Guatemala -- Roads, Deforestation, and Jaguars: The Laguna del Tigre National Park

Date: 2006

Expedition Leader: Dalia Amor-Conde

Team Members: Lucrecia Masaya, Defensores de la Naturaleza; Gabriel Gamez, Biologist, Biological Station of the Guacamayas; Michael Tennessen, Reporter

Purpose: To ensure the conservation of travel corridors for jaguars from Panama to Mexico.

Description: In July 2006, carrying Wings WorldQuest Flag #10, Dalia Amor-Conde traveled by air, water, and land to assess the status of the habitat of the elusive jaguar of Central America.  For seven years, Dalia and her colleagues have tracked, captured, documented, and released this large cat of the Americas.  To understand the range of the jaguar’s habitat and the status of the species, the data retrieved from jaguar radio-collar transmission is immensely helpful.

The danger encountered in trapping the top predator of the jungle pales in comparison to the dangers of working in a region with rampant and violent drug trafficking. Vast deforestation of the Central American jungle and the construction of roads into pristine wilderness are causing massive disruption to the environment, and the capture of endangered animals is widespread. Organizations such as ARCAS (Asociación de Rescate y Conservación de Vida Sivilestre) rescue, rehabilitate, and reintroduce hundreds of wild animals confiscated from illegal traffickers. Fighting for the ecosystem and meticulously documenting the changes they see, Dalia and her team continue to push forward in spite of the devastation, violence, and disorder.

Dalia traveled on new roads in the park, shot photos from an airplane, and traveled by boat down rivers near the park.  On these journeys, she took many GPS (Global Positioning System) readings so the new landscapes could be correlated with earlier satellite photographs.  Dalia met with the Guatemalan jaguar research team and the road analysis teams of international conservation organizations to discuss her eyewitness interpretation of data she will use to model the impact of roads on the Mayan forest.

Website: http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/DEarchives/f06/action-jaguar.html