Mexico‘s jaguar population has increased by 30% over the past 15 years, a new census has revealed.
The census, which was completed by the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) last year, found 5,326 jaguars, up from around 4,000 in 2010. The group’s second census, in 2018, had found around 4,800 jaguars.
Jaguars are native to the Americas, and can be found in more than half a dozen countries including Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. There are believed to be around 173,000 jaguars left in the wild, the majority of which live in the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal.
Their conservation status is currently Near Threatened. The biggest threats to jaguars are habitat destruction and poaching.
Gerardo Ceballos González, head of the ANCJ, told The Guardian that it would take a further 25 to 30 years of population growth for jaguars to no longer be at risk of extinction in Mexico.
González added, “We are winning a battle in a war that is being lost. But it is a very important battle. It gives us hope that if we articulate the right policies, we can achieve great results.”
If you want to see jaguars in Mexico for yourself, you should head to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, home to the highest concentration of the big cat in the country.
Read next: The 7 best places to see jaguars in the wild
