Neatorama » jaguar

The Jaguar Freeway

Miss Cellania — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:50:57 +0000

Jaguars are the largest native cat in the Western Hemisphere. They once flourished, but now are endangered thanks to centuries of hunting and habitat loss. The only protected jaguar reservation is in Belize, where they are thriving and drawing tourists, but those cats are separated from other jaguar populations that live (and are declining) in other countries. Jaguar expert Alan Rabinowitz, the CEO of conservation organization Panthera, has a plan to open up pathways to connect various jaguar populations.

Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor Initiative aims to connect 90 distinct jaguar populations across the Americas. It stems from an unexpected discovery. For 60 years, biologists had thought there were eight distinct subspecies of jaguar, including the Peruvian jaguar, Central American jaguar and Goldman’s jaguar. But when the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity in Frederick, Maryland, part of the National Institutes of Health, analyzed jaguar DNA from blood and tissue samples collected throughout the Americas, researchers determined that no jaguar group had split off into a true subspecies. From Mexico’s deserts to the dry Pampas of northern Argentina, jaguars had been breeding with each other, wandering great distances to do so, even swimming across the Panama Canal. “The results were so shocking that we thought it was a mistake,” Rabinowitz says.

Panthera has identified 182 potential jaguar corridors covering nearly a million square miles, spanning 18 nations and two continents. So far, Mexico, Central America and Colombia have signed on to the initiative. Negotiating agreements with the rest of South America is next. Creating this jaguar genetic highway will be easier in some places than others. From the Amazon north, the continent is an emerald matrix of jaguar habitats that can be easily linked. But parts of Central America are utterly deforested. And a link in Colombia crosses one of Latin America’s most dangerous drug routes.

An extensive article at Smithsonian tells of the jaguar’s life in the wild, how this plan came about, and how it might just work -if the many obstacles can be overcome. Link

(Image credit: Steve Winter/Panthera)

Jaguar Cubs

Miss Cellania — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:27:16 +0000

The Berlin Zoo has unveiled three new jaguar cubs born April 16th. The two males and a female are named Jumanes, Atiero and Valdivia. The L.A. Times Blog has more adorable photographs. The picture shown is a portion of a larger picture you don’t want to miss! Link -via Buzzfeed

(image credit: Gero Breloer/Associated Press)

First Jaguar Caught in U.S. Put to Sleep

Miss Cellania — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:51:35 +0000

A jaguar named Macho B. may have been the only wild jaguar left in the United States. He’s been photographed near the Mexican border in Arizona since 1996. He was caught and released on February 18th, when wildlife officials fitted him with a tracking device. In the past few days, a biologist tracking Macho B. noticed his lethargic behavior, so Arizona Game and Fish officers recaptured him. They found the jaguar to be suffering from severe kidney failure, and he was euthanized. Macho B. was estimated to be 14-16 years old. Link

(image credit: Arizona Game and Fish Department)

Jaguar Redux

Queuebot — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Nobody’s seen a jaguar in central Mexico since 1900. Until now. Three photos of an adult male jaguar, taken by a camera trap in the Sierra Nanchititla Natural Reserve, have confirmed the big cat’s existence in an area of Mexico where it was presumed extinct.

Go Jaguars!

Photo by Octavio Monroy-Vitchis/SINC, via National Geographic News

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

Jaguar Motorcycle by Barend Hemmes

Alex — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:32:59 +0000

Barend Massow Hemmes of Massow Concept Cycles along with Polar cycles of Doncaster UK created what is probably the most awesome motorcycle I’ve ever laid eyes on: the Jaguar "leaper" cat logo concept bike, made from stainless steel.

Just how awesome is that? Link – via Modern Urban Living