Local nature guides have documented the presence of a wild jaguar cub on the banks of the Bermejo River in El Impenetrable National Park. It’s the first offspring of the species seen in decades in the Argentine Chaco. The cub was sighted with its mother Nalá, one of four female jaguars recently released in the Chaco, in hopes of providing a genetic lifeline to a dwindling all-male population. The discovery hails a triumphant return of the keystone species, destined for local extinction until now.
August 6, 2025—RESISTENCIA, AR Local nature guides Darío Soraire and Pablo Luna were boating the Bermejo River on July 30th when they spotted a jaguar (Panthera onca) and her cub on the riverbank. Photos show the cub to be around five months old. Its mother, Nalá, was born in captivity and released by Rewilding Argentina, the offspring of Tompkins Conservation, one year ago. The return of female jaguars, last seen in 1990 in the Argentine Chaco, has spurred the recovery of South America’s top predator in this unique dry forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Spanning four countries, the Gran Chaco is second only to the Amazon in terms of ecological importance in South America, though it is largely unknown and undefended.
Efforts to restore the jaguar population in El Impenetrable National Park began in 2019, when a park ranger discovered the tracks of a solitary male jaguar. Named Qaramta, he was collared, monitored, and bred with captive females brought from the Jaguar Reintroduction Center in Iberá Park, producing cubs destined for wild release, including Nalá, who was released in August, 2024. In recent years, three other wild males have been documented in the park. But without females, the species faced a dead end.
According to Sebastián Di Martino, Conservation Director of Rewilding Argentina, the situation is critical. Fewer than ten confirmed male jaguars remain in the Argentine area of the one-million-sq km expanse of the Gran Chaco. Di Martino explains, “Wild jaguars are holding out in isolated pockets of Northern Argentina, but they need genetic diversity and connectivity to thrive. Creating a breeding population not only brings us one step closer to the jaguar’s recovery, it offers the blueprint to extending their comeback throughout the Gran Chaco.”
In Argentina, the situation for jaguars is critical. The species has lost over 95% of its original range; the remaining 200-250 estimated jaguars in the wild are surviving in fragmented populations or alone. Rewilding jaguars in nearby Corrientes Province has been a successful tool in the restoration of the Iberá wetlands, where nature-based tourism is central to the local economy. Ongoing collaboration between the Chaco Province, and assistance from Argentina’s National Parks Service, have been crucial in implementing a solution.
Kristine Tompkins, President of Tompkins Conservation, congratulated Argentina on the good news, adding, “The Gran Chaco is a vital ecosystem shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, yet few have ever heard of it. Today’s action brings hope to protecting so many species and I hope these jaguars bring worldwide attention to the challenges facing both the people and wildlife of the Chaco. It’s proof that we can change the trajectory that we’re on and fight mass extinction by working together.”
About Rewilding
Rewilding is a conservation strategy that seeks to recover healthy, complete, functional ecosystems by bringing back locally extinct species and supplementing threatened species. Through the development of nature-based tourism, protected areas with complete and functional ecosystems foster the well-being and pride of neighboring communities.
Rewilding in El Impenetrable National Park
El Impenetrable National Park is currently working to reintroduce the jaguar, giant river otter, marsh deer, red-footed turtle and monitoring tapir. Rewilding Argentina, the offspring of Tompkins Conservation, works within El Impenetrable National Park in collaboration with the National Parks Administration carrying out research, monitoring, and numerous tasks aimed at the expansion of the park, as well as developing an extensive inventory of biodiversity.
Rewilding Argentina receives support from DOB Ecology and Turtle Conservancy to restore the Gran Chaco, and from its strategic collaborator Tompkins Conservation, a leader in rewilding and park creation in the Southern Cone.