Jaguar population soars from 11 to 105 near brazil’s iguazú falls as conservation efforts pay off

International Jaguar Day on November 29th brings encouraging news for the Americas’ largest cat, with remarkable recovery stories emerging from regions where the species once faced near-extinction. The jaguar (Panthera onca) has historically lost most of its range due to habitat destruction and poaching, but targeted conservation efforts are proving successful in key areas.

The most striking success story comes from Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park near the famous Iguazú Falls, where jaguar numbers have increased nearly ten-fold in just over a decade. In 2009, only 11 jaguars remained in the park. Today, at least 105 individuals roam the Brazil-Argentina border region, representing one of conservation’s most dramatic turnarounds.

This recovery stems from innovative community engagement programs that transformed local attitudes toward jaguars. The Jaguar Crocheteers project exemplifies this approach, employing more than a dozen local women to create jaguar-themed handicrafts while raising awareness about conservation. For many participants, the project has become their primary income source. “It’s not often we’re able to connect people from different towns around a shared cause. But all of them are united by the jaguars,” explains project coordinator Claudiane Tavares.

Similar positive developments are occurring elsewhere, including Argentina’s Gran Chaco region, where a wild jaguar cub was recently spotted for the first time in three decades. While the Amazon and Brazil’s Pantanal remain the species’ strongholds, these regional recoveries demonstrate that targeted conservation efforts combining habitat protection with community involvement can reverse even severe population declines.