A jaguar was born (Panthera onca) in Argentinian Chaco and the news is being celebrated with enthusiasm. It reveals that the jaguar has reproduced again in this northern region of the country after more than 30 years.
It is highly significant news for the conservation of this species that is critically endangered.
The sighting occurred on July 30 by the guides Pablo Luna and Darío Soraire, on the banks of the Bermejo River, within the El Impenetrable National Park, a protected area of high value.
A jaguar was born in Chaco: “It was a wonderful day”
“It was a wonderful day for me, I was extremely lucky to see Nalá (mother) with her cub on the banks of the Bermejo River,” said Soraire, who spotted the felines from a boat.
Nalá is a female who was born in captivity and was released on August 18, 2024 as part of the reintroduction program led by the Rewilding Argentina Foundation, together with the Government of the Chaco province and the National Parks Administration.
Since February, the Foundation’s technicians suspected that Nalá had given birth, based on the movements of the monitoring collar and camera trap records. However, it was only confirmed after the recent sighting of the cub, estimated to be about five months old.
This milestone occurs in a region where female jaguars had not been detected since 1990. Nalá is the daughter of Tania and Qaramta, a wild male discovered in 2019, born in the enclosures of the reintroduction center located in the heart of the park.
How they detected the new jaguar in Chaco
The observation is even more relevant as it was made by local guides trained in the ecological restoration process.
Luna, originally from La Armonía, in El Impenetrable, and his family lead tourism ventures in the area, an example of how conservation can generate a new sustainable economy.
The jaguar is the largest feline in America, measuring over two meters in length, with males weighing up to 120 kilograms.
This animal inhabits from the southwest of the United States to the banks of the Río Negro in Argentina, but has disappeared from much of the Argentine territory. That is why it is considered an endangered species in both this country and neighboring Brazil.
Hunting, the main problem for jaguar recovery
Hunting is the main problem for jaguar recovery. The largest feline on the continent is in critical danger of extinction. For this reason, numerous conservation and reproduction tasks are carried out in the country and the region.
In the last two centuries, the jaguar has lost 95% of its original territory due to hunting and habitat alterations.
