Panthera onca
The Jaguar has been re-introduced to the Ibeta marshes. It is a very involved project run by Conservation Land Trust (Re-wilding Argentina), which has been ongoing since 2010. The project currently now has around a dozen free-roaming individuals.
The project is now quite advanced, and for sure we will see Jaguars at our reserve in the near future.
The Jaguar is the largest big cat in the Americas and ranks third in size globally after the Lion. It is considered NT according the IUCN redllist and its numbers are declining rapidly due to loss of habitat. It also frequently comes into conflict with cattle ranchers and is illegally shot.
It is highly muscled and stocky and has spots covering its coat that resemble those of the African Leopard. It usually weighs between 50-100kg although larger males have been recorded. It is a good swimmer and thus likes marshes and other water bodies. It is also a good climber and spends most of its tiime alone except when breeding or raising cubs which like most mammals is attended to by the female.
