Jaguar population status in Argentina

DI BITETTI, M. S.; DE ANGELO, C. D.; QUIROGA, V. A.; ALTRICHTER, M.; PAVIOLO, A.; CUYCKENS, G. A. E.; BOAGLIO, G.; PEROVIC, P.

Mérida

Encuentro; Reunión Internacional sobre el Estado Actual de las Poblaciones del Jaguar; 2009

Depatamento de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

We describe the population status of jaguars in Argentina. We also describe the main threats that affect jaguars and their prey, and the main protected areas on which the future of the species in this country depends. To estimate the area and plot the current distribution of the jaguar in Argentina, we used presence data from different sources obtained between 1998 and 2009. We used the Kernel density estimator using Hawth's Analysis Tools (version 3.27), to estimate the 99% volume contour of the distribution and density of presence data. We used a 25 km smoothing factor, giving more weight to more recent records. We review current knowledge on the status and conservation of the different remnant jaguar populations of Argentina. Based on available knowledge on the population status of jaguars we estimate that there are currently no more than 200 adult individuals of this species in Argentina, living in three relatively isolated populations throughout six provinces: less than 40 in the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, about 130 in the Yungas ecoregion and probably no more than 20 in the Chaco ecoregion. The whole current jaguar population of Argentina represents less than 1% of the mean historic population of about 35.000 individuals that we estimate may have lived in this country a few hundred years ago. It is very important to have a better knowledge of the jaguar population status in the Chaco and the Yungas ecoregion and to monitor the trends of the three populations. A population viability analysis conducted for the Atlantic Forest population suggests that, if poaching of jaguars and their prey is not reduced, this felid has high chances (>90%) of becoming locally extinct within the next 50 years. Our current knowledge suggests that the jaguar is threated of extinction in Argentina and may dissapear within the next few decades if conservation measures are not implemented to revert current population trends.