Dear Friends,

The rain took us by surprise at the Northern Jaguar Reserve this month, along with the coldness that we felt a little bit more each day. A light but steady drizzle covered the reserve for nearly three days, and Los Pavos was covered in fog, a rare and majestic scene. We do not know exactly how much rain fell, as we were not able to download the information from the weather stations, but we know it had to be a good deal because water began to flow in the arroyos. We have previously talked about these winter rains that occur outside of the monsoon season, locally known as “las equipatas,” and provide a major source of moisture for plants in the area.

In our travels, we found remains of deer and javelina that were probably killed and eaten by mountain lions or jaguars. One of the deer remains was the freshest evidence of predation we have ever seen; we found the four legs, hair, and a bunch of crushed bones, as well as the animal’s stomach contents. Perhaps the chase happened early that morning while we were asleep only a few hundred meters from the place.

This time we had 10 jaguar pictures from the camera traps that we reviewed. Most of the photos are of the jaguar we call “El Inmenso,” who remains the dominant male in the area. There is also a photograph of the jaguar named “Mayo.” Mayo seems to have been in the background and sometimes appears in El Inmenso’s domain. Finally, two pleasant surprises: First, we found a picture of a new jaguar on the reserve. She has previously appeared south of the reserve on two of the neighboring Viviendo con Felinos ranches. The jaguar is called “La Flaca,” although there is nothing weak about her since the photos show she is a strong female. We will talk about the origin of La Flaca’s name and the history behind it soon. The second surprise was a photograph of a jaguar that we now know is a female. This is “Chasah;” you may remember we had pictures of her from January 2010. It is great to know that she is in the area and is a female, and we hope to soon find another mother jaguar with cub.

Finally, we wish you happy holidays and hope all of your goals are met for the coming year. We look forward to continuing to work together with you in the conservation of the jaguar and to bringing you our future adventures at the Northern Jaguar Reserve.

Best wishes,

– Carmina & Miguel

Our jaguar guardians, Carmina Gutiérrez and Miguel Gómez Ramírez, have worked at the Northern Jaguar Reserve since October 2008. As the reserve’s resident biologists, Carmina and Miguel patrol lands to keep out poachers, sustain ongoing management of the reserve, maintain a network of motion-triggered cameras, and inventory the ecological health of reserve lands and waters.

Top photo: The female jaguar “Chasah,” which means “to seek refuge;” bottom: La Flaca at Babisal

Hello!

On this trip there were several things to do, such as deer transects, gabion inspections, and, of course, checking and retrieving camera photos on the ranches. Gabriel, the interim supervisor for the Biodiverse Ranches project, went with me as well as a vaquero named Richard. Halfway through the trip, Richard was replaced by our own vaquero Laqui, who accompanied me on the rest of the ranch circuit. As I mentioned, we worked on deer transects at Rancho Los Alisos in three different zones. After that we went to Las Cuevas and finally to La Tinaja, where we checked the cameras and supervised new gabion construction on the ranch.

The first-ever jaguar photographs were taken this month at Rancho El Sapo. These were identified as “La Flaca,” the same jaguar we photographed last month at Bábaco. She was photographed by paired cameras that gave us both left and right side views to help with future identification. A mountain lion was also photographed at the same site.

At Las Sabanillas, there were two mountain lion photographs, and Bábaco had two mountain lions and three bobcats. During our rounds, we found a rattlesnake at El Sapo and another snake at Las Cuevas. One new camera was placed at Las Sabanillas, and at Mesa Rica, the camera was moved to an arroyo that is close to a trail in order to obtain more feline photos – I hope that works.

Something I forgot to mention is that on the way to La Ventana while we were still at Las Cuevas, we found a badger and a skunk walking on the trail. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a photo. There were some javelina at El Sapo that were watching us and then ran away. The moments when we see animals like this make the long days in the field worthwhile.

I hope that you like the photos taken on this trip and that we continue getting feline images in order to give you a picture of the reserve and the ranches and also to show you how things are progressing.

Until next time,

– Daniela

Daniela Gutiérrez began her position as the Viviendo con Felinos field technician in March 2011. She works with ranchers surrounding the Northern Jaguar Reserve monitoring wildlife, particularly the area’s four large felines, and promoting habitat restoration.

Top photo: New gabion at La Tinaja designed to slow water flow; below: “La Flaca” and a mountain lion at El Sapo

Dear Friends,

Almost a year ago, we talked about the hard work we had to do after the rainy season. As part of our field trip, we had to manually repair the road in the section of Arroyo Babisal, moving fallen rocks and trees to gain access to the northern part of the Northern Jaguar Reserve. Do you remember? This year, we had a similar experience. Although the summer rains were not as intense as in previous years, the road was damaged in several places. Our goal was to reach Los Pavos, no matter the cost…

We primarily had to fill ditches in the road, which was very cumbersome and slow. We had to constantly stop and delay our trip. When we finally got to Los Pavos, everything returned to normal.

Among the most interesting things that happened to us this trip was to rescue a turtle. Yes, we rescued it from dying of dehydration. These animals can spend long periods without food or drink, provided they are protected, for example, sheltered below ground. But this turtle was caught in a former water trough; it probably arrived on a rainy day and was caught once the trough dried up. When we saw the turtle, it was very weak, dry, hardly moving, and showed no fear of us. We gave a bit of our water to it, and so the turtle began to move. We sought out a piece of cactus, and the turtle ate and ate, slowly beginning to move around some more. Then we took it to a pond and were excited to see the turtle enjoy fresh water. We left it there and continued on with our work.

Another day, also at Los Pavos, we encountered a rattlesnake. Unfortunately, it took off when it saw us, and we could not take good pictures. We were able to identify it as a tiger rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris), which according to the literature is possibly the most venomous rattlesnake in the region and is subject to special protection by Mexican law.

We also saw a couple of javelina in front of us at Dubaral. It was fun because we saw them long before they saw us, so we could watch how they forage and witnessed a fight between two males who then ran away quickly when startled by the sight of us and our truck. It was a funny experience.

Although we did not personally see jaguars, we had many pictures of them. This month, we had 25 jaguar pictures of Mayo, El Inmenso, and Caza. Apparently both Mayo and El Inmenso continue “fighting” for the territory of Los Pavos since they both appeared at the ranch. This time there were several days between photos of these two. We know Caza is female; she was named by the previous owner of Las Tésotas (now part of the reserve) and is now walking in the area of Dubaral. We can’t avoid thinking that this female is searching this ranch for a safe place for breeding, as with Cecilia, so hopefully we will soon have the second photo of a jaguar cub. Cross your fingers!

Meanwhile, we’re ready for our next field trip, where we hope to have many pictures of jaguars and other species as well as to see various animals again. Wait for our next blog with more news!

Best regards,

– Carmina & Miguel

Our jaguar guardians, Carmina Gutiérrez and Miguel Gómez Ramírez, have worked at the Northern Jaguar Reserve since October 2008. As the reserve’s resident biologists, Carmina and Miguel patrol lands to keep out poachers, sustain ongoing management of the reserve, maintain a network of motion-triggered cameras, and inventory the ecological health of reserve lands and waters.

Hi,

After not getting any photographs of jaguars last month, I had no idea what to expect this time and the surprise was one of the best that we could have hoped for. The good news is that there were jaguar photos at El Puerto, La Mesa Rica, and Bábaco. We compared the photos with those already on file, and the jaguar at El Puerto was “Caza,” the same one that we photographed some months back at Las Tésotas. There were also three photos of pumas and four bobcats; ocelots did not show at any of the ranches.

The total number of cameras increased this month, and I put some of them in pairs to face each other in places where felines would most probably come. I will continue placing the new cameras this way, along with the ones I already have.

I had the opportunity to see other species of animals during my field stay, such as a gila monster, butterflies, lizards, the last frog of the season, and a dead javelina. The gila monster was on our way toward the Northern Jaguar Reserve (this was the first time that I’ve seen one), and the dead javelina (part of its jawbone and some other bones) was at El Sapo close to the camera at El Mezquite. Perhaps it was a puma kill because there were tracks near the javelina and there were two photographs of pumas on the camera. I saw the other insects and lizards during my trips to the different ranches.

Some of the strange happenings this month were two heavy nighttime rainstorms, one at the end of September and one in October. One of them soaked through my tent, and in the middle of the downpour, I had to run to find another place to sleep because the wind and force of the rain flooded my house. Ha ha… This was my farewell as I left the reserve, one last night of rain.

I hope you like the photos and the blog.

Best wishes,

– Daniela

Daniela Gutiérrez began her position as the Viviendo con Felinos field technician in March 2011. She works with ranchers surrounding the Northern Jaguar Reserve monitoring wildlife, particularly the area’s four large felines, and promoting habitat restoration.

Dear Friends,

This month, a team of entomologists visited the Northern Jaguar Reserve. Charles O’Brien, Robert Jones, Jens Prena, Alejandro Obregón, and Fred Skillman spent five days and nights studying insects on the reserve and in the surrounding areas. They also made stops on the roads between Hermosillo-Sahuaripa and Sahuaripa-Moctezuma. They were focused on beetles (Coleoptera), but they didn’t let the opportunity pass to collect other insects as well. These scientists are very interested in the beetles commonly called weevils. Charles says that these beetles are not well known in this part of Mexico and that they are of agricultural importance because some species are pests to crops. So, this entomological research is important to gain insect knowledge for the reserve and this part of Sonora. For the two of us personally, their visit represented an opportunity to remember how to work with insects, because it had been since university, a long time!

The rains continue, not abundant overall but there were days with significant rain. And with the rain, all of the landscape is green – except those plants that were severely damaged by the frost waves that occurred last February. Many tropical plants died, and the survivors are beginning to sprout new growth at the base of their trunks. Vinorama (Acacia cochliacantha) and torotas trees (Bursera sp.) were the species most affected by frost. If there is not enough rain in the winter season, next spring-summer could be difficult for wildlife and cattle ranchers possibly with a severe drought.

As every year, along with the especially green country also come some little unpleasant animals: baiburines. The baiburines attacked our legs causing a terrible itching for several days. The “baiburin” is the local common name for a mite; chigger is the English common name. Eutrombicula is the scientific name of the genus, and they are found in many temperate and tropical parts of the world. Most of their lifecycle is spent among the remains of vegetation on which they feed, but while they are in the larval stage, they act as microscopic parasites of reptiles, birds, and mammals. In humans, and it varies from person to person, each bite generates an intense allergic reaction that manifests as a rash within a few hours. When we are walking in the dense green vegetation or are finding shade from the summer sun underneath leafy trees, we never see these mites and then you can imagine the rest… The larval stage occurs only in late July, August, and early September, months when the ambient humidity is very high and the temperature is hot. We hope not to see them again, or rather feel the itching that they cause, for a long time.

We plan to see jaguars again in next month’s camera review, since this time the road was impassable in Arroyo Babisal and we could not reach the cameras at Dubaral and Los Pavos. The good news is that many of the cameras we did review were still active with remaining charge in their batteries, so we are confident that the others will last a few weeks more. As always, we did have many pictures of other animals: deer, javelina, pumas, ocelots, bobcats, and other inhabitants of the reserve.

We were able to dedicate some time to explore Rancho Las Tésotas, the newest addition to the reserve – which now constitutes a total area of ​​more than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) without human activity, except ours. We already were acquainted with Las Tésotas, since we were putting cameras there when the ranch was part of the Viviendo con Felinos program, but this time we felt more freedom to walk around the ranch… as if we were now at home. Surely, wildlife will also begin to feel at home here very soon.

That is all for now folks; we’re back to the field and then will have new things to share with you.

See you!

– Carmina & Miguel

Our jaguar guardians, Carmina Gutiérrez and Miguel Gómez Ramírez, have worked at the Northern Jaguar Reserve since October 2008. As the reserve’s resident biologists, Carmina and Miguel patrol lands to keep out poachers, sustain ongoing management of the reserve, maintain a network of motion-triggered cameras, and inventory the ecological health of reserve lands and waters.

Hi,

This month, I returned to the reserve and ranches after the heaviest rains, although I expected the roads to the ranches to be in bad shape. I felt confident it would go well, without accident, since it was the first time I went in the new truck. I began my journey guiding two ornithologists, Adam Hannuksela and Rafael Valdez, into the Northern Jaguar Reserve to band birds as part of a fall molt migration study. It was also a bit of a sad trip for me, as this would be the last time that I would go to check the motion-triggered cameras at Las Tésotas since it is now part of the reserve. After finding several good camera sites at Tésotas in the last few months, I am sure Carmina and Miguel will do a great job maintaining the cameras and producing photos of wildlife here.

The photographs gathered this month at the Viviendo con Felinos ranches were almost all of pumas as well as three of ocelots, despite my not having high hopes of getting many photos during the rainy months because the animals could stay put with plenty of food and water. I’m not sure yet if the ocelots were previously photographed or are new individuals. There were no photos of jaguars this month, nevertheless, in nine out of 10 participating ranches there was at least one feline photo. This tells us that our work is going well and that everyone who participates directly or indirectly in the project is being compensated. I hope that our supporters are excited by the results shown. There were many beautiful photographs of pumas, and I will include one here that I especially liked.

The landscape looked incredible during the early morning outings, and after a good rainfall there was an impressive looking mist over the hills. The rainfall truly changes the landscape of the ranches and the reserve. The truth is that if I did not have a guide, I would have been lost in some of the places where there are cameras. Because of the rain, the vegetation was enormous, more than two meters high in some places, which was too much for me given my vertically challenged nature. It’s good that I am not allergic to the pollen, which saved me from sneezing as I hiked through the green fields full of flowers. The insects were double the amount one would normally experience, and I had the pleasure of meeting the famous baiburines (chiggers). I had to take extreme measures to keep them from bothering me. In regards to the temperature, althought it was not as hot, there was a great deal of humidity and some nights one could really feel it.

This month’s trip finished at Cajón de Mudo. I realized that while the ranch is generally very beautiful, the route to the cameras is a difficult one. The hike there is hard but the things one sees walking along the arroyo are spectacular. Cameras cannot show what we see in real life (at least not my camera).

Finally, my trip coincided one day with Adam and Rafa at La Ventana, and I had the opportunity to see how they band birds as well as the good fortune to see a trogon and other species up close. It was a very different experience for me in a different setting and apparently very successful too.

All of these excursions were an adventure in the wild. Thanks to the whole team and those at the offices, as you have helped me have a better trip each time I go to the field. I hope that you have a wonderful month, and we will talk again next time.

– Daniela

Daniela Gutiérrez began her position as the Viviendo con Felinos field technician in March 2011. She works with ranchers surrounding the Northern Jaguar Reserve monitoring wildlife, particularly the area’s four large felines, and promoting habitat restoration.

Road to Las Tésotas following rain the night before, photo by Daniela Gutiérrez; Elegant trogon, photo by Adam Hannuksela

Hi Friends,

During the month of July, I did not travel in the field due to the start of the rainy season at the Northern Jaguar Reserve. I kept busy with other tasks like purchasing a truck for the Viviendo con Felinos program and updating our wildlife databases. My first task was finding a new project truck by looking in newspapers, searching the Internet, and checking used car dealerships. The roads near the reserve are rough and hard on vehicles, so finding a durable, reliable truck is really important!

There was a period of two weeks where I spent time looking at trucks, and those that could be seen I took to the mechanic to review their condition. Part of that time, Juan Carlos and Efrén helped me search since they were also looking for a truck to use for Naturalia’s prairie dog project. On the last day, we found a white Silverado at a car dealership. At that point, I had given up hope of finding something worthwhile because we had looked in so many places and found nothing. This truck was good, but it was also more than our agreed upon budget. Luckily, Juan Carlos was able to bargain for a lower price. When I returned to the office, I got the license plates and took care of some last minute things.

I now have my own work vehicle thanks to the help I received in my search and thanks to the supporters who helped with this purchase. With this vehicle, it will be a lot easier to access the ranches we work with near the reserve. I hope that you like the truck and are ready for the next blog that will tell you about the species I have found on the ranches in the past two months and also about the ornithologists who are visiting the reserve in the month ahead. That’s all for now since I’m getting ready for the next camp adventure. Yay! I am happily returning again!

– Daniela

Daniela Gutiérrez began her position as the Viviendo con Felinos field technician in March 2011. She works with ten ranchers surrounding the Northern Jaguar Reserve monitoring wildlife, particularly the area’s four large felines, and promoting habitat restoration.

Rain at La Ventana, photo by Adam Hannuksela

Dear Friends,

“That afternoon the temperature was 117°F at Los Pavos…” Perhaps this season has been the hottest since we’ve lived on the Northern Jaguar Reserve. Due to the lack of winter rains and the hard freeze that occurred in February, the landscape is really dry. On some ranches near the reserve, there have been fairly large wildfires, although fortunately the reserve has remained free of fire. The situation has been difficult for ranchers due to the unavailability of food and water on most of the neighboring ranches. Despite all the above, it has been good to hear positive comments about the relationship between people and big cats: “The animals have not caused trouble here” or “There is a lot of deer, and tigres eat them, so they [jaguars] have not bothered cattle.”

In the last days of the month, the weather changed, and the first rains came accompanied by strong winds. Everyone was very happy by the arrival of the summer rains, and we had the opportunity to see many frogs and toads that come out with the rain to begin their reproductive stage. One night we found six species of amphibians and many individuals from each… they were in a small pond between the rocks, along the road, and in the house. The amphibian species we saw that night were: lowland burrowing treefrog (Smilisca fodiens), lowland leopard frog (Lithobates yavapaiensis), western narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne olivacea), Sinaloa toad (Incilius mazatlanensis), Sonoran desert toad (Incilius alvarius), and red-spotted toad (Anaxyrus punctatus).

Besides daily work, we also enjoyed some good things about the hot summer. Once we swam in the river and took a nap under the shade of large willows that live on the banks, so we could escape the stifling heat of midday. Also, we caught some bass in the river; we tried fishing with cane but that was difficult, if not impossible. Then a neighbor noticed our inexperience and came to help us. He took his fishing net and reeled in enough fish for everyone. That evening we ate fried fish, and we watched TV (seriously, he had satellite television at his house). The first rain of the year also came that evening.

In our latest review of camera traps at the reserve, there were 12 jaguar photographs and hundreds of other animal photos. Individual jaguars photographed this time were: “Mayo,” the dominant male at the reserve; “El Inmenso,” another male that inhabits some parts of Mayo’s territory; and “Caza,” a female that appeared at Las Tésotas a few months ago (she also appeared at Babisal last year). There was a picture of a new, previously unknown jaguar at Rancho El Puerto, which is part of the Viviendo con Felinos program. We have to wait until José de la Cruz Coronado, the owner of El Puerto, names this jaguar to know what it will be called.

At the end of our stay in the field, we were visited by Nabani Vera from Iniciativa México, Juan Carlos, and Gerardo, who came to see the reserve and the work that is done here. Together we visited La Ventana, Babisal, and the Río Aros at El Carricito. We had a good time with them, and it was a pleasure to show Nabani what we do and the places where the jaguar lives. It’s always a pleasure to welcome someone new to the reserve. So we wait for your visit!

Until next time,

– Carmina & Miguel

Our jaguar guardians, Carmina Gutiérrez and Miguel Gómez Ramírez, have worked at the Northern Jaguar Reserve since October 2008. As the reserve’s resident biologists, Carmina and Miguel patrol lands to keep out poachers, sustain ongoing management of the reserve, maintain a network of motion-triggered cameras, and inventory the ecological health of reserve lands and waters.

Lowland burrowing treefrog (Smilisca fodiens)

What’s up!

Coming into Sahuaripa this month, it felt like the temperature had seriously increased since last time. The work has changed a little, and I began to review the cameras on the ranches. The first ranch was Bábaco where we changed a couple of camera locations. This was before coming to La Ventana; we also passed through El Sapo and La Sabanilla. We stayed with Don Julio and his wife (owners of El Sapo), and they returned to Sahuaripa the next day with Miguel over the issue of purchasing El Carricito (which became part of the Northern Jaguar Reserve in March).

The next day, I continued the experience of checking cameras on foot, by horse, and with the truck. Half of the ranches were reviewed using horses, which was a lot of fun. The horseback trips that I enjoyed the most were at La Tinaja and Los Alisos. In the first of these, we traveled near parts of the reserve at La Ventana where I had never been, where pools of water have lasted a year without drying, and I appreciated the scenery along the route. Laqui accompanied me, and I thought as we returned that one would never find their way back among these hills without the help of a vaquero. When we visited Los Alisos, we visited Santa Rosa and Arroyo Las Lajas to update the camera placement. The view from here is breathtaking, and you can see part of La Tinaja and the reserve.

When visiting Las Tésotas, Laqui accompanied me again as well as Carmina and Miguel. This day the heat was very intense, and we went to La Canastilla, where the gauging station lies on the Río Aros – yet the water was too hot to cool us down. On this day, we saw the first drops of rain. The next day, a strong wind began in the afternoon and then came the first rains on the reserve.

Juan Carlos and Gerardo arrived with Nabani Vera, a representative from Iniciativa México, and we all went with them to El Carricito, stopping at Babisal and parts of La Ventana along the way. El Carricito is another area with frontage on the Río Aros, but the water was even warmer here – almost like tea. On our way back to La Ventana that night, we found a pond with frogs and toads, which we were able to detect due to their boisterous singing; it was really impressive with five different amphibian species in one small pond. Everywhere we went was really fun, and we were really exhausted at the end of the day.

On the last day, we went to Cajón del Mudo to review the cameras. Gerardo and Nabani accompanied me, but I took a different path than the one I had used previously. After covering the appropriate distance, we had still not come to the cameras, but I think everyone enjoyed the extra walk.

Then we came to a point where I went by myself to check to see if the camera was there, if we were on the right track, while they were resting. When I returned I told them that we should go because Carmina, Miguel, and Juan Carlos would be worried about us. We turned a bend in the arroyo and saw them sitting and waiting for us. They had heard Gerardo’s voice and thought we were coming back, but we were only 20 yards away and did not notice. Hahaha… The representative from Iniciativa México said the experience in general was “extreme” since the temperature reached 116 degrees that day, but he left happy.

Finally, and most importantly, I was able to review the photos. There was a picture of a jaguar at El Puerto, and apparently, this was not one of those identified previously. There was also a very pretty picture of a puma at Las Cuevas that I hope you enjoy.

See you next month,

– Daniela

Daniela Gutiérrez began her position as the Viviendo con Felinos field technician in March 2011. She works with ten ranchers surrounding the Northern Jaguar Reserve monitoring wildlife, particularly the area’s four large felines, and promoting habitat restoration.

Mountain lion at Las Cuevas, June 2011