The sighting represents a very important event for the conservation of fauna and biodiversity because in Colombia there are only 6 species of felines.
Several species of fauna that are part of the jaguar ecosystem are the findings so far of Conexión Jaguar Program in Colombia since its implementation in 2017.
Thanks to camera traps from ISA’s Conexión Jaguar Program, 30 animal species were identified in Cimitarra, Santander, including the puma (Puma concolor), the second largest feline in the Americas after the jaguar; the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), the largest of the oncillas present in Colombia; and the jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), which, although it is the least known in the country, is the only species among the small felines that is not spotted.
On the other hand, 19 species were sighted in Tierralta, Córdoba, including the aforementioned felines and the margay (Leopardus wiedii), the second largest spotted margay in Colombia. Its presence is of significant importance, since this feline spends 90% of its time in a tree, which requires a forest patch in good conditions where it feels safe from predators.
“This is good news for the Conexión Jaguar Program and for Colombia’s biodiversity, since these areas are strategic for ecosystem connectivity, as these felines need extensive areas to move, mate and feed. Through the Program, we contribute to supplying the needs of these species by recovering nearly 2.200 hectares of land degraded by cattle ranching, and by protecting nearly 400 hectares of forests and water sources. It also demonstrates that the efforts made to achieve connectivity in strategic areas such as Tierralta, which is part of the transition zone between the Paramillo National Natural Park and its surroundings, are having the expected effects and contributing to the settlement of populations of fragile species such as the cotton-top tamarin and the blue-billed curassow,” said María Adelaida Correa Ruíz, ISA’s Sustainability Director. In addition to the big cats found in Cimitarra and Tierralta, the blue-billed curassow (Crax alberti) and the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) were also recorded, in addition to being two endemic species, meaning that they only live in Colombia, they are critically endangered. “The Blue-billed Curassow is one of the most endangered birds in Colombia, and lives in well-preserved forests in the departments of Santander, Antioquia, Bolivar and Cordoba.
On the other hand, the cotton-top tamarin is one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world, due to habitat loss, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This primate is only found in the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Sucre and Córdoba and to stop its extinction it is necessary to conserve the areas where it currently lives, among them, the area that the Tierralta project is helping to conserve”, said Matthew Hyde, Panthera’s Coordinator for the Conexión Jaguar Program.
Conexión Jaguar, the Sustainability Program of ISA and its companies
Although the number of individuals in Colombia is currently decreasing due to the loss of their habitat and the difficulties they have to move, hunt, and reproduce, there is still hope. Although this species is classified as near threatened according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is time to contribute and join efforts so that it does not become critically endangered. Initiatives such as the Conexión Jaguar Program contribute to the establishment of the jaguar corridor in Latin America.
Conexión Jaguar is the flagship sustainability program of ISA Group, which together with its allies South Pole and Panthera seeks, through technical and economic support, to support the best initiatives that are based in the jaguar corridor, so that they can trade certified carbon credits with rigorous standards, contributing not only to the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the development of rural communities, but also to the recovery and connection of the habitat of this species.
