Scientists Gain Insights into the Ecology of Brazilian Fishing Jaguars
By Precious Smith Oct 18, 2021 07:10 PM EDT
Researchers from Oregon State University and a group of international experts have uncovered new information about a group of Brazilian jaguars' food, population density, and social interactions.
(Photo : Getty Images)
Ecology of Jaguars
Jaguars in a remote marsh area of Brazil eat mostly fish and aquatic reptiles, making them the first jaguar population known to eat just fish and reptiles. Jaguars were also seen playing, fishing, and traveling together thanks to motion-activated video cameras.
According to Charlotte Eriksson, a doctoral student at Oregon State University and head author of the article, the findings contradict popular perception that jaguars are solitary mammals whose social interactions are limited to courtship and territorial battles.
The study was conducted in a seasonally flooded protected region in the northern part of the Brazilian Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater wetland. In these locations, fishing is prohibited. There are no roads or human settlements in the area, and cattle ranching is prohibited as well.
It's a difficult place to work because of the waterlogged condition of the area, as well as the fact that researchers must cover themselves from head to toe owing to an abundance of biting insects.
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More:
https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/47879/20211018/scientists-gain-insights-ecology-brazilian-fishing-jaguars.htm
Brazil's Pantanal.
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Brazil Is Burning—and President Bolsonaro’s ‘Terminator’ Environment Minister Is Rolling Back More Protections
An aerial view in Pocone, Brazil, of smoke rising during a fire in the Pantanal wetlands on Sept. 24, 2020.
Buda Mendes—Getty Images
BY CIARA NUGENT
OCTOBER 1, 2020 3:57 PM EDT
Letícia Larcher has had a tough year. As technical coordinator at a conservation institute in western Brazil’s vast Pantanal wetlands, Larcher has spent 2020 dealing with a record spate of wildfires which have destroyed a staggering 22% of the Pantanal—an area about 12 times the size of Rhode Island packed with rare wildlife including jaguars and macaws. She’s also watched another devastating fire season tear through Brazil’s share of the Amazon rainforest, the worst in a decade.
And to cap it all, on Monday, Brazilian environment minister Ricardo Salles added another of the country’s unique landscapes to Larcher’s list of concern. Salles announced an end to two legal protections for mangroves and coastal restinga forests, arguing the protections were “excessively restrictive” and “stifled economic development.”
His decision was quickly suspended by a federal court, after a lawsuit was filed arguing it violates Brazilians’ constitutional right to an ecologically balanced environment. Still, the move opened a new battle ground in one of the most bitterly-fought wars raging in Brazil under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
“It’s very frustrating,” Larcher says, noting that she studied mangroves and restinga forests for her doctorate before joining conservation efforts in the Pantanal. Both consist of shrubby, hardy plants that scientists consider vital to protecting land from coastal erosion, sheltering biodiversity and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere to slow the greenhouse effect. ”Salles is the environment minister: his role is to take decisions for the environment, not for other groups.”
It’s not exactly unexpected from Salles, who is nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ among Brazilian climate activists. Appointed by Bolsonaro in December 2018, the 45-year-old has led a decisive campaign to overhaul Brazil’s environmental institutions and relax regulations.
More:
https://time.com/5895167/brazil-fires-ricardo-salles-environment/
