Conservation crisis? Status of jaguars Panthera onca in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

• Published in: Oryx
• Main Authors: Erik R. Olson, Yunyi Shen, Parker J. Matzinger, Evelyn Tatiana Solano Mora, Guido Saborío-R., Alejandro Azofeifa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Costa Rica; jaguar; Jolly–Seber model; Osa Peninsula; Panthera onca; spatially explicit mark–recapture model; Tayassu pecari; white-lipped peccary
• Online Access: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605324001170/type/journal_article
• ISSN: 0030-6053; 1365-3008

Maintaining jaguar Panthera onca subpopulations throughout Mesoamerica is vital to range-wide jaguar conservation. Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica is critical habitat for the Osa Peninsula jaguar subpopulation. There is a debate regarding whether the jaguars in this National Park are in a state of crisis. To examine this, we implemented long-term camera-trap monitoring throughout Corcovado National Park during 2015–2021. Using a spatially explicit Jolly–Seber model we estimated jaguar populations and distribution throughout our study area. Additionally, we reran our model using a constrained study area to compare our findings with those of a previous study. Trends in jaguar abundance indices and population estimates during 2015–2021 indicate that jaguar abundance has increased over time. Our jaguar density estimates also fall within the range of jaguar densities reported for relatively stable populations elsewhere. Using the same study area as that of a prior study, jaguar densities also increased over the duration of our study and were mostly comparable to previous density estimates. Our results suggest that jaguars within Corcovado National Park may not be in a state of crisis. Rather, our findings provide further hope for the jaguars of the Osa Peninsula. They do not, however, diminish the importance of continued conservation efforts. These will remain critical both inside and outside Corcovado National Park, as threats appear to have persisted over time.