Four major conservation groups have joined forces to establish the Jaguar Rivers Initiative across South America’s Paraná River Basin.Its goal is to protect the big cat and other threatened species, rewild native wildlife, and protect land throughout the basin, a biodiversity hotspot shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.Many rivers form the borders between the four countries, and by collaborating on protections, the initiative seeks to reconnect fragmented habitat, using rivers and riparian forests to rebuild wildlife corridors.By 2030, the initiative plans to protect at least 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of land in these countries, preserving approximately 34 million metric tons of carbon at risk of being released through deforestation, fire and land-use change.
Forced to quarantine at a ranger station during the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of researchers in northern Argentina passed the time by monitoring wildlife around a lagoon on the Bermejo River. One day, something unexpected appeared in the water: a giant river otter, thought to be extinct in the country for nearly 50 years.
The researchers paddled out in kayaks to photograph the animal, which soon began building a den beside their station, allowing them to monitor its behavior. They eventually launched a campaign for its protection.
