The number of jaguars is growing in Mexico, especially in areas of the Yucatán Peninsula. Photo Credit: Patryk_Kosmider/Getty Images
Animals MexicoJaguars Thrive, Thanks to 25 Years of Protection
The jaguar population in Mexico is growing thanks to measures put in place to aid in ensuring the survival of the species in the region.
“The jaguar is an umbrella species, so by protecting the jaguar, you are protecting everything else,” says Gerardo Ceballos, an ecologist and conservationist who has been working with jaguars in the region for nearly 25 years.
The Jaguar Alliance works to conserve jaguars in the area by orchestrating deals between the government and local farming communities. The jaguar remained the most symbolically important animal for 3,000 years with ancient civilizations worshiping jaguars as deities, believing that the animal ruled the underworld.
