Dario Maschietti: The fragile kingdom of the jaguars in Porto Jofre

The Pantanal is the largest seasonal floodplain in the world, and the ecosystem with the highest concentration of flora and fauna in all the Americans. It is in the centre of South America, mostly in Brazil, but also in Bolivia and Paraguay. About 40% of the Brazilian Pantanal is within the Mato Grosso State, and about 60% is within the Mato Grosso do Sul state. Jaguars occur in 18 countries throughout Latin America, ranging from Mexico to Argentina across a variety of habitat types, including swamps, tropical forests, scrublands, and deserts. Jaguars also thrive in a variety of wet habitat, including flooded forests and the Brazilian Pantanal.

The Pantanal holds thousands of plant and animal species, including 152 mammals, 582 birds, 127 reptiles, 47 amphibians, 269 fishes and roughly 2000 plants. At the top, there is the elegant and elusive jaguar. The jaguar (Panthera Onca) is the largest feline native to the Americans, ranking third globally after its lion and tiger cousins.

During the raining season rivers overflow their banks, flood the land and make the most of it accessible only by boots and plane. In the dry season, wildlife enthusiasts flock to see the normally furtive jaguars lounging on riverbanks, along with macaws, caiman and capybaras. A key strategy for conserving large carnivores, such jaguars, is reducing pressures in human-dominated landscapes, given that most suitable habitat occurs outside of protected areas.

In the Pantanal, where only 5% is protected land while 95% is privately owned, jaguars must face persistent challenges arising from human. Interactions between large carnivores and humans on private lands may be negative, impacting both carnivores and people. A major factor is the continuing drought that has dried out more than half the wet area, magnified by human-caused climate disruption. So far this year, wildfires have burned at least 700,000 hectares. Economic activities such as tourism and agriculture are also threatened, with crop losses and livestock deaths. In the Brazilian Pantanal, jaguar-oriented tourism generates an annual income of US$ 8-9M. Well-managed ecotourism, fostering community involvement, and enhancing understating of jaguar ecology are fundamental pillars if we want to grant to this unique place a thrive future.

This is a short-term project which ties to show the beauty of the area centred in the Porto Jofre region. What’s unique is a confluence of major rivers like the Cuibà, Piquiri, Pirigara, Cassange, Três Irmãos and Alegre where jaguars are habituated to human observation. Here all the collective efforts aim to cultivate a balanced synergy between the Pantanal, its inhabitants, and its jaguar population to flourish together in harmony.