Jaguar conservation sees growth in Argentina and female decline in Brazil's Amazon

A reintroduction program in Argentina’s Esteros del Iberá wetland has raised the free‑living jaguar population to 33 individuals by the end of 2024. The effort, begun in 2021 with eight adults released from a captive breeding core, now includes wild‑born offspring and demonstrates that the species can sustain itself without permanent confinement.

A long‑term study in Brazil’s Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, covering 17 years of camera‑trap data, found a 77% reduction in the density of female jaguars between 2005 and 2022, while male density increased. The overall number of jaguars remained stable, but the skewed sex ratio threatens local reproduction and long‑term population viability.