DARIÉN, Panama — In a small town called Metetí, deep in Panama’s Darién province, Luis Gutiérrez manages La Reina, or “The Queen,” a cattle ranch named for his wife. His farm features a solar-powered electric fence that encloses the paddocks on his ranch, keeping the cattle contained and protected from jaguars (Panthera onca). On the other side of the fence, about 50 yards into the forest, camera traps have been capturing footage of the elusive felines crossing the small stream on Gutiérrez’s land since 2022. It’s common for jaguars to kill cattle in the Darién, and for cattle owners to retaliate by killing the felines. That’s why, for the past three decades, Darién has been the country’s top province for jaguar killings. But near La Reina, the jaguars are safe — and so are the cattle. Gutiérrez is one of a small handful of farmers working with jaguar ecologist Ricardo Moreno and his nonprofit, Yaguará Panamá Foundation, to mitigate conflicts between humans and the big cats. “We need to first help people,” Moreno says. It’s the cornerstone of his nonprofit’s approach to jaguar conservation. Darién National Park extends over 579,000 hectares. Photo courtesy of the Panama’s Ministry of the Environment. Across Panama and Latin America, jaguars face a wide range of challenges, from retaliation to trafficking. But in Darién, which bridges jaguar habitats in South and Central America, conserving these animals through local communities is critical, experts say. A key piece of a long corridor Jaguar habitat extends from Mexico…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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