The conservation of Belize's Maya Forest Corridor is critical to the long term survival of jaguar populations in the region. This unprotected area is the only viable connection between two core jaguar populations and with continued and unrestricted human interference, the future of this species hangs in the balance.
This 60SecondScience video highlights a seven year study that documents 60 jaguars in this corridor and the importance of its protection for their continued existence.
Belizean Travelers Duane Moody and I were extremely lucky to spot a Jaguar in its natural habitat on our trip to Chan Chica Lodge, In the Orange Walk District. A once in a lifetime opportunity! Chef Sean Kuylen
Tracking Jaguars in the Belize Maya Forest In the Belize Maya Forest, a team led by Virginia Tech wildlife scientist Prof. Marcella Kelly is studying one of the rainforest's top predators - the jaguar. With project leader David Lugo and graduate student Darby McPhail, she's using camera traps to understand the movements and behaviors of these big cats better.
Together with more than a dozen organizations, The Nature Conservancy recently acted to protect this forest - 236,000 acres of land that represent an irreplaceable linchpin in the conservation of the largest remaining tropical forests in the Americas outside of the Amazon.
CNN published an article about the Maya Forest Corridor in Belize, which is instrumental for Jaguar migration. Worth a read.
This narrow corridor of land could mean life or death for jaguars in Belize
"In an attempt to avert this catastrophe, a number of conservation organizations -- including Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, Panthera, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society and re:wild -- joined forces to protect one essential slice of land within the jaguar's geographic range: the Maya Forest Corridor. The relatively small area -- less than six miles wide and covering 90,000 acres -- has outsized consequences for South America's biggest cat."
Belize has one of the healthiest populations of jaguars. They are found in lowland forests and along the coast. The jaguar, considered the largest and most powerful cat in the Western Hemisphere, needs about one hundred and fifty square miles to roam. They rely on connectivity across large areas for survival but habitat destruction and human development are increasing threats. Chairwoman of the Maya Forest Corridor Trust, Doctor Elma Kay explained why it is important to stop deforestation in this area.
Dr. Elma Kay, Chairwoman, Maya Forest Corridor Trust:"It is a very critical moment as a country in terms of, in terms of what we call connectivity, right? The ultimate reason, you want your populations of wide ranging mammals, the animals that need space, that move across big spaces, the reason you need that connectivity is for resilience. A connected population is able to interbreed, is able to exchange genetic material. Diversity in genetic material is what makes an individual organism strong and resilient to things like diseases, impacts of climate change, you know extinction, that kind of thing and so that is the important piece with connectivity and so we have had some excellent wins in terms of staving off deforestation. So the Belize Maya Forests, right, that was purchased by TMC and partners and is now being managed by my organisation, The Belize Maya Forest Trust, that's a huge win because we basically saved the last remaining forest in the country."
Doctor Kay says one critical area is the Maya Forest Corridor, which connects the country's two largest wilderness areas. More than sixty-five percent of the corridor has been cleared in the last decade, threatening the survival of the jaguars.
Dr. Elma Kay, Chairwoman, Maya Forest Corridor Trust: "We have many challenges but in terms of the major challenges, the ones that, the one that remains is the Maya Forest Corridor because we do not have the luxury of choosing a different corridor. So, you know, a lot of people think that maybe conservationists are just going out there and trying to buy any land that is available but that is very far from the reality. This is, the reason for wanting to protect certain areas is because of the strategic location and in terms of connecting our two forest blocks and having populations of animals that are fully connected and resilient. The Maya Forest Corridor remains the last challenge because you are down to basically a few miles of highway where a crossing is still possible. A couple of years ago there was a large clearing that happened before you get to the Franks Eddie junction around mile 35. That used to be the best corridor based on knowledge of jaguar crossings and research that had been done before. Unfortunately that is now all been converted to sugar cane so there is no ability anymore for those animals to move though that landscape easily. So we are basically at a bottleneck in the Maya Forest Corridor which comprises the entire area by the zoo and so that is our biggest challenge."
Thanks to Mexican conservation efforts, the jaguar is making a comeback in the Yucat�n Peninsula. A traveler ventures into its habitat in the tropical jungles surrounding an ancient Maya city.
"I woke up at dawn to meet with the members of the Jaguar Alliance in another hut at the edge of the lake. They track jaguars several times a year, using a tranquilizer gun to sedate the animal so they can take blood and attach a collar. Their crew includes ecologists, a veterinarian, a pack of hounds, a dog trainer and the well-known jaguar hunter Don Pancho, who joined the conservation project two years ago.
"At the beginning, people were critical; they said it's like putting the coyote in charge of the chickens," said Don Pancho, a thickset, mustachioed man in middle-late age whose half-buttoned shirt revealed a thick silver chain over weathered brown skin. "But I had all this experience," he said. "I knew how to track the jaguars, where they liked to go, how to attract them. So they needed my help."
Don Pancho shot his first jaguar when he was 14 years old to protect the livestock on his parents' subsistence farm. Local farmers hired him, paying him with cows, pigs, goats.
Eventually, Don Pancho started leading hunts for wealthy foreigners through the Safari Club International, he said, mostly Americans working for the chewing gum companies that would come to Calakmul to harvest chicle from the jungle. "I used to get a $1,000 tip for a hunt - that's just the tip," said Don Pancho, who said he stopped hunting jaguars after the practice was outlawed in 1987.
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