To Help Jaguars Survive, Ease Their Commute

[Judi Lynn]

To Help Jaguars Survive, Ease Their Commute

http://graphics8.nytimes.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2010/05/12/science/12jaguarimg/12jaguarimg-articleLarge.jpg

Steve Winter/Panthera
A jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil, the world’s largest wetland.

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: May 11, 2010

LAS LOMAS, Costa Rica — Héctor Porras-Valverdo tried to adopt a Zen attitude when he discovered recently that jaguars had turned two of his cows into carcasses.

The jaguars’ numbers may have dwindled, but they still roam the forests here in eastern Costa Rica, making their presence known by devouring the occasional chicken, pig or cow.

“I understand cats do this because they need to survive,” said Mr. Porras-Valverdo, 41, a burly dairy farmer.

A few years ago, he acknowledged, his first reaction might have been to reach for a gun. But his farm now sits in the middle of land that Costa Rica has designated a “jaguar corridor” — a protected pathway that allows the stealthy, nocturnal animals to safely traverse areas of human civilization.

In the past few years, such corridors have been created in Africa, Asia and the Americas to help animals cope with 21st-century threats, from encroaching highways and malls to climate change.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/science/earth/12jaguar.html?pagewanted=1&ref=americas