GPS collars placed on two wild jaguars in Nayarit

A multidisciplinary team of conservationists managed to place GPS collars on two jaguars (Panthera onca) in the “La Papalota” Area Voluntarily Designated for Conservation in Santiago Ixcuintla to learn more about their way of life and find the best strategies to conserve the feline in this area of Nayarit.

The captured specimens included a male and a female, which were fitted with satellite tracking collars to learn their movements, home range, and habitat use in a landscape highly altered by human activities.

The jaguars were captured in this reserve, property of the Vallarta Chan family, between February 20^th and March 1^st of this year by personnel of the “La Papalota Ecological Farm”, the international organization “Primero Conservation”, the “Jaguares sin proteccion” project coordinators, professors and students from the Autonomous University of Nayarit (UAN), and residents of the surrounding communities.

The capture was made using “matzos” -a system of steel cables with swiveling mechanisms and springs affixed to the floor with bolts- placed in areas of the animal’s passage. After each animal’s capture, it was anesthetized to place the collar and take its measurements and biological samples. This capture technique is one of those recommended in the “Protocol of Attention to Wild Jaguars in Mexico: Capture and Relocation,” and was carried out with Mexican wild cat management specialists and with permission SGPA/DGVS/002577/18.

The jaguars were released after the procedure and their sound physical condition was verified three days later as their photographs were taken with trap cameras and satellite positions. This activity was part of the “Ecology and Conservation of the Jaguar (Panthera onca) and its potential prey outside of the Natural Protected Areas of Nayarit” project and was financed by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), whose technical manager is Victor H. Luja, a professor of UAN.

Since 2016, Pronatura Noroeste has collaborated with La Papalota Ecological Farm to install trap cameras on the site to document and monitor the presence of jaguars and other mammals. The conservation efforts are complemented with an educational program about the species.