Conservation of the jaguar Panthera onca in a community-dominated landscape in montane forests in Oaxaca, Mexico

We examined the presence of the jaguar Panthera onca, and human-jaguar interactions, in a community-dominated montane tropical forest landscape with formally recognized indigenous/community con- served areas in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca state, Mexico. We used camera traps to detect jaguars, and social data were collected through informal interviews and 46 semi- structured and 106 structured interviews with community leaders and members. During June 2007-June 2008 camera traps registered two jaguars in the four study communities after 1,164 trap nights, with a photo-capture rate of 7.8 jaguar captures per 1,000 trap nights. Interviews docu- mented 86 jaguar sightings since 1990. Despite some history of livestock predation, 68% of the interviewed farmers indicated jaguar presence was positive, 20% that jaguar presence was both positive and negative, and 12% thought jaguars were a negative presence. All of the respondents with negative attitudes had either owned cattle previously or lost cattle to predation. Despite ongoing risks to jaguars the emergence of community-conserved areas, local conserva- tion initiatives, and a community-imposed hunting ban are supported by 93% of community members. An emerging culture of conservation in the study communities suggests there is an opportunity for jaguar conservation on commu- nity lands that should be explored elsewhere in jaguar range