Spatial ecology and social interactions of jaguars in the southern Pantanal

Using GPS telemetry on jaguars in the seasonally flooded Pantanal of Brazil, this study quantified home ranges, movements, and the degree of spatial overlap among individuals. It revealed that jaguar territories overlapped more than the strictly exclusive model implies, with males and females sharing space and tolerating one another more than expected for a solitary cat, while still maintaining a structure organized around access to prey and mates. The work documented how the flood cycle and the rich prey base of the Pantanal, including caiman and capybara, shape ranging and density. It advanced understanding of jaguar social organization beyond simple exclusive territoriality and provided rigorous spatial data for a population in one of the species' most important strongholds, informing how riverine wetlands sustain unusually dense jaguar populations.