This was a town where everyone used to leave, said Ms. Frete, noting that now some 80 percent of her constituents work in tourism. Today, were better off tying our fate to protecting nature.
Jaguars were a dominant predator in North and South America for millenniums, and played a vital role in keeping ecosystems in harmony.
But the conversion of land to agriculture over the past two centuries drove jaguars to extinction in several of their former domains, including Corrientes province. With just 200 wild jaguars estimated to be remaining elsewhere in Argentina, the majestic cats are critically endangered.
That vulnerability contrasts starkly with the way potential prey feels in the presence of an individual jaguar. When at ease, the animals move in assured, bouncy steps that feel a bit like a dance. But a swoosh of the claws and a guttural roar inspire terror.
I feel so tiny around them, and I like that feeling, Ms. Tompkins said. I love feeling that Im not at the top of the food chain, its almost like a shuddering in my chest.
Ms. Tompkins said that by reintroducing the imposing cats alongside giant river otters, giant anteaters and red and green macaws, she wants to demonstrate this form of conservation is not only possible but scalable.
Yet it takes plenty of human meddling to begin to return places like Iberá to a state closer to what they were like before humans spoiled them.read more
‘Fixing the Damage We’ve Done’: Rewilding Jaguars in Argentina
