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23.03.09 Jaguar Conservation Fund supports INPA in studying jaguars in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil

In the Brazilian Amazon forest, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa na Amazônia (National Institute for Research in the Amazon – INPA), in collaboration with researchers from Spain and Mexico, is implementing a project studying the ecology and genetics of jaguars through non-invasive methods like camera traps, track plates and scat collection. Scat samples provide information about a species’ diet, as well as its health status. Through DNA extraction, the species can be confirmed and sex and individuals can be identified. As it is generally difficult to locate jaguar scats visually, the Jaguar Conservation Fund sent Raphael Almeida, researcher and handler of Tupã, a dog specifically trained to search for jaguar scat. The Amazon rainforest is the fourth Brazilian biome for the two to work in, having already sampled areas in the Pantanal, Cerrado and Caatinga.

Leia mais sobre o projeto na Amazônia e assista a produção da Globo aqui: