The jaguar (Panthera onça) has been one of the least known of the large cats because of its secretive life in some of the densest jungles of the world. It was listed by CITES in 1973 as endangered throughout its range.
However jaguar appeared to be widely present throughout Latin America, from Paraguay through Brazil, all of Central America up to North-East Mexico. It is abundant throughout a large part of its range and is being extensively hunted in all the areas where it coexists with domestic livestock.
The Foundation, with the CIC, initiated a Symposium on jaguar in Manaus, Brazil, with the presence of the most reknowned international experts. More than 50 participants, representing Universities, scientific Institutes, Governments and Wildlife Management Departments from the countries concerned, attended the meeting.
The meeting agreed that there was no significant poaching of jaguar for the fur trade, that jaguar was a natural resource which deserved to be properly managed, but that suitable funding for such management was generally lacking in the range States. It was suggested that, in view of its success, an approach similar to that used for African leopard (Panthera pardus) be implemented for jaguar: i.e. that of setting hunting quotas, including for trophy hunting, ensuring that financial returns benefit wildlife management agencies as well as landowners and local population.