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Plight of the jaguar

Jaguar and wildlife enthusiasts wanting the best chance to see the spotted jungle cat should consider a visit to Belize in June or July, the Jaguar's most active period.

Consider a nocturnal tour that provides you with state of the art night vision equipment, and the unique chance to see endangered jaguars in the world's only Jaguar reserve.

The 40,000-hectare (100,000 acre) Cockscomb Basin has the world's highest concentration of large cats, including the Jaguar, Puma, and Jaguarondi. However, being nocturnal and generally only active in the evenings, they are rarely sighted during the day.

The Jaguar is the largest cat in the western hemisphere, weighing in 45 to 102 kg range (100-225 pounds) and one of only four cats that roar. Their roar is similar to a series of very hoarse coughs, usually announcing their presence and proclaiming their territory.

A little over 200 of the remaining 15,000 jaguars roam freely in the 150 square mile park. In 1984, thanks to the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund and Belizean government, the basin was declared a park, and upgraded to a Sanctuary in 1986.

Jaguars have no direct predators in the wild; humans have traditionally been their only threat. Adverse impact upon the jaguar's survival has occurred as their hunting and traveling patterns have been disrupted by human encroachment.

“I am committed to spending the rest of my life to saving this magnificent animal, but I need your help,” says Alan Rabinowitz, founder of the Cockscomb Basin Preserve , novelist, and Director for the World Conservation Society.

Cockscomb Basin is filled with verdant mature and second growth rainforest that is surrounded by the Maya Mountain Range.

There is a veritable plethora of streams and creeks formed by the run-off of annual rainfall in the mountains, measuring 100-180 inches in the wet season of June to January. This water is vital to the survival of the Basin's dwellers, some 300 species of birds and 55 different mammals that inhabit the sanctuary.

Jaguars have been held in high esteem by the local Mayan people for millennia. Perhaps, if witnessed in their natural habitat, people may better understand their plight, and possible empathy will be awakened.

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