By: Rocío Espinosa
On the last week of January an alarm was sounded in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios’ capital, about the presence of two jaguars which had crossed the border of the National Reserve of Tambopata and were somewhere in the area surrounding the airport, i.e., they had entered the city. The authorities immediately got to trying to capture them, which was successful in the case of the female after a specifically devised trap.
Two days later it was confirmed the other jaguar had returned to its habitat, so they proceeded to free the captured female. They sailed the Malinowsky river and entered the Reserve, in which the animal was released on the river shore.
We couldn’t help but be moved by this story, yet at the same time made very aware of the environmental changes, the depredation of the forests causing the fauna to go out in search of safer places, the unmeasured growth of the cities without proper planning in regards to the natural areas, and how we should be trying to live in harmony with mother nature.
In the forest Arbio protects
by the river shore of the Las Piedras river, Tambopata, we’ve registered the presence of various felines such as this jaguar. We’ve also recorded on videos and photos from the hidden trap cameras several cougars, oncillas, ocelots, and jaguarundies. The presence of this animals tells us a lot about the status of good conservation of the area and the presence of this felines’ preys (deer and rodents).
