Jaguar swimming in the wild,  Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas in the northern Pantanal, Brazil (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

28 September 2025

Jaguars are rare in Mexico and appeared to be on the brink of extinction when Gerardo Ceballos and his team from the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) conducted a nationwide survey in 2010. They were surprised to find 4,100 — four times as many jaguars as they expected. The big cats were Endangered but there was hope.

Jaguars (Panthera onca), native to Central and South America, are the third largest big cat in the world and have a common genetic ancestor with lions and leopards.

Phylogenetic relationships of living Panthera (cladogram from Felidae on Wikipedia)

Mexico’s small jaguar population is at the northern edge of the range and as close as they come to the U.S. The jaguar’s stronghold is in the South American rainforest and the Pantanal.

Jaguar range map from Wikimedia Commons

After the 2010 census results, ANCJ embarked on a Mexico jaguar conservation campaign to maintain protected areas, reduce jaguar conflict with cattle ranchers, and increase public awareness of jaguars. Then they counted again.

The [2024] census took place over 90 days across 15 states, using 920 motion-capture cameras and involving nearly 50 researchers as well as local community leaders. Researchers looked at an area of 414,000 hectares, making it the largest census for any mammal in Mexico.

Jaguar crossing a bridge at the “Las Joyas” scientific station in Mexico, 1 Mar 2020 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

In good photos the scientists could avoid double counting because the jaguar’s spots are unique per individual. Their rosette spots have small spots inside them and the pattern and arrangement of rosettes is unique.

Male jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Some jaguars even have long dark spots along their backbones.

Jaguar seen from above at a zoo (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Happily the new count totaled 5,326 jaguars, a 30% increase!

Jaguars were found across the country, with the largest number in the Yucatán peninsula region (1,699), followed by the south Pacific area (1,541), north-east and central Mexico (813), the north Pacific (733) and the central Pacific coast (540).

Mexico will continue conservation efforts to increase their jaguar population. Fingers crossed that the population continues to grow.

The jaguar is listed Near Threatened by the IUCN because of deforestation & human conflict throughout its range.

Female jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil (photo from Wikimedia Commons)