The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is the principal federal partner responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), meaning the Service takes the lead in recovering and conserving our Nation's imperiled species. To accomplish this, the Service works with a variety of partners and other agencies, communities, tribal governments, conservation groups, businesses interests, landowners, and concerned citizens to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and their habitat.
One such imperiled species is the jaguar, an animal listed as endangered under the ESA. The Service is currently partnering with the Jaguar Recovery Team to develop a recovery plan for the jaguar. The Jaguar Recovery Team is a collaborative, bi-national team of jaguar experts, conservation ecologists, stakeholders, land owners, and land managers from the United States and Mexico tasked with determining the actions needed to arrest the decline of the jaguar, remove or reduce the threats to the species and its habitat, and ensure its long-term survival in the wild.
This database of jaguar observations is one of these recovery actions. Knowing when and where jaguars have been observed assists the Jaguar Recovery Team in determining where and when conservation actions can most benefit the jaguar. This database was designed and created and will be maintained through a partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society.