The Third National Census for Jaguar Conservation yielded encouraging figures, estimating a population of 5,326 jaguars, representing a 10% increase.
A mother walking with her two young cubs in Sian Ka’an, Quintana Roo, or a male climbing a tree with a prey he had caught for lunch in Calakmul, Campeche, are two of the most powerful images revealed by the Third National Census for Jaguar Conservation.
In total, the 2024 survey, conducted from February to July, estimated a population of 5,326 jaguars (Panthera onca) in Mexico, representing a 10% increase compared to the 2018 count and a 23% increase compared to the 2010 estimate.
Where Do They Live?
Dr. Gerardo Ceballos, president of the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ), emphasized that the results confirmed the presence of this emblematic endangered species in all its historical distribution areas.
In an interview with Excélsior, he explained that jaguars are found from Sonora to Chiapas on the Pacific coast and from Tamaulipas to Tabasco and the Yucatán Peninsula on the Gulf coast, as well as throughout the Central Zone and the Sierra Madre Oriental.
A big surprise was finding a significant number of jaguars in Nuevo León or jaguars in the Sierra de Guerrero and in places like San Luis Potosí,” he explained.
The researcher, also a senior researcher at the UNAM Institute of Ecology, revealed that a total of 134 individuals were captured in the 920 camera traps—activated by motion sensors—placed simultaneously in 23 sites across 16 states of Mexico: 47 males, 67 females, 12 unidentified individuals, and eight cubs, which served as the basis for the 2024 population estimate.
The estimates are extremely reliable, as the best statistical and mathematical models were used to determine the number of jaguars in Mexico.
The work primarily involves collecting field samples and classifying the monitoring sites by altitude, vegetation type, and other aspects of the physical and biological environment, to extrapolate the findings to all areas of the country with similar characteristics. Never before have so many sites in Mexico been analyzed. “This is a census, and this is one of the most solid efforts on the planet,” he stated.
A total of 134 specimens were captured. Photo: National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ)
Dr. Ceballos emphasized that although most of the specimens identified are adults, there was also a significant presence of cubs, which means the species is reproducing.
He maintained that with the growth rate shown between the 2010, 2018, and 2024 censuses, it will take more than 30 years to increase the population to 8,000 individuals and for the jaguar to move from the most vulnerable category in the country.
He commented that according to the results, 70 percent of the sites where jaguars live in Mexico are located outside of protected natural areas, so it is necessary to conserve large areas of territory, ecosystems, and all the biological diversity comprised of endangered animals seen in camera traps, such as the tapir, the white-lipped peccary, and carnivores like ocelots and margays.
He indicated that these natural spaces are extremely important for humans because they provide us with environmental services that we would not have without jaguars: oxygen, water, and the pollination of 70 percent of the crops we grow.
The president of the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation noted that some of the reserves with the largest number of jaguars are Calakmul, Gran Calakmul, Balam Kú, and Balam Kin, in the Yucatán Peninsula; Montes Azules, in Chiapas; Sierra del Abra Tanchipa, in San Luis Potosí; Chamela-Cuixmala, in Jalisco, and Sierra de Vallejo-Río Ameca, in Nayarit.
According to estimates from the Third National Census for Jaguar Conservation, the Yucatán Peninsula region is the biological corridor with the highest number of specimens of the species (1,699), followed by the South Pacific region (1,541), the Northeast-Central region (813), the North Pacific region (733), and the Central Pacific region (540).
Humberto Adán Peña, Director of Liaison with State Governments for the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation, revealed that three key factors have allowed the largest feline in the Americas to increase its population in Mexico over the last six years.
First, the resilience and adaptability of jaguars to coexist with humans in different types of ecosystems.
He said that secondly, Mexico has one of the most important jaguar conservation policies in the world, with protection and care programs in place since 2010.
The Director of Liaison with State Governments for the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation added that the third component is the consolidation of a culture of jaguar conservation in communities to prevent illegal hunting, avoid land-use changes, and increase knowledge of the species through studies conducted by academia and civil society.
In this regard, Humberto Adán Peña highlighted the participation of 49 researchers and the ejidos and communities that own the land, which were instrumental in providing access and logistics for the Third National Census for Jaguar Conservation.
Finally, he concluded that with the results obtained, recommendations will be sent to the three levels of government, with an emphasis on local governments where there are healthy and viable populations of the species, to avoid risks associated with infrastructure construction, loss of vegetation cover, or human-jaguar conflicts.
Source: Excelsior
