Latest news with #Pantheraonca
The Star
29-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Jungle cats threatened by urbanisation
A jaguar (Panthera onca) rests on the grass at the Mata Ciliar association, an organization for the conservation of biodiversity, in Jundiai, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on May 29, 2025. Twenty-five pumas and ten jaguars are currently recovering at the Brazilian Center for the Conservation of Neotropical Felines at Mata Ciliar, a site as large as 40 football fields where monkeys, wild dogs, maned wolves, ocelots, and other regional animals are also rehabilitated. (Photo by Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP) Apartment blocks and shopping centres sprout like mushrooms around a wild cat sanctuary that shelters pumas recovering from injuries suffered at the hands of mankind in Brazil's Sao Paulo state. The Mata Ciliar refuge stretches over the equivalent of 40 football fields just 90km from the state capital Sao Paulo – Latin America's biggest metropolis. Twenty-five pumas and 10 jaguars are receiving treatment at the centre – including Barreiro, a five-year-old puma named after the semi-rural neighbourhood where he was found caught in a trap made with a steel cable. Barreiro is being treated for a deep cut to the hip. 'Due to the advancement of urbanisation into its natural habitat, when the puma moves, it gets lost between roads, gated communities and other human interventions,' Mata Ciliar president Jorge Bellix said. As its habitat shrinks in step with human expansion, the puma is forced to move closer to settlements to find food – which may include pets and livestock, as its natural diet of deer and smaller wild animals gets diminished. The big cats risk being run over by cars, electrocuted by security fences or trapped in snares set by either hunters trying to catch wild boar or residents warding off predators. Some are poached for their skins or as trophies. 'If this continues, we will unfortunately witness the extinction of several (animal) species within a few years,' said Bellix, whose refuge has treated some 32,000 creatures since it was founded nearly 30 years ago. A puma (Puma concolor) is pictured at the Mata Ciliar association, an organization for the conservation of biodiversity, in Jundiai, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on May 28, 2025. Twenty-five pumas and ten jaguars are currently recovering at the Brazilian Center for the Conservation of Neotropical Felines at Mata Ciliar, a site as large as 40 football fields where monkeys, wild dogs, maned wolves, ocelots, and other regional animals are also rehabilitated. (Photo by Carlos FABAL / AFP) Stone jungle Mata Ciliar also houses monkeys and maned wolves, and is located within the vast Mata Atlantica forest in a country with some of the highest wild cat diversity in the world. But just a few kilometers away looms the grey expanse of Sao Paulo, a metropolis of 21 million people nicknamed the 'stone jungle'. 'The situation is critical: the animals of Sao Paulo are losing the war against urbanisation,' said veterinarian Cristina Harumi, who helped save Barreiro and hopes he can be returned to the wild soon. The puma, sitting as it does at the top of the food chain, is considered a bioindicator: its disappearance would be an alarming sign of the extent of environmental degradation, she added. The puma, also known as mountain lions, is listed as 'near threatened' in Brazil by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains the 'Red List of Threatened Species', while mountain lion sub-species outside the Amazon basin are considered 'vulnerable'. – AFP
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
El Cono: The mysterious sacred 'pyramid' hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS Name: Cerro El Cono, also known as "Montaña Cónica" Location: Sierra del Divisor, Peruvian Amazon rainforest Coordinates: -7.963010971488621, -73.78224313086483 Why it's incredible: El Cono stands alone in the rainforest and has a mysterious pyramidal shape. Cerro El Cono is a 1,310-foot-tall (400 meters), pyramid-like formation in the Amazon rainforest. It rises steeply from the relatively flat jungle landscape of eastern Peru, making it visible from as far west as the Andes — 250 miles (400 kilometers) away — on a clear day. The formation, whose name translates to "cone hill," is located in a mountainous region on the border between Peru and Brazil known as the Sierra del Divisor. The mountains are visible in the background of most photographs of Cerro El Cono, but the formation is isolated from the other peaks and has an unusual pyramidal shape, making it stand out from the rest of the mountain range. The origins of the strange peak have remained mysterious due to its remote location. While some sources suggest that the cone could be an extinct volcano, others say it might simply be an unusual rock formation. Related: Mount Roraima: The 'lost world' isolated for millions of years that Indigenous people call the 'house of the gods' Indigenous people have another explanation for the bizarre mountain: According to the Peruvian newspaper La República, Cerro El Cono is a spiritual entity for local tribes and groups, some of which revere the peak as an "Andean Apu" — a sacred mountain god or spirit. In the mythologies of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, Apus emerged from Earth to guide and protect the people living close by. A fourth explanation — one for which there is no evidence — is that Cerro El Cono sits on the ruins of a pyramid built by ancient Indigenous tribes, according to La República. MORE INCREDIBLE PLACES —Iran's folded rocks: The crumpled mountains at the intersection of Asia and Europe —Wilkes Land crater: The giant hole in East Antarctica's gravitational field likely caused by a meteorite —Rainbow Mountains: China's psychedelic landscape created when 2 tectonic plates collided Cerro El Cono stands adjacent to the Ucayali River, which is a major tributary of the Amazon River. The surrounding jungle is a biodiversity hotspot and home to several vulnerable species, including giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus), jaguars (Panthera onca) and various types of monkeys, according to The Guardian. The peak itself is forested and forms part of a large area that has been considered a biodiversity conservation priority since the 1990s. Concern that this ecosystem may become degraded by infrastructure, illegal logging and gold mining prompted the creation of the Sierra del Divisor National Park in 2015. But recent surveys indicate that the protected park, which is 1.5 times the size of Yellowstone National Park, has not removed threats from illegal deforestation and wildlife poaching. Discover more incredible places, where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Researchers make stunning discovery after sightings of critically endangered animal: 'This shift is particularly concerning'
A lone jaguar roaming the forests of northwest Ecuador was responsible for the species' first appearance in two separate areas in years. Panthera onca had not been seen in the Río Manduriacu Reserve in seven years or in the Junín Community Forest in 15 years, Mongabay reported. Two camera trap surveys produced video and photographs of the big cat in November 2023 and January 2024. The findings, along with the simultaneous presence of an Andean bear, were revealed in Neotropical Biology and Conservation in November. The Central University of Ecuador, Andean Condor Foundation, and EcoMinga Foundation were responsible for the first sighting. The Defense and Ecological Conservation of Intag and Ecoforensics recorded the second, which took place in a mining concession. The researchers compared notes and came to the conclusion that the same jaguar had traveled for almost two months through the forests and "human-altered zones," per the study, to be captured by both camera traps. Lowland habitat loss is forcing the species to seek new territory at higher elevations. "This shift is particularly concerning for the Critically Endangered western population of jaguars, which faces greater threats compared to the eastern population," Javier Torres, study co-author and UCE professor, told Mongabay in an email. Other wildcats have been similarly documented, allowing scientists to learn more about them and create conservation programs that help them thrive. In March 2023, miners were forced out of part of Junín by a court order. The researchers wrote that this could have encouraged the individual jaguar to return to an area it may have previously avoided because of human activity. The creature is also thought to be responsible for a nearby livestock attack, which occurred between the two camera trap sightings. "In this sense, while the presence of jaguars in areas where they were previously considered absent is a positive sign of biodiversity, it underscores the importance of addressing human-wildlife conflicts and other threats like mining activities and habitat fragmentation," Torres wrote. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The researchers will continue to monitor both forests to improve their understanding of the beings that live there and how they coexist. They said local populations should be educated about the environment, "especially since jaguars are among the species most targeted in retaliatory killings in the Americas," according to Mongabay. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
