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AssetID: 35129220

Headline: Why did the jaguar cubs cross the road? Adorable images capture rare sighting of endangered jaguar mother and three cubs

Caption: A rare sighting of endangered jaguar mother and three cubs has been caught on camera for the first time in south Brazil. The cubs were seen crossing a road in the endangered Atlantic Rainforest (near the famous Iguaçu falls). The family are four of just 200 jaguars left, after deforestation and other threats have reduced the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil to just seven per cent of its original size. Dr Valeria Boron, regional manager for Brazil and Amazon at WWF said: “Jaguars are icons of Latin America and are mainly threatened by habitat conversion driven by agricultural and cattle ranching expansion, and poaching. In the Atlantic Forest they have nearly been wiped out. The sighting of these three cubs is heartening news for jaguar conservation. But we still know so little about the elusive cats and need to take urgent action to limit deforestation to make sure these cubs, and the forest, have a chance.” The Iguaçu National Park recently celebrated a 30% increase in jaguar numbers. Between 71 and 107 animals were estimated in the park in 2017 – up from 51 to 84 in 2014. The monitoring was based on months of analysis from camera trap images collected in 2016 in the forest. This is good news for conservation in Iguaçu National Park, but the 200 jaguars in the park represent 1% of the original population. There is more work needed to secure the future of jaguars in this area and across the Amazon. While the three fluffy cubs pictured may not appear to be high up the food chain, they are top predators fundamental to the health of the forest. They play an important role in controlling the populations of other species which helps keep a balance in the food chain. WWF has been working to protect jaguars and the places where they live which will also aid the recovery of other wildlife, especially in the Amazon.

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story

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