levels of admixture. Gene flow was highest among Selva Maya jaguars (northern Guatemala and central Belize), whereas genetic differentiation among all other sampling sites was moderate. Genetic subdivision was most pronounced between Selva Maya and Honduran jaguars, suggesting limited jaguar movement between these close geographic regions and ultimately refuting the hypothesis of contemporary panmixia. To maintain a critical linkage for jaguars dispersing through the Mesoamerican landscape and ensure long-term viability of this near threatened species, we recommend continued management and maintenance of jaguar corridors. The baseline genetic data provided by this study underscores the importance of understanding levels of genetic diversity and connectivity to making informed management and conservation decisions with the goal to maintain functional connectivity across the region.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0162377
Attached to this post:
Attached File Genetic_Diversity_and_Population_Structure_of_Mesoamerican_Jaguars__Panthera_onca___Implications_for_Conservation_and_Management.pdf (2.96 MB)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
animalkingdom
Member Avatar
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
chui
May 24 2015, 07:01 AM
Hey Kurtz, the capture of that male was caught on video which can be seen on youtube. In it Guy Balme clearly says the huge male had just eaten and was as a result 'fat' but was not overly gorged. Therefore while this was still an absolute monster jag this was not an empty stomach weight (maybe 130-140kg empty stomach). Any jaguar over 130kg should be considered exceptional based on tons of data available on this cat's size.



The weight was taken as 315lbs (142kg) but appearently the head was being held so it was recalculated as 148kg afterwards. GauteGojjra from the AVA board contacted Dr. Cavalcanti and recieved this info.

Posted Image

It should be borne in mind that these huge swamp jaguars from the Pantanal (and Llanos) prey routinely on cattle and generally live very easy lives. Under more natural circumstances they probably wouldn't be so big and bulky. I'm more interested in the jaguars which persist on wild prey like peccaries and tapirs, these are the true jaguars IMO. In the Paraguayan Chaco which is adjacent to the Pantanal, jaguars live on an entirely natural diet and the average weight of 8 adult males there was 88.5kg. Same genetics but no easy prey.
It was probably close to 130 kg or its range empty stomach,still in jaguar weight range of maximum but still a huge jaguar.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
chui
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
animalkingdom
Nov 1 2016, 11:31 PM
chui
May 24 2015, 07:01 AM
Hey Kurtz, the capture of that male was caught on video which can be seen on youtube. In it Guy Balme clearly says the huge male had just eaten and was as a result 'fat' but was not overly gorged. Therefore while this was still an absolute monster jag this was not an empty stomach weight (maybe 130-140kg empty stomach). Any jaguar over 130kg should be considered exceptional based on tons of data available on this cat's size.


It was probably close to 130 kg or its range empty stomach,still in jaguar weight range of maximum but still a huge jaguar.
The following additional information on this exceptional jaguar may be of interest to some readers. A little while ago I had emailed Rafael Hoogesteijn to enquire about some details pertaining to measurements of jaguar skulls he has published. The conversation led to the above mentioned jaguar which as noted before is probably the heaviest reliably documented specimen of this species. Prof Hoogesteijn was part of the team which captured this huge male and according to him the stomach content of this specimen at the time of weighing can be estimated at 10-15kg. Therefore the empty stomach weight was likely in the 133-138kg range (more or less about 300lb).

As anyone familiar with research on jaguars would know, Rafael Hoogesteijn is a leading authority on the subject and in particular has published the most extensive scientific data on the size and measurements of this species. It is largely due to his efforts as well those of professional hunter Tony Almeida that we have such extensive and complete data on the weights and body/skull measurements of the large Pantanal and Llanos jaguars.

Email from Rafael Hoogesteijn regarding the weight of this huge jaguar.
Posted Image

Photo of Prof. Hoogesteijn with this jaguar sedated.
Posted Image


There are also some claimed weights of around 140-150kg reported by hunters but the reliability of these is uncertain and where some indication of stomach content is given they appear to have come from fully gorged specimens. Tony Almeida who recorded very detailed measurements of a large number of adult male jaguars hunted in the Pantanal states in his 1976 book - “no jaguar anywhere will ever weigh more than 130 kilos with empty belly, or 150 kilos gorged”. I think he may have been a tad bit too conservative here but I think barring some exceptions this is generally true. My opinion is that in a given (homogeneous) big cat population, the biggest males would be about 30% heavier than the adult male mean weight for that population with very rare exceptions. Thus at around 135kg empty stomach, the above mentioned male can certainly be considered an exceptional specimen IMO.

Also, the maximum weight sometimes stated as 350lb (~160kg) in some reference books is unsubstantiated as far as I'm aware. It appears to come from the claims of Sasha Siemel, a famous hunter who published sensationalized accounts of jaguar hunting.
Edited by chui, Nov 7 2016, 04:04 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create a free forum in seconds.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Feline · Next Topic »
Add Reply