Green Options

A jaguar recently swam onto an island located in the Panama Canal. It then triggered a hidden camera that took its picture. This is the first time a jaguar has been photographed in the 86 year history of 3,707 acre Barro Colorado Island– one of the most well-researched tropical ecosystems in the world.

The hidden camera had been set up as part of an annual effort to inventory mammals that live on Barro Colorado Island. According to the researchers who set up the cameras, the finding is exciting given that jaguars are already considered rare throughout the entire country of Panama (see photo below).

So just how far did the jaguar have to swim?

As new camera technology becomes cheaper and better, rare animals in places like Peru’s rainforests may soon be photographed and documented more thanks to the efforts of wildlife biologists. These kinds of photographs are important because they can provide crucial evidence of where species of animals like jaguars roam, giving scientists, park managers, and conservation advocates the facts they need to argue for greater protection of specific habitats. It also gives conservation professionals knowledge of where to concentrate their efforts and research, and can likewise increase public awareness of interesting and endangered animal species.

In a paper published in the latest edition of Animal Conservation, researcher Mathias W. Tobler and several of his colleagues describe a study they conducted in an area of the rainforest in southeastern Peru. By experimenting with hidden “camera traps,” these scientists set out to inventory elusive, rarely seen large and medium-sized mammals that live in the Peru’s rainforests. What they discovered is both exciting and interesting.