Two jaguar cubs were born in February in El Impenetrable National Park as a result of the second meeting between the captive female Tania and one of the last wild jaguars in the Chaco, Qaramta, and they joined the project to recover the species, the Rewilding Foundation reported Thursday, which works to confront and reverse the extinction of species and environmental degradation.
The reproduction was achieved from a work between the Administration of National Parks, the Government of Chaco and the Foundation.
“The return of the jaguar aims to recover the health of the Chaco mountain and also revitalize the communities around the El Impenetrable National Park,” said the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Juan Cabandié, according to the statement released by the NGO.
In this sense, “we are also working on expanding the capacity of the campsite on the banks of the Bermejo river and in the development of a tourist circuit called Huella del Impenetrable along the Bermejito river”, added.
Two jaguar cubs were born within the Esteros del Iberá, in the province of Corrientes, announced the Rewilding Argentina Foundation and it is the third native litter in that ecosystem pic.twitter.com/Nv7fm5bYEJ
– Telam Agency (@AgenciaTelam) January 18, 2021
Born around February 2, 2023, when the mother secluded herself in her burrow, the second meeting had resulted in three pups, but “unfortunately, one of them, the smallest, died a few days after being born, something that usually happens in nature”, they explained from the Foundation.
The hatchlings, which may be released in the future, “They bring hope for the recovery of the jaguar in the Chaco”, indicated.
The situation of the jaguar in Argentina is “critical”, warned from Rewilding, and called to “make active and bold decisions that make it possible to recover the remaining populations and enrich and contribute to their genetic variability.”
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest cat in the American continent, the males weigh up to 140 kilos, and it is categorized as “Critically Endangered” in Argentina, the organization specified, mainly due to “hunting, decreased abundance of their prey and the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat “, they added.
With an estimated population between 200 and 250 individuals, the species “occupies less than 5% of its historical range in Argentina,” they added.
Takajay and Nalá, the two puppies that Tania and Qaramta had in 2021, they already live in independent pens and they continue to grow “healthy” in El Impenetrable National Park until they can be released, they said.
“Today, Qaramta sired seven jaguars thanks to these active management actions of big cats, like crossing a captive female with a wild male, something that had never been done before in the world,” said the conservation coordinator of the El Impenetrable project of Rewilding Argentina, Gerardo Cerón.
“There are no known recent records of females in the Argentine Chaco” and, therefore, “the only possibility that Qaramta reproduces, perpetuates its genes and contributes to increasing the population of its species in that region is taking captive females,” they added.
The birth of the young will benefit the jaguar and the integrity and health of the entire ecosystem, They considered from the organization, because “the progressive return of the top predator recovers ecological interactions”, something “key” for its proper functioning.
At the same time, “Healthy natural ecosystems contribute to alleviating the environmental crises suffered by the planet, like global climate change and wildfires,” they said.
Rewilding Argentina organized a public vote available on its social networks to choose the names of new puppies.
The options they spread are Aviaq (which means ‘mountain’ in the Qom language) or Quiyoc (‘yaguareté’ in Qom) for one of the young; and Criollo or Overo (another of the names used to refer to the jaguar), for the other, concluded.
