Ensenada, Baja California, December 7, 2016.- In order to protect the felines that inhabit Nayarit, Pronatura Noroeste (PNO), with the support of the National Commission of Protected Areas (Conanp), carries out constant monitoring to learn more about the Jaguar and the Ocelot. According to Mauricio Cortés, Director of PNO’s Endangered Species Recovery Program, the possibility of monitoring is a privilege: “From the biological point of view, every day is a different and exciting experience; there are very charismatic and beautiful species in the mangrove zone of the Marismas Nacionales Biosphere Reserve and extraordinary marine species within the Isla Isabel and Islas Marietas National Parks,” he commented.
To obtain information on these mammals, camera traps are placed that allow us to know the state of the populations, what they feed on, the health of the organisms, where they are located during the months of the year, and how the populations of both the Ocelot and the Jaguar are growing; Cortés emphasized: “Let’s remember that the latter is in danger of extinction as established by the Mexican Official Norm NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010”.
This work is possible thanks to the collaboration with other civil society organizations and companies; such is the case of the “La Papalota” farm where, together with PNO, 350 hectares are monitored in the municipality of Santiago Ixcuintla, and in the municipality of San Blas, with the support of CONANP, around 5,000 hectares are monitored in the mangrove zone, commented biologist Cortés.
Pronatura Noroeste promotes the conservation and sustainable use of priority ecosystems shared by plants, animals, and almost 15 million people in northwestern Mexico. This includes 18 Natural Protected Areas, covering 11.3 million hectares and the most representative portions of Mexican territory in this region.
For the above, this organization received last December 4, from the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, the 2016 Ecological Merit Award in the Community Social category; this award recognizes more than two decades of work of this association, which includes more than 150 projects in 8 states, 22 protected natural areas and 25 watersheds, as well as more than 300 thousand hectares protected under various private conservation schemes.
