Jaguars

A jaguar in Iberá Park, Argentina. Image courtesy of Sebastián Navajas/JRI.

It is so nice to announce some good news!  In 2025, several organizations officially came together to form the Jaguar Rivers Initiative, to restore, reconnect and protect ecosystems in the Paraná River Basin.  The Basin is found in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia.  These organizations are: Rewilding Argentina, Brazil’s Onçafari, Bolivia’s Nativa, and the Moises Bertoni Foundation in Paraguay.

These organizations are protecting approximately 13,500 mi², an area roughly the size of Taiwan. They have reintroduced 13 species and fostered the participation of more than 10,000 local people in nature-based economies.

In addition to jaguars, giant river otters and maned wolfs, reintroduced species include the South American tapir, the lowland paca, the Pampas deer, and the collared peccary.

As I am a big fan of jaguars, I am glad that these groups are working to protect breeding populations and create wildlife corridors that allow the big cats to hunt, find water, and mate — and to escape from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.