Roar for Yucatan: Jaguar Conservation Project

We have entered the dry season, although several recent rainfall events have accelerated flowering in some plant species. Local communities believe this may indicate a less severe dry season. We will keep you updated in our next report.

We are pleased to share some great news. At the beginning of 2025, we recorded a female jaguar with a small cub. We are now glad to report that the cub has grown into a nearly adult male, moving alongside its mother deep in the forest. This represents strong evidence of conservation success, demonstrating that the long-term protection of natural areas and the reduction of human disturbance support natural ecosystem recovery and allow wildlife populations to rebound. After more than 20 years of conservation efforts in the region, we can clearly observe that jaguars are consistently selecting these areas and using them as breeding and nursing sites, along with many other species.

However, conservation is an ongoing effort. While this results confirm the effectiveness of our actions, they also highlight the importance of continuing to protect this critical habitat. We are now focusing on safeguarding areas surrounding these nursing sites and strengthening our collaboration with local communities, recognizing that conservation is reachable when we visualize it as a shared responsibility.

You can support these efforts from anywhere in the world by contributing to our project and helping us share this work with colleagues, friends and family. Together, we can continue building on these results and ensuring the long-term protection of these ecosystems.

2025 was a remarkable year for jaguar conservation in northeastern Yucatán, building directly on the ecological conditions and conservation outcomes reported earlier this year.

As many of you may recall from our previous updates, 2024 was marked by an extreme dry season followed by an unusually intense wet season. This climatic contrast resulted in an important water surplus that carried over into 2025, shaping the ecological dynamics of the region throughout the year. Thanks to this remnant of water availability, 2025 was notably more stable. The dry season was less severe than in previous years, and the wet season was particularly favorable, with the flooded forests maintaining regular water levels and extending slightly longer than usual, concluding in October.

These conditions translated into clear ecological benefits. Throughout the year, we documented high wildlife activity and strong reproductive signals across multiple taxa. Several species were recorded with offspring, including curassows, ocellated turkeys, deer, tayras, ocelots, and, most importantly, jaguars. We also confirmed the presence of species known to inhabit the region but rarely documented in our monitoring area, such as crocodiles and several waterbird species, underscoring the importance of these flooded forests as key habitats.

Jaguar monitoring results were especially encouraging. Within a 100 km² area, we recorded a total of nine individual jaguars and two cubs during 2025: six females, three males, and two individuals whose sex could not be determined. One of the most exciting findings reflects the long-term value of sustained monitoring—one female jaguar first recorded as a cub in 2024 was documented this year as a young adult actively moving through the area, likely searching for a mate. Additionally, we consistently recorded her mother throughout the year, accompanied by a male cub, highlighting ongoing reproduction and site fidelity within the landscape.

Together, these results reinforce what we have shared in earlier reports: sustained habitat protection, community engagement, and long-term monitoring are creating the conditions necessary for jaguars and other wildlife not only to persist, but to thrive. As we close 2025, these outcomes motivate us to continue strengthening conservation actions in Yucatán and underscore how donor support directly contributes to tangible, long-lasting impacts on the ground.

We would like to sincerely thank all our supporters for being part of this conservation journey. Your contributions make it possible to protect critical habitats, monitor jaguars, and work hand in hand with local communities. We invite you to continue supporting our efforts and to share this project within your networks, helping us reach more people who want to make a meaningful difference for jaguar conservation in Yucatan. Together, we can ensure that jaguars and the ecosystems they depend on continue to thrive for generations to come.