Thanks to an inter-institutional effort between national, provincial organizations and civil society organizations dedicated to the protection and recovery of the female jaguar, Acaí is now in freedom, exploring the Chaco forests protected by the National Park.
The National Parks Administration (APN), the Rewilding Argentina Foundation (FRA), and the Province of Chaco jointly carried out the release of Acaí this past October 5th in the El Impenetrable National Park.
This female jaguar (Panthera onca) is the fifth to be released as part of the species supplementation project in this protected area.
Acaí was born in the wild state within the Iberá National Park, in the wetlands of Corrientes. She is half-sister to Miní —another female that already lives freely in El Impenetrable— as they both share the same father, Jatobazinho.
This action is part of the strategy for the population recovery of the jaguar in the Argentine Gran Chaco, a project driven by the APN and the FRA with the support of the provincial government.
The release event was attended by prominent figures, including the national director of Conservation of the APN, Anabel Fossi; the president of the Chaco Tourism Institute, Verónica Mazzaroli; and the mayor of El Impenetrable National Park, Daniel Rouvier.
Also present were the president of Tompkins Conservation, Kristine Tompkins, and the executive director of FRA, Sofía Heinonen, who were accompanied by other provincial authorities, park rangers, and the technical teams of the Park and the Foundation.
After the opening of the guillotine-type gate of her enclosure, Acaí went out to the forest late in the afternoon. There she joined Keraná, Nalá, Miní, and Quiyoc, the other four females that already live freely in the Park.
The purpose of her release is to increase the chances of reproduction with the wild males in the area and, in this way, continue strengthening the dwindling jaguar population of the Chaco region, both in the number of individuals and in genetic diversity.
This new release represents another step in the joint commitment to the conservation of the jaguar and the ecological restoration of the ecosystems of the Gran Chaco, consolidating the articulated work between the national organizations, provincial and civil society organizations dedicated to the protection of biodiversity.
