Total numbers of jaguars present varied over our study, as did the individuals in the population Table 1. Regardless, the turnover and large annual variation in numbers makes frequent monitoring of this population critical if it is to persist in northeastern Sonora.
Moreover, the high turnover, if not solely due to illegal killing, suggests that individual survival or suitability of habitats may be limited by other environmental factors. Relatedly, the population may simply be transitory in nature, although lack of evidence of establishment of other populations further away from core jaguar habitats in the Sierra Madre Occidental argues against this.
Thus, it is critical that this population be carefully monitored. Because of inherent limitations with either method, we recommend that monitoring include both photographic camera trapping and track surveys, as use of multiple methods provide valuable corroboration of minimum estimates not possible with use of one technique alone.
However, we caution that this data be rigorously collected and carefully evaluated, as in our analysis, by managers highly familiar with jaguars and pumas. Further development and testing of discriminant functions on a larger number of known individual could significantly facilitate this approach, although discriminant functions are best developed locally because of morphological variation in mean size of jaguars and puma throughout their range Seymour , Iriarte et al.
In our study, approximately km 2 were monitored using 26 camera stations. This may have allowed more frequent monitoring of cameras by personnel and allowed for additional sets of cameras in areas where cattle were concentrated. In addition, we also acknowledge all project personnel, volunteers, and ranchers for their aid in field research activities. Aranda, M. Beier, P. Power of track surveys to detect changes in cougar populations.
Brown, D. Ceballos, G. In: Ceballos G. Zarza Eds. Faller, J. Federal Register. Glenn, W. Eyes of fire; close encounters with a borderland jaguar. Hall, E. The Mammals of North America. Second Edition.
John Wiley and Sons, New York. Hornocker, M. Winter territoriality in mountain lions. Iriarte, J. A, Franklin, W. Biogeographic variation of food habits and body size of the America puma. Karanth, U. Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Monitoring tigers and their prey; a manual for researchers, managers and conservationist in tropical Asia. Centre for Wildlife Studies, India. Karanth, K. Nichols, J. Seidensticker, E. Dinerstein, J.
Smith, C. McDougal, A. Johnsingh, R. Science deficiency in conservation practice: the monitoring of tiger in India. Chundawat, J. Kelly, M J. Noss, M. DiBertti, L. Maffei, R. Arispe, A. Paviolo, C. Estimating puma densities from camera trapping across three study sites: Bolivia, Argentina, and Belize. Logan, K. Sweanor, T. Final Report. Status and distribution of the jaguar in Sonora, Mexico, pp. Equihua, C. Chetkiewicz, P. Crawshaw Jr. Rabinowitz, K. Redford, J. Robinson, E.
Taber Eds. El jaguar en el nuevo milenio. I went to the Sierra de Cacoma with representatives from the National Forestry Commission in Mexico to help lead a workshop for local landowners on wildlife monitoring. We hoped the people living in these mountains could use their knowledge of the area to document the wildlife on their land. Most of the people in the caravan were ranchers, members of an ejido , a kind of communally held land ownership common in rural Mexico.
About a third of the country is covered in forests, and by some estimates ejido communities own about 80 percent of that land. Representatives from several ejidos in the area met with us for the workshop. When it comes to wildlife in the Sierra de Cacoma, the members of these ejidos were the experts. They all had stories about jaguars, mountain lions and ocelots.
They showed us where pumas stalked outside their cabins at night and they reenacted jaguar calls. They argued about what the different cats were called.
It seemed like each community used different names. Probably half the stories were apocryphal. He claimed a puma always watched from a hidden cave as he tended his avocado orchards. Then he showed us several massive feline footprints along a muddy riverbank. It was hard to tell which stories were true and which were simply embellished.
On the first day of the workshop, we drove into the forest to practice setting up motion-sensitive wildlife cameras. The leader of the ejido took us to a stream above a cattle pasture. Everyone took turns strapping the camera to a tree and programming it with different settings.
The man who told us the puma story crawled in front of the camera to simulate an animal walking by. Pumas are a protected species in many areas, with hunting prohibited in many South American nations.
In the United States, hunting is legal in many Western states. California, however, banned hunting in a referendum in Hunting regulations are in place in Canada, Mexico and Peru. Pumas are extremely athletic. Males typically weigh to lbs. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.
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