94 This approach delivers a holistic understanding of the jaguars’ impact. “This risk map will help us understand how the capybaras are perceiving risks and how they may change their behavior. That will change the shape of these areas because they will stop eating there and then eat more in other places,” De Angelo said. To complement inputs collected with drones and mobile apps, researchers set up a variety of camera traps across the park. These cameras collect valuable data about the animals that don’t wear GPS devices. When an animal wanders into a camera’s field of vision, the movement is recorded and can be analyzed with GIS. “We are using all these technologies to make the process very quick,” De Angelo said. “Every 20 days or so, we analyze everything. We go into the field to corroborate the number of animals that were the prey of the jaguars. This is useful for two main things—knowing that reintroduced jaguars are doing well and understanding their impact and role on the Iberá ecosystem.” A Strategy for Long-Term Ecosystem Management Eleven years into the jaguar project, Rewilding Argentina staff are seeing its benefits. Local pride rooted in a reverence for nature has blossomed along with a robust ecotourism industry in communities along the Iberá National Park perimeter. “Jaguars are a very charismatic species that are good for tourism. A new economy has been built surrounding the local traditions and the conservation of nature,” De Angelo said. Researchers easily input information about animal behavior into ArcGIS Survey123. That data is then synced to a map to show where it was collected. Image courtesy of Rewilding Argentina. Jaguars like to live near water and are very good swimmers. They are most active at dawn and dusk.
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