Jaguar in Fair View captured, relocated

Sep 06, 2017 News

Last Thursday, villagers from Fair View, the only community within the boundaries

The jaguar about to be released into the wilds.

of the Iwokrama Forest, contacted Iwokrama’s management about a jaguar they had trapped.
It was reported that the jaguar was a frequent visitor to the village and was hunting dogs in particular. The village was understandably fearful as the attacks were becoming increasingly frequent.
According to Iwokrama, it immediately contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission for assistance.
A number of other partners were also engaged for advice, among them Panthera, Protected Areas Commission and Matt Hallett (University of Florida) who is currently conducting PhD research on Jaguars in Guyana.
On Friday, an expert staff team of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission arrived at Fair View and with the assistance of residents and qualified Iwokrama Rangers, were able to secure the animal in a special cage for transfer.
They later successfully relocated the animal to another area within the Iwokrama Forest- away from the village of Fair View.
According to Iwokrama, in an effort to monitor the movement and well-being of the trans-located jaguar, Iwokrama rangers will be working with a team from the Rupununi Wildlife Research Unit, led by biologist Meshach Pierre, and students from the University of Guyana, to set motion-sensor cameras in the immediate vicinity of the release site, as well as the area surrounding Fair View Village.
“This effort is part of on-going research between Iwokrama and the University of Florida to collaboratively monitor the impact of sustainable timber harvesting activities on large mammals within the preserve, with funding provided

The captured jaguar.

by the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens.”
Research to date indicates that the Iwokrama Forest supports healthy populations of jaguars and their prey; both within areas designated for wilderness preservation and sustainable utilization.
Iwokrama said that although Fair View Village exists within its forest, human and jaguar conflict happens only intermittently.
Panthera has been conducting research in Guyana since 2011 working along with local scientists and experts. Most of the work has been done so far in the Rupununi where the savannahs serve as a hotspot for biodiversity and is potentially a crucial area for connecting Guyana’s jaguar populations with those of the Amazon.
“It must be emphasized that the Jaguar (Pantera onca) and all of the other five species of cats in Guyana are protected by law.”
The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest.
Iwokrama brings together 20 local communities (approximately 7,000 people) who are shareholders and participants in the IIC’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing arrangements.