The Argentine Wildlife Foundation (FVSA) has issued a call for urgent measures to protect the jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Western hemisphere. According to the organization, there are fewer than 200 jaguars remaining in all of Argentina, scattered across six provinces. The species was declared a National Natural Monument in 2001 and is closely monitored by the FVSA.

“Deforestation resulting from the expansion of the agricultural frontier and the lack of effective implementation of legislation such as the law on native forests have placed the jaguar in a very vulnerable situation,” FVSA general director Diego Moreno told Tierramérica.

To ensure the survival of the species, he said, what is needed is funding for the implementation of Law 26.331, which establishes minimum standards for the protection of native forests, and the adoption of a specific plan to ensure the protection of the endangered feline.