Research overview: water buffalo and anti-predation husbandry against jaguars

This overview reviews husbandry interventions promoted to reduce jaguar and puma depredation on cattle in the Venezuelan llanos and elsewhere, including the use of water buffalo, which form defensive groups resistant to big-cat attack, the spatial separation of calving from high-risk areas, and management of herd vigilance. It synthesises work associated with researchers such as Hoogesteijn on production-and-conservation models that lower losses while maintaining ranch profitability. The literature considers the transferability of buffalo-based systems, electric fencing, and night enclosures. The survey frames anti-predation husbandry as a practical route to coexistence, demonstrating that adjusting livestock management can substantially cut depredation without resorting to killing jaguars.