Forest Department on the Trail for Jaguars

Tonight, we have an update on the story of Reina Garcia and her family, who have been losing pets and livestock to what she says are problem jaguars. She has lived on the Boom/Hattieville Road for over twenty years and recently lost a dog and a couple of sheep. The Forest Department has responded to the concern. Back in mid-January, cameras were installed in the area, known as a biological corridor for animals, including wild cats. The images collected from these cameras were recorded every week for the past three weeks. Today, a team was back on site, retrieving these devices. On-site, we found paw prints that would suggest that a jaguar is indeed in the area. News Five spoke today with Forest Ranger Erwin Gillett as the cameras were being removed. He shared brief details on some of the findings.

Voice of: Erwin Gillett, Forest Ranger

“This is a camera trap which we set up to monitor problematic jaguars to identify which jaguars are making the attack. Based on the pattern that each jaguars have, you can identify which jaguar it is or if it is a puma. Because it is just based on speculation. They are suspecting that it is a jaguar or it’s a puma. So the cameras are used to identify and give more information of what is happening in the area.”

Duane Moody

“How long have you guys had these cameras out?”

Voice of: Erwin Gillett

“The cameras have been set up for three weeks.”

Duane Moody

“So it records for three weeks long?”

Voice of: Erwin Gillett

“Yes. It takes pictures and then we come weekly and check; download from the SD cards and check the information. The reason why this camera is placed here is because this is an active trail where we found prints and thing of the jaguar which is roaming the area. And the next thing is that in this area is the home range for jaguars and due to overhunting and development, they have less home range for jaguars to actually hunt on.”