Onçafari Project aims to promote ecotourism, especially wildlife watching tourism, in the Brazilian Pantanal. It is part of a number of activities that aim to stimulate a sustainable development of the Pantanal. Ecotourism is used as an important conservation tool in many places around the world to preserve wild areas and also as a source of income for landowners and local communities. The African
example is being copied by other regions and large areas are being protected around the world with resources generated by ecotourism. With over 95% of the Brazilian Pantanal being private land, ecotourism would bring an alternative source of wealth to land owners, creating an extra incentive for them to preserve this ecosystem and the species that live in it. Ecotourism being a sector that generates many direct and indirect jobs would also bring wealth for local communities, a very important fact considering the conflict that exists between wildlife and farmers. The jaguar, for example, eventually feeds on the cattle, and is illegally prosecuted and killed by ranchers. Onçafari Project's idea is to create value for wildlife, making the animals be worth more alive than dead. Ecotourism is the best tool that can be used in order to reach that goal. HOW IS IT BEING DONE? The project is being developed in two fronts simultaneously: The first aims to positively impact the experience of tourists that visit the Pantanal, with a pioneering initiative in Brazil: jaguar habituation. The second aims to increase the number of tourists visiting the Pantanal. WHAT IS JAGUAR HABITUATION? Jaguar habituation is nothing more than gradually increasing the tolerance of these animals towards the presence of vehicles with tourists. South African specialists that are used to tracking and getting to close proximity to wild animals, are coming to the Pantanal for the slow process of getting jaguars habituated to our vehicles. How close we can get to these cats varies according to each animal's tolerance. It's important to note that to habituate jaguars doesn't mean to domesticate them. They continue to be completely wild, but stop seeing vehicles as a threat and don't hide when they get close. Another important detail is that the jaguars get habituated towards the vehicles, not towards people. The whole process is being done in collaboration with Cenap, the Brazilian Federal Government body responsible for carnivores. HOW LONG WILL THE PROCESS TAKE? It will depend on each individual animal. The jaguars themselves will decide how close our vehicles can get to them. Through their behavior we can evaluate how tolerant each jaguar is to the presence of the vehicles. Some jaguars will eventually be sighted by vehicles without running away, while others will remain more skittish and are less tolerant to the presence of our vehicles. The main focuses of the project are females that accept the presence of the vehicles and that have their entire home range within Caiman Ecological Refuge. The cubs of these females will grow up seeing that their mothers do not fear our cars, and will grow up without running away form our vehicles, becoming completely habituated. With time the animals will simply ignore the presence of the vehicles. Nowadays in some African countries it is possible to see all kinds of behavior of wild animals: they hunt, play, fight, mark territories and mate in front of vehicles with guests as if those vehicles weren't there. As they grow up without seeing these vehicles as a threat, they become completely used to them and consider the vehicles as part of the landscape, they treat them as if they where trees, like something that doesn't represent any danger. WHY CHOOSE JAGUARS THAT HAVE THEIR ENTIRE TERRITORY INSIDE THE REFUGE? Unfortunately and despite being illegal, there are still people who hunt jaguars in retaliation for predating cattle in the Pantanal. Habituating jaguars is a slow process and the death of an animal that is being habituated, besides being tragic, would set the project back tremendously. Therefore, in this phase of the project, we only habituate jaguars that are confined to Caiman, a place that is 100% safe for them. To know the territory of each animal the project's team placed camera traps in several places around the Refuge where the project is taking place. The images generated by these camera traps allow us to identify each jaguar and have a good idea about where they live. But to be sure of the exact territory of each individual jaguar we must analyze the data received from the GPS/Satellite collars that Cenap placed on some individuals. The collars are programmed to drop off in a pre-determined date and don't interfere in the life of the animals at all. WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN? In South Africa, in a region called Sabi Sands, lions and leopards were hunted for eventually feeding on cattle, like it still happens today with jaguars in the Pantanal. Many years ago some farmers began investing in tourism focused on wildlife watching, something that was already common in some other African countries. Leopards were considered the most secretive of the big cats and even a glimpse on these animals were very rare in the whole continent. Tourists and wildlife enthusiastic considered seeing a leopard like winning the lottery. Besides being physically similar to jaguars, these animals also have similar life styles: they live in dense areas where they can easily hide when they hear or see something they consider a threat. Then in the 80s a safari ranger decided to follow these shy animals. For his amazement, after some time, they began accepting his presence, especially the cubs of partly habituated female adults. Today the Sabi Sands was transformed in a large private conservation area, it was incorporated to the famous Kruger National Park, and is recognized as the best place in the world to see leopards in the wild, hosting thousands of tourists every year. Wildlife based eco tourism generates wealth for landowners and creates jobs for local communities that are employed in hotels, commerce and other tourism-related jobs. Today the whole population protects the animals and depend on them to make their living. WHY TO HABITUATE JAGUARS? Wildlife watching tourism is growing a lot in the whole world, not just in Africa. Tourists are after big animals, especially carnivores. Tigers in India, polar bears in the north of Canada, wolves in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States and grizzly bears in Alaska are just a few examples of animals that attract a large number of tourists and contribute to the conservation of huge natural areas around the world, likewise protecting all other species that coexist in the same ecosystems. The Pantanal is a place with beautiful scenery and a big variety of animals that is ideal for ecotourism. But the most charismatic and wanted by the tourists, the jaguar, is seldom seen due to years of hunting and persecution it has suffered. As with other charismatic species around the world, frequent jaguar sightings has the potential to attract a big number of tourists, bringing wealth for landowners and local communities and contributing to the conservation of this important ecosystem and the species that live in it. It is important to state that today the biggest conflict between landowners and wildlife in the Pantanal occurs due to the predation of cattle by jaguars. And the jaguar is hunted for the loss caused to land owners, even though researches show that the actual predation of cattle by jaguars is much lower than the number of deaths attributed to them. Wildlife watching tourism has the potential to solve this problem, making an animal that is seen as a pest become an asset, as lions and leopards are in Africa. WHERE IS THE PROJECT TAKING PLACE AND WHY? The project is initially taking place at Caiman Ecological Refuge and will serve as a model to be replicated in the whole of the Pantanal. Caiman Ecological Refuge was chosen as the initial site due to some important factors: : 1) The farm has 53.000 ha, large enough to have a big number of jaguars inside its borders, especially females. Caiman is large enough to have a good number of females with their home range exclusively in the farm. This is very important because this is the only way we can guarantee their safety in this phase of the project. 2) Caiman has an excellent road infrastructure, with some elevated roads in lower areas, which makes driving through the farm during the whole year possible, even during the flood season. This is an extremely important issue, not only because it facilitates tracking the jaguars, but it also enables the process to happen uninterruptedly. 3) Caiman has adopted policies that have benefitted wildlife for years. No hunting has taken place inside its borders at least since 1985 when the current owner bought the property. This fact alone facilitates the habituation process since the animals are not as afraid of cars as they are in other areas. Also, dogs are not allowed in the property, making wildlife feel a lot more relaxed than in most other ranches in the Pantanal where dogs roam freely. Caiman has also supported various conservation projects for years. 4) Caiman already has a very nice ecotourism infrastructure that is essential for the project to work once jaguars are habituated. We will have jaguars to show to guests that need a place to stay. Once the model is tested and proved, Onçafari Project's team aims to expand the project to the whole of the Pantanal by helping other land owners that are willing to invest in ecotourism. WHICH OTHER INITIATIVES THAT IMPACTS GUEST´S EXPERIENCE ARE PART OF THE PROJECT? Onçafari Project is bringing to the Pantanal years of experiences accumulated in Africa. It is necessary to develop and train guides in Brazil to increase wildlife sightings without impacting on the animals. They need to be thought tracking techniques and to follow guiding, sightings, radio and driving protocols in order to facilitate future sightings. Onçafari Project also plans to help develop the ecotourism business in Brazil by helping to enhance nature activities, building hides for wildlife photography among other ways to upgrade the experience of tourists visiting the Pantanal, so that they come back over and over again and help market the Pantanal to their families and friends. WHAT IS BEING DONE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS WHILLING TO VISIT THE PANTANAL? We are filming a documentary that will be shown in Brazil as well as all over the world, about the habituation of jaguars in the Pantanal. The purpose of the documentary, besides documenting this pioneering project, is to show a global audience all the wonders of the Pantanal as well as promoting that soon people will be able to watch jaguars behaving naturally, from a safari vehicle, from a close distance. In Brazil we want to encourage other landowners to invest in the ecotourism business, and therefore protect nature, as well as encourage Brazilians to visit this beautiful part of their country. Abroad, we want to showcase the world that the Pantanal has everything it needs to have in order to be a top wildlife destination. Besides the movie, Onçafari Project is actively marketing the project, the jaguar and the Pantanal in the internet and printed media. For further information - WWW.PROJETOONCAFARI.COM
