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First the biologists must track down the
jaguars. They are often guided by experienced jaguar hunters who use
dogs to track down the jaguar and drive it up into a tree, where someone
shoots it with an arrow tipped with sedative. While the animal is
"out," biologists conduct a physical exam to assess its age and health
and then fit it with a radio collar that transmits a radio signal
for about five years. Conservation biologists can use the data from
these signals to study how the jaguar moves around and uses its habitat.
In addition to being labor intensive and costly, this method often
cannot be implemented simply because jaguars are very hard to capture
and efforts to catch them often fail.
Another way that scientists can estimate how much space a jaguar needs
is by looking at their density. This information can be obtained from
camera trap studies. Because the jaguar roams such a great variety
of habitats, densities will be different depending on the area. Therefore,
scientists need to consider habitat types as well. Explore the following
pages to see if you can figure out how much space jaguars need.
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A conservation biologist fits a radio collar
on a sedated jaguar.
© WCS
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©
2006 Wildlife Conservation Society.