Jaguar (Panthera onca)
About Jaguars
This content will include a relatively brief overview of the species' ecology, distribution, ecological status, management status, etc.
News
FOR RANCHERS IN COSTA RICA, JAGUARS AND PUMAS BECOME UNEXPECTED ALLIES [MONGABAY - OCTOBER 3, 2024]
Commentary by Tom Skeele, CCC
Posted on October 15, 2024
This story is yet another example of how promoting coexistence with predators, or all wildlife for that matter, remains a critical, cutting-edge strategy in the global wildlife conservation community. And here is the backstory on why I enjoy reading about such efforts.
In 1991, when I co-founded Predator Conservation Alliance (PCA), the question was “if” some of the larger carnivores would be able to fulfill their critical role in the natural world of the U.S. Northern Rockies. For wolves, it was a question of if we were going to allow for their return to all corners of the five-state region. For grizzly bears, the question was not only if they would survive where they existed, but would they be allowed to thrive throughout the region.
During the next decade or so, PCA joined with many advocacy organizations to secure the reestablishment of wolves and expansion of grizzly bears in the region. This success led to a shift in how we viewed the long-term viability of these species in the region. No longer was it a question of “if” they would be on the land. Increasingly, the question was “how” were we going to live, or
coexistence, with these animals now that they were on the land.
This shift inspired PCA to launch a “Coexisting with Predators” program, where we addressed four existing or emerging types of human-carnivore conflict: [1] Livestock: grazing and other agricultural pursuits; [2] Residential: reducing residential attractants at the “urban-wildlands interface”; [3] Human Safety: living and recreating in predator country; and [4] Hunting: competition and conflicts between hunters and predators.
While leading the design and implementation of this new program, I was also a co-founder of Predator Friendly, Inc. – a coalition of sheep producers, conservationists, wildlife ecologists, and clothing manufacturers developing a “green market” certification program for woolgrowers using non-lethal predator control practices. As I mentioned in another recent post, this project was one of the initial efforts that led to what is now a worldwide "wildlife friendly" movement.
Fast forward to today and it is very encouraging to see how coexisting with wildlife has become a leading focus of the global conservation community. Enough so that within the rewilding movement, many advocates – including The Rewilding Institute, with whom I work part time – have expanded the original “three C’s” of rewilding (cores, connectivity, carnivores) to include a fourth “C” – coexistence.
All this leads me to want to share this article about the work being done by Panthera, Costa Rican conservation authorities, and ranchers in Costa Rica.
Photo Credit: from Mongabay article.