Ground-truthing the Nicaraguan Jaguar

Panthera's February Newsletter is out, with some exciting news for them. They're reporting the first Panthera camera trap photo of a jaguar taken in Nicaragua. You can see their photo here. Ground-truthing is providing verification of the existence of a species whose populations have not been carefully observed and studied. Camera traps are extremely helpful to conservation science.

After decades of decline and without a documented sighting for over 15 years, it was thought that jaguars were extinct in western Nicaragua. Thanks to the camera traps set up by Paso Pacifico intern Robert Alexander Euwe, a graduate student in wildlife management, the male jaguar pictured below busted that myth in 2010.

In August of 2010, our intern, Robert Alexander Euwe, caught this jaguar in a camera trap in the Paso del Istmo, where we work on the Pacifico slop of Nicaragua. Not only do camera traps provide undeniable evidence of jaguars' presence in western Nicaragua, establishing the importance of Paso del Istmo as a migratory corridor, their unique pelt markings allow biologists to identify individual members of the species.

You can learn more about our jaguar conservation program here. Or read our other blog posts on jaguars here.

Congratulations to Panthera!