Jaguars are a gorgeous animal. These beautiful animals are unique to South America - South America is the only place in the world where Jaguars are found living in the wild.
Jaguars are at risk today from the recent fires that are happening in South America. There are reports that a Jaguar sanctuary is at risk from the fires, in Brazil.
This Jaguar sanctuary is a nature reserve. It is a nature reserve which is home to the world's biggest population of Jaguars today.
The fires that are happening, are happening within the Pantanal wetlands. Jaguars live within the Pantanal wetlands in South America.
The Pantanal wetlands is a world heritage site.
There have been fires within the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil for a few months now. It is thought that the fires started around July. The fires this year are the worst fires on record in the Pantanal wetlands.
The fires threaten many unique and beautiful animals. These beautiful and unique animals include Giant Anteaters and Jaguars.
Jaguars are sadly threatened by the current fires because the Pantanal wetlands are like a sanctuary for Jaguars. The fires are threatening Jaguars as a species because a large amount of the Jaguar population lives within the Pantanal wetlands.
The Pantanal wetlands are not the only habitat that Jaguars are found within though. These beautiful animals are also found within the Amazon rainforest. Sadly, there are also fires happening in the Amazon rainforest right now too. The fires also have been happening for months now. This means that Jaguars are facing the threat of fires within their rainforest home too.
The Pantanal wetlands are close to the Amazon rainforest - it is south of the Amazon rainforest. These wetlands stretch across three countries. Those three countries are - Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
It has been reported that there have been over 12,000 fires in the Pantanal wetlands this year. Sadly the picture is similar in the Amazon rainforest; it is believed that there were just over 29,000 fires, in August 2020, in the Amazon rainforest.
Jaguars A Threatened Species
Today, Jaguars are classified as a 'near threatened' species. This means that Jaguars are nearly threatened with extinction.
Sadly, the Jaguar population is also decreasing.
Jaguars are threatened with extinction for many reasons. Things like the current and recent fires in the Pantanal wetlands and the Amazon rainforest put Jaguars at risk. Jaguars are also threatened with many other things, including - the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, roads being built through their habitats, pollution and much more.
You can find a full list of the threats that Jaguars face on their IUCN Red List page.
It is estimated that the Jaguar population is 170,000 today.
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