Pictures: Jaguars Spotted on Colombian Plantation—A First

Cat on the Move

Image courtesy Panthera

A male jaguar is seen prowling an oil palm plantation in Colombia. In addition to habitat loss, the big cats are declining as a result of oil mining and hunting, often in retaliation for killing livestock, Payan said.

The new photos "represent the first step toward understanding how jaguars cope with [agricultural] ecosystems in unprotected lands," he added.

(Related pictures: "Seven Cat Species Found in One Forest—A Record.")

Published June 18, 2012

Sniffing out the Scene

Image courtesy Panthera

A jaguar mother and her two cubs (the tail of the second is pictured at right) seemed "calm, playful, and healthy" on an oil palm plantation, Payan said.

Usually, just one jaguar cub survives in a litter, so seeing two cubs alive and well is "heartwarming," he said. (Take a big cats quiz.)

However, it's "important to note" that the camera traps were located on the plantation border, next to a well-preserved forest.

"Confirming the presence of these jaguars does not mean they are living within the plantation, or that such plantations represent sufficient jaguar habitat," he cautioned.

(See more jaguar pictures.)

Published June 18, 2012

Plantation Home?

Image courtesy Panthera

The new jaguar pictures—including the one of a male cat seen above—"open up a whole new agenda of research" into how jaguars tolerate agriculture, Payan said.

Among Payan's questions: "How big of a plantation will they tolerate? What type of harvesting methods do not drive them away? Do we always need forests bordering the plantations? What on earth are they eating inside the plantations?"

(See jaguar picture: "First Seen in Central Mexico Since 1900.")

Published June 18, 2012

Oil Palm Trees

Photograph by Alejandra Parra, Bloomberg/Getty Images

Oil palm trees are pictured on a plantation in Santander, Colombia, in 2010.

An increasing demand for oil palm—used mostly for domestic products and biodiesel—has already transformed about a million acres (430,000 hectares) of Colombian forest into farmland, and that's expected to grow to 1.8 million acres (750,000 hectares) by 2020, Payan said.

As for how plantation owners feel about big cats roaming their properties, Payan claims they "love it."

"Owners and management are asking for posters to pin up in the plantation offices."

Published June 18, 2012

Next: Ten Most Threatened Forests

Photograph by Bruce Dale, National Geographic

Published June 18, 2012