PULSE NEWS MEXICO

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Mexico on Monday, Jan. 30, inaugurated a photographic exhibit on the endangered jaguar and a visual journey toward its conservation at the Juventud Heróica Gallery in the first section of Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park.

The exhibit, which was cosponsored by the capital city’s Environment Secretariat, focuses on the plight of the jaguar in two priority sections of Mexico, the central Pacific and the Maya jungle.

The jaguar is the largest cat in the American continent and is considered an ambassador for conservation, not only because of its stunning beauty and importance in tropical ecosystems, but also because of its relevance as a symbol of many native peoples of the region.

Notwithstanding, jaguars are in danger of extinction due to accelerated urban expansion and the loss and fragmentation of its habitat, as well as poaching, illegal trade, unsustainable logging practices, infrastructure development and climate change.

In Mexico, the jaguar is classified as an endangered species, having lost approximately 40 percent of its natural habitat across the continent and 50 percent of its distribution range over the course of the last 50 years.

The WWF exhibit, which will remain on display at the Juventud Heróica Gallery through March 26, was the brainchild of conservationist photographer Santiago Gibert Isern, and documents the day-to-day of jaguar conservation work of the WWF over the course of two years.

The WWF currently has 15 priority jaguar conservation regions extending from Mexico to Argentina.