Iberá Provincial Reserve

The largest protected area in Argentina is home to one of the most comprehensive rewilding projects on the planet and it’s paying off far beyond the borders of this 5,000-square-mile reserve. As of 2021—after more than a quarter century of effort and the reintroduction of foundational species such as giant anteaters, pampa deer, collared peccaries, and others—Rewilding Argentina has released nine jaguars, marking the first time this top predator was seen in the Iberá area in 70 years. There are now an estimated 25 jaguars roaming one of the largest wetlands in the world. “The jaguar population is growing fast in Iberá,” says Sebastián Di Martino, Conservation Director of Rewilding Argentina, which is a spin-off of Tompkins Conservation. Di Martino predicts that within a few years, visitors to Iberá Provincial Reserve are likely to have a real chance of seeing a jaguar in the wild. The human population is also benefiting. “We work to move locals from marginal economies, mostly related to cattle ranching, to [more lucrative and sustainable] central economies mostly related to nature watching and wildlife touring,” Di Martino says. Inspired by the success in Iberá, conservationists around the world have turned to Rewilding Argentina for help enhancing their own eco efforts; Di Martino recently traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to share best practices with NGOs trying to reintroduce jaguars into their historic habitat in the southern United States.

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