A female jaguar has been successfully released into the Bolivian rainforest, marking a major milestone as the country struggles with critical population declines due to heavy poaching.
The feline emerged from a steel cage on a sandy riverbed before disappearing into the undergrowth of the national park, as reported by The Guardian.
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The jaguar, named Yaguara, had been in captivity since August 2024 after being orphaned as an eight-month-old cub during the worst recorded wildfire season in Bolivia.
As the fires burned over 10% of the country, authorities transferred the cub to veterinarians from Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY), a wild-animal rescue center.
The staff raised Yaguara for nearly two years in Ambue Ari, a 1,000-hectare jungle reserve surrounded by ranchland that hosts various rescued species.
Before the team released Yaguara into the 1.5-million-hectare Noel Kempff Mercado national park on June 5, no captive jaguar had ever been successfully rehabilitated for release in Bolivia.
Conservation Milestone
"Yaguara has changed the history of jaguar conservation in this country," says Iván Márquez, the biologist overseeing post-release monitoring.
The species is considered near-threatened globally by the WWF but faces vulnerable status in Bolivia, with ongoing discussions to reclassify it as endangered.
Poachers kill an average of 61 jaguars annually in Bolivia to supply the Chinese market with teeth and body parts, making it the highest poaching rate globally.
Wildfires intentionally lit for agriculture and cattle ranching have also driven severe habitat loss, pushing Bolivia to the second-highest level of deforestation globally in 2024.
