Location

The Land of the Jaguar

With and an estimated 120 jaguars in Sonora, this population is critically endangered. Habit loss and fragmentation are top threats to their survival. If efforts to restore the jaguar to the landscape of the Southwestern United States are to be successful, we must increase connectivity and strengthen populations in Sonora.

La Tierra del Jaguar is located in the municipality of Sahuaripa, Sonora, Mexico, in proximity to a core breeding population of jaguar.

Range and records of jaguars in Sonora from 2001-2021.

Map adapted from: Ceballos G, Zarza H, González-Maya JF, de la Torre JA, Arias-Alzate A, Alcerreca C, et al. (2021) Beyond words: From jaguar population trends to conservation and public policy in Mexico. PLoS ONE 16(10): e0255555. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255555

The lush river valley was home to a thriving population of Opata people before Spanish settlement in the 1600s. Sahuaripa is an Opata word meaning “land of the yellow ants”.

Located 3.5 hours from the the state capital of Hermosillo, this rural agrarian community is now home to approx. 6,000 people.