Preserving the jaguar by protecting and restoring its habitat
The Jaguar Project
The Jaguar Project
The Jaguar Project
THE OSA CORRIDOR
OUR WORK IN THE OSA PENINSULA
After many years of focusing our work on the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor due to its strategic importance for feline conservation, The Jaguar Project has now expanded its influence to work on another equally vital biological corridor.
In 2022 The Jaguar Project secured a conservation property at the edge of Corcovado National Park for Hendrik Jan Lovink from Holland. Working in partnership with Osa Conservation and Grow Jungles we have initiated a reforestation program on the property, planting 39 native tree species that are endemic to the peninsula. 11 of those species were selected specifically because they are in danger of extinction.
This video made by Grow Jungles highlights our joint efforts to reforest the Corcovado-Piedras Blancas Biological Corridor.
OSA CONSERVATION
Osa Conservation are a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to protecting the globally significant biodiversity of the Osa Peninsula. They are the leaders in conservation in Costa Rica with multiple projects that cover all levels of the Osa ecosystem from the reefs to the canopy. Their primary focus is on protecting and restoring habitat, and through their ambitious Ridge to Reef project they plan to plant 100,000 trees a year in the biological corridors that connect Corcovado, Piedras Blancas and La Amistad National Parks.
The Ridge to Reef project aims to increase connectivity between Costa Rica’s most vital ecosystems, and it is one of the largest and most important conservation efforts in the world. The Jaguar Project is proud to be one of the many partners that Osa Conservation are working with in order to achieve this goal. The image below illustrates the basic concept of the Ridge to Reef project.
In 2022 The Jaguar Project secured a 100-acre conservation property for Brooke Lyndon-Stanford from Great Britain. Due to the property’s strategic location within the Corcovado-Piedras Blancas Biological Corridor we have placed it under formal protection though the Costa Rican Government’s FONAFIFO program. Our camera trapping here has revealed an extraordinary amount of wildlife including the presence of 3 different species of felines, clearly underlining the property’s high priority for conservation. Working in conjunction with Osa Conservation as a part of their Ridge to Reef project, The Jaguar Project is initiating a reforestation program to restore the deforested parts of the property in order to repair the integrity of this key biological corridor.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Successful corridor restoration can only be achieved with the cooperation and assistance of the local inhabitants. Effective environmental solutions must be synchronistic to their concerns and empathic to their basic needs.
The Jaguar Project is working with the community to help raise awareness of feline conservation issues. We also work with local farmers to encourage responsible agricultural and ranching practices in an effort to reduce incidences of human-jaguar conflict.
We go to great lengths to inform the residents of these biological corridors that humans are in no danger of attack from any of the six Costa Rican wildcat species. Costa Ricans tend to believe that wildcats can be a threat to their safety, but contrary to popular local belief
there are no reports of anyone being attacked or killed by a jaguar or any other feline species anywhere in Central America.