Jaguars return to Ibera

Rewilding

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the Ibera Wetlands. My passion for fishing at such an early age fostered that fascination, and ensured it was a place that I would someday have to see and experience for myself. Reading the descriptions of vast expanses of water, shaped by countless channels and lagoons, I envisioned the varieties of fish that might live there, and as well, the myriad of exotic wildlife that would call such a place home.

My dreams first came true in 2018, when I had a chance to join Gustavo and Andy for a few days of exploration into the wetlands. The trip fulfilled two dreams at once, by exploring an unknown place that I had only seen in my mind, and by experiencing the joy of fishing someplace nearly untouched by man.

I was excited to finally arrive and board the boat, but at first glance, not overwhelmed by the surroundings. Likely the result of years of anticipation and obsessive dreams. As we started the boat ride into the wetlands, we passed through channels lined by walls of reeds and a dense variety of flowers and aquatic vegetation. The deeper we went, the tighter the channels became, almost too tight for the boat to pass through; but we were rewarded with close views of capybaras, caiman, and birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors of the rainbow.

Going further and further into the wetlands, I could feel the change. The air, the surroundings, even in myself. I couldn’t explain it, but I was feeling a joy that hadn’t been there before. The feeling of not wanting to return to civilization, but to remain here, deep in the Ibera marsh.

We had planned to stay overnight in the Ibera, at the family home of a wilderness settler. We fished that day until the early afternoon, and traveled on to meet our guide, Omar. As expected, he was there waiting for us in typical gaucho dress and with four horses. His home was a forty-five minute ride, and reachable only by boat and then horse.

As we rode through the marshlands, we listened as Omar told us about his life and his family’s history in the Ibera. I couldn’t help but wonder what life might have been like in this place one or two-hundred years ago, even before the Spanish colonization, when very few humans had dared to step foot here. I looked around, and could see only a wild, clean horizon in any direction, devoid of litter, power lines, or traffic. Nothing but clean air and the occasional tree in the distance.

We spotted wildlife all day; marsh deer, capybaras, caimans, large cranes, egrets, raptors, and over two-hundred other species of birds. But something was missing. Perhaps there, but remaining concealed, the chances of seeing a jaguar in the wild were slim.

The largest big cat of the Americas and third largest in the world, jaguars once roamed from northern Argentina to the boundaries of Patagonia. Today, their natural habitat has been reduced to two separate areas in northern Argentina in the sub-tropical regions, with an estimated population of only two-hundred. Fortunately, this is beginning to change.

On January 7, 2021, after seventy years of being extinct in the Ibera, three jaguars were released in the marshlands by Rewilding Argentina (formerly known as Conservation Land Trust, founded by Douglas Tompkins in 1992). To date, the Ibera now holds eight wild jaguars, and Corrientes Province is recovering its natural apex predator and the iconic animal of the marshlands, but it remains a difficult and ongoing process to recover a sustainable population.

The Ibera project started in 1997 with the purchase of vast expanses of land in the wetlands, with the intention of protecting this unique and diverse area. In 2012, the Jaguar Reintroduction Center (JRC) was constructed, with a huge fenced area to raise jaguars and slowly acclimate them for successful release. A jaguar was born as part of a planned breeding in the JRC in 2015, and the first known wild birth of two cubs in the Ibera happened in 2018, the first in at least seventy years. The project continues to make great strides, but there is much to do ahead.

For Rewilding Argentina, the jaguar is undoubtedly the most iconic species, but they are also working to reintroduce other special and environmentally important animals, like: giant anteaters, red and green macaws, pampas deer, collared peccary, giant otters, and bare-faced Currassow.

In a world under constant threat of encroachment by civilization, it’s comforting to know that a few pristine wilderness areas like the Ibera are being protected and restored to their natural state. Thanks to the vision and dedication of Douglas and Kristine Tompkins, and their desire to help save some of the world’s wild places.

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