Costa Rica Conservation News – The largest cat in the Americas is the jaguar, a symbol of the Central American rainforest.
Costa Rica is using a unique method to keep them from extinction, GPS tracking collars.
The researchers placed cameras and traps in Corcovado and then placed harmless collars on the jaguars and freed them in their habitat.
The collars, along with strategically placed cameras in the forest, help researchers collect information about the movement and activity of jaguars.
It helps them see how the cats interact with their habitat.
There are less than 500 jaguars in the country. They have disappeared from El Salvador, the southwestern US and northern Mexico.
Hunting was reduced in 1970 with international campaigns against trading their skins. Still today they are hunted by hungry gold miners and farmers wanting to protect their livestock.
In Guanacaste, we have seen the recovery of the jaguar population thanks to UNA and other organizations.
