May 9, 2012 | Late last year, we recovered this photograph of what may have been the last jaguar in Peru’s Amotapes mountain range. The photograph was provided by the son of the farmer pictured here, and was taken in 1965. For centuries, jaguars were killed on sight in the region, and this beautiful cat is the last known evidence of the species in what today is the Coto de Caza El Angolo Reserve.
The reserve is a major national protected area covering 162,000 acres of endangered dry equatorial forest, which was once home to a thriving jaguar population. Despite this tragic loss, the reserve still houses significant biological diversity – including 150 bird, 17 mammal, 13 reptile, and 10 fish species – many found only in this dry forest ecosystem.
Today, we are working to improve the conservation of the reserve, encouraging local communities to use their natural resources in more sustainable ways. This work is being done in partnership with the reserve’s Management Committee (headed by NCI) and the Peruvian Government’s National Park Service.