Published: 07 Nov 2025 | Last Updated: 07 Nov 2025 11:03:24

New research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), looking at how livelihoods influence views toward jaguars in protected areas of the Bolivian Amazon, has found that subsistence hunting for meat has a negative influence on views and behaviours toward jaguars, while non-timber forestry income sources have a positive influence. These findings of the research, conducted in collaboration with Conservación Amazónica (ACEAA), WCS-Bolivia and the Zoological Society of London, provide important insights to support conservation efforts and coexistence between wildlife and humans.

Jaguars have lost more than half of their historic habitat, with the Amazon now just one of the species’ few remaining strongholds. It is home to an estimated 75% of the world’s remaining jaguar population. However, jaguars are often persecuted due to negative interactions with humans, making it crucial to understand how people view them to ensure effective conservation.

In the protected areas of the Bolivian Amazon, local people rely primarily on forest-based income sources, especially non-timber forest products, rather than cattle ranching. This includes Brazil nut and açaí harvesting and small-scale agroforestry. To date, most research on human-jaguar ‘conflict’ focuses on cattle ranching regions, so this study addresses an important gap, examining attitudes in forest-dependent communities where livestock are rarely kept, yet conflict with jaguars persists.

Researchers, led by MSc Wild Animal Biology student at the RVC, Andre Becker, analysed 171 household interviews between 2021 and 2023 conducted by collaborating institutions. These were held across three communities within protected areas of the northwest Bolivian Amazon and one community bordering a protected area.

The study measured each participant’s level of involvement in hunting and non-timber forestry; whether they took part in these activities, how much time they spent and how much income they earned, alongside their views and behaviours toward jaguars.

The findings showed that subsistence hunting had a negative influence on views and behaviours toward jaguars, while non-timber forestry had a positive influence. The amount of time and income associated with each activity also shaped people’s perceptions, with more time spent hunting linked to stronger negative attitudes and a greater likelihood of intending to shoot jaguars, while income from sustainable forestry and Brazil nut harvesting correlated with more positive views and reduced likelihood of having killed the species.

Participants engaged in small-scale agroforestry also showed more favourable attitudes and were less likely to intend to cause harm to jaguars. Hunters were significantly more likely to have killed jaguars in the past and intend to kill them in the future, highlighting the need for targeted engagement with this group. The study authors theorise that this difference could be due to hunters' increased likelihood of either direct encounters with jaguars and/or direct competition for the same resources.

Gender and location affected some responses, with women reporting greater fear. However, education and age showed no significant influence.

These findings will help inform targeted interventions, including who to engage to reduce jaguar killing while sustaining local livelihoods. For instance, the study recommends encouraging more non-timber forestry activities as a sustainable livelihood and developing initiatives to reduce fear and perceived risk among hunters.

Andre Becker, MSc Wild Animal Biology graduate at the RVC and lead author of the paper, said:

“The future of jaguars in the Amazon depends on limiting conflict with humans. Understanding what shapes people’s views toward jaguars is key to addressing that conflict. This study helps reveal how different livelihoods influence those views, providing important insight into what might be driving conflict between people and jaguars."

Dr Maria Diez-Leon, Associate Professor in Animal Welfare at the RVC and co-author of the paper, said:

“This research exemplifies the importance of collaborative work to make a positive impact on the lives of wild animals, the humans who live alongside them, and the careers of the next generation of wildlife researchers.”

Dr Daniel Larrea-Alcazar, Director of Science & Technology Program at Conservacion Amazonica-ACEAA, said:

“Jaguar populations in Bolivia occupy a gradient of different landscape types, from humid forests (especially the Amazon) to dry forests. This gradient is not only a matter of interactions with their prey; it also exhibits different interactions with people. In the case of the Amazon, this study shows how people's perceptions can vary when they enter the forest to hunt (negative) and when they enter to collect forest fruits (positive)”.

Dr Nuno Negroes Soares, Senior Ecology Specialist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, said:

“The Amazon is the biggest safeguard for the jaguar, providing the habitat it needs to survive. Local people are essential to preserving the species, as they live side by side with it every day. Protecting the Amazon and its immense biodiversity requires understanding the motivations and needs of these communities and working together to ensure the well-being of both people and wildlife.”

Notes to Editors

Reference

Andre Becker, Nuno Negrões, María Díez-León, Indyra Lafuente-Cartagena, Nelly Guerra, Daniel Larrea-Alcázar, Valeria Boron, Melissa Arias, Lila Sainz, Michelle Peñaranda, Bernarda Sanabria, Jenny Anne Glikman. Hunting, non-timber forestry products, and jaguars (Panthera onca): How livelihoods influence views toward jaguars in protected areas of the Bolivian Amazon, Journal for Nature Conservation, Volume 89, 2026, 127128, ISSN 1617-1381.

The full paper is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2025.127128.

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About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.  
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA in the USA and Canada. 
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2025.  
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.  
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.