JAGUAR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN MEXICO Ceballos, Chávez, LIST, ZARZA, MEDELLÍN JAGUAR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN MEXICO CASE STUDIES AND PERSPECTIVES GERARDO CEBALLOS, CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, RURIK LIST, HELIOT ZARZA, RODRIGO A. MEDELLÍN EDITORS
JAGUAR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN MEXICO CASE STUDIES AND PERSPECTIVES GERARDO CEBALLOS, CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, RURIK LIST, HELIOT ZARZA, RODRIGO A. MEDELLÍN EDITORS
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 7 PART I. DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY Conservation of Jaguars and Pumas in Northeastern Sonora 13 OCTAVIO C. ROSAS ROSAS, RAÚL VALDÉZ, AND LOUIS C. BENDER Status of Jaguars in the State of Tamaulipas 21 ARTURO CASO Distribution and Status of Jaguars in Western Mexico 27 RODRIGO NÚÑEZ PÉREZ Determining Critical Areas for the Survival of Jaguars 43 in the Sierra Madre Oriental OSVALDO ERIC RAMÍREZ BRAVO AND CARLOS A. LÓPEZ GONZÁLEZ Jaguars in the East of the Huasteca Region in San Luis Potosí 53 LISSETTE LEYEQUIÉN AND ROSA MARÍA BALVANERA Distribution, Habitat Use, and Activity Patterns of Pumas 61 and Jaguars in the State of Mexico OCTAVIO MONROY-VILCHIS, CLARITA RODRÍGUEZ-SOTO, MARTHA ZARCO-GONZÁLEZ, AND VICENTE URIOS Status of Jaguars in the Region of Los Chimalapas, Oaxaca 73 IVÁN LIRA TORRES AND GABRIEL RAMOS-FERNÁNDEZ Current Status of the Jaguar in Chiapas 83 EPIGMENIO CRUZ, GABRIELA PALACIOS, AND MARCELINO GÜIRIS Population Ecology of Jaguars and its Implications for 93 Conservation in the Yucatan Peninsula CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, GERARDO CEBALLOS, AND MIGUEL AMÍN Jaguar Habitat Use in a Human Dominated Landscape 103 in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico HELIOT ZARZA, CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, AND GERARDO CEBALLOS 7
Jaguar Population Density and Size in the Northeastern 113 of the Yucatan Peninsula JUAN CARLOS FALLER, CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, STACEY JOHNSON, AND GERARDO CEBALLOS Jaguars in Yum Balam and Northern Quintana Roo 125 CARLOS J. NAVARRO SERMENT, JOSÉ FRANCISCO REMOLINA SUÁREZ, AND JOSÉ JUAN PÉREZ RAMÍREZ PART II. CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT First National Jaguar Survey 135 CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, GERARDO CEBALLOS, RODRIGO A. MEDELLÍN, AND HELIOT ZARZA Camera Trapping as a Tool to Study Jaguars and Other 145 Mammals in the Lacandon Forest, Chiapas DANAE AZUARA AND RODRIGO A. MEDELLÍN Estimating Jaguar Population Using Camera Traps: 157 an Example in Bolivia LEONARDO MAFFEI, ERIKA CUÉLLAR AND ANDREW NOSS Health Assessment of Wild Jaguar Populations 163 as a Conservation Strategy DULCE M. BROUSSET AND ALONSO A. AGUIRRE Official Actions Aimed at Jaguar Conservation in Mexico: 173 Medium-Term Perspectives OSCAR M. RAMÍREZ FLORES AND PATRICIA OROPEZA HERNÁNDEZ Diseases of Wild Jaguars in Southeastern Mexico 181 MARCELA A. ARAIZA, GERARDO CEBALLOS, AND CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ Population and Habitat Viability Assessment of Jaguars in Mexico 189 LUIS CARRILLO, GERARDO CEBALLOS, CUAUHTÉMOC CHÁVEZ, JUAN CORNEJO, JUAN CARLOS FALLER, RURIK LIST, AND HELIOT ZARZA REFERENCES 227 LIST OF AUTHORS 257 8
INTRODUCTION Hearing the roar of a jaguar behind the shrubs in a tropical forest is a humbling experience. Today, as during pre-colonial times, jaguars are still admired and feared; the massive monolithic jaguar heads left by the Olmecs; the Chac Mool sculptures representing Balam, the jaguar for the Mayan; the Aztec jaguar warriors; and diverse deities across the cultures throughout the range of the species are evidence of the influence that the largest of the American felids had in the Mexican culture. But jaguar is more than culture; by being a top predator, its presence influences the ecosystems where they inhabit to the extent than when the large felids are absent, tree species diversity plummets and dramatic changes on the density of organisms, from ants to monkeys, occur. This, however, has not been enough to insure their permanence in the wild. Thousands of jaguars were legally hunted as trophies for the fur market, severely reducing populations across the range until commercial trade was banned in 1973. As an example, between 1950 and 1965, 11 000 jaguar skins were traded from Brazil, and thousands more were exported illegally. Roughly 1 300 jaguar skins were legally exported from Mexico to the United States between 1968 and 1970. The prohibition of sport hunting in Mexico in 1987 was not enough to protect the jaguar, since illegal hunting for trophy or to prevent livestock predation continues; about 100 individuals are still illegally hunted in Mexico every year. At the same time, the large tracts of forest that the species needs to survive have been decreasing in size and integrity, isolating the populations and getting them in close proximity to people and conflict, factors which have reduced their numbers or caused their local extinction. But in the XXI century, jaguars are still an icon among the wild things of Nature. This has prompted people and organizations to actively engage in the protection of this species and its habitat. Reserves have been created or expanded to allow jaguars room to roam; research to determine their conservation needs is rapidly increasing; incentives to reduce the risk of being killed are being applied, and education and information efforts are spreading. This book reflects the interest and commitment on the conservation of jaguar in Mexico, which has been growing since the establishment of the of the Technical Advisory Subcommittee for the Recovery of the Jaguar (Subcomité Técnico Consultivo para la Recuperación del Jaguar) in 2000, followed by the publication of the Jaguar Recovery Program, the designation of 2005 as the Year of the Jaguar, and the listing of the species as one of the top 5 priority species for recovery by the Federal Government. 9
Scientists and conservationists working with jaguars and issues which, directly or indirectly could have an effect on the conservation of the species, got together to share experiences, carry out a national jaguar census, and developed a National conservation strategy in six annual symposia held from 2005 to 2010. These symposia were financially supported by the Commission on Protected Areas (Conanp) of the Mexican Federal Ministry of the Environment, Telmex, Alianza WWF Telcel, the Institute of Ecology of the National University of Mexico, Ecociencia, and other institutions. The six symposia took place at the Cuernavaca Golf Club in the state of Morelos, Mexico. The present book compiles the presentations and work conducted during the three first symposia, and is divided in two parts. Part I includes case studies by Jaguar specialists on the distribution or the ecology of the jaguar in all the regions where the species occurs in Mexico, and Part II deals with conservation and management priorities for the species, methods to determine the population size and health status of wild populations, as well as conservation strategies that include ecosystem services, community watch programs and strategies launched by the Mexican Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources for the conservation of the species. It is a privilege for us to be players in this joint conservation effort, which would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of our colleagues, authors of the chapters and champions of Jaguar conservation, to whom we are deeply grateful. The support from the institutions that trusted us in this endeavor allowed the symposia and books to become a reality. The Jaguar epitomizes the great environmental challenges of the XXI century, our future is linked to its survival, and only a united effort will succeed in insuring its permanence on Earth. With this book we capture the effort of many people over the years to see our mightiest cat persist, and trust it will influence and help others to sum on our collective efforts. THE EDITORS Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City September 2011 10