Please Help Jaguars

33 out of 34 jaguar subpopulations are Critically Endangered or Endangered. Unable to defend themselves against constant human destruction, they are creeping closer to extinction every single day.

Logging is rapidly destroying their precious habitat, and these beautiful big cats are falling fast. The global jaguar population is thought to have dropped by a shocking 20-25% over just three generations.

We’re their only hope, and without action soon, we could lose them forever.

Your gift today will help give these beautiful big cats the protection they need to live and breed safely, keeping them away from those who would flatten their homes or shoot them for their skins.

So please, donate today and help save jaguars

In the forests of Central America, almost nothing can rival the raw power of the jaguar. These incredible big cats have the strongest bite of any cat on the planet and can travel around 10km per night while hunting.

As the top predator in the area, there’s little that could hold a candle to them. However, to feed their huge bulk requires a decent meal, so they will eat every chance they get – their distinctive rosettes helping them to hide perfectly in the undergrowth. On top of all this strength, camouflage and stealth, they are great swimmers too.

But when facing our modern world, all those powers are useless. The main threats to jaguars are loss of habitat; agricultural expansion and logging, each of which are decimating the homes of the remaining jaguars in the wild. Jaguars are an incredible pillar of the rainforest, but they need a large space to hunt, breed and roam, and this is where the problems begin…

Logging is usually found in areas next to roads through the forest, and usually occurs as a result of economic deprivation. Unsanctioned, unmanaged and often downright dangerous tree felling eats away at the forest where it is most vulnerable. The incisions into a forest caused by a major road rapidly widens over time, as more opportunists enter the area. All of this results in less and less area for jaguars to live and hunt.

Agriculture poses a similar threat combined with an additional problem – cattle are grazed close to the boundaries of jaguar territory, providing easy temptation for these powerful predators looking for their next meal. This can lead to human-wildlife conflict as farmers take steps to retaliate against livestock deaths.

Sadly, it doesn’t stop there. There is also a demand for jaguar paws, teeth and other products, especially in local markets. In a terrifying twist, jaguar bone is also starting to be considered a replacement for tiger bone among users of traditional medicine. This must be stopped in its tracks before it’s too late.

These forests are the jaguars’ only home; it is vital that we do what we can to protect them.

FFI is helping to protect jaguars using three main strategies – habitat protection, regular patrols and population monitoring – through our work to protect important forest habitat in countries such as Belize.

Habitat protection

By ensuring the protection of vital forest habitat through regular patrols and monitoring, we can help to reduce harmful logging activity. Having a protected area in which these big cats can feed and reproduce is critically important in maintaining jaguar populations. Your regular donation could help pay for GPS equipment, a vital tool for rangers.

Regular patrols

Regular patrols help to reduce illegal hunting of the jaguars and the destruction of the forest, because the presence of rangers acts as a strong deterrent. Your regular donation could help pay for a biodiversity surveys, meaning we can target the areas most at threat.

Population monitoring

Jaguars are apex predators, and their abundance reflects the overall health of the forest. The more ecologically intact the forest, the greater the number of jaguars it can support. Your regular donation could help to pay for camera traps, so we can monitor vulnerable species, and identify where they most need our help.