The Pantanal, spanning parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, is the world’s largest wetland and home to various iconic wildlife species like jaguars, hyacinth macaws, tapirs, and maned wolves. Over the last 40 years, temperatures have risen by an average of 39.2°F while annual precipitation levels have decreased by roughly 40 inches, and the dry season lasts two months longer than before. These conditions have led to increased frequency and intensity of fires, further reducing wildlife habitat and water availability.
These impacts are having dire consequences on jaguars and hyacinth macaws in the region. For jaguars, water scarcity lowers their prey base and potentially impacts their thermal regulation, leading to changes in movement and hunting abilities. Hyacinth macaws, on the other hand, rely on specific trees for nesting which have become scarce due to fires, putting their reproductive potential at risk.
In the northern Pantanal in Bolivia, WWF-Bolivia, with support from the Wildlife Adaptation Innovation Fund, is constructing 10 artificial watering holes for jaguars and 30 nest boxes for hyacinth macaws. Ten 1,076 square-foot holes will be dug, each with a 20% slope to prevent wildlife from drowning. During the rainy season, these holes will be recharged with rainwater and in the dry season, at the two most frequented sites, a 5,000-liter water tank will be installed that feeds into the watering holes. These tanks will be filled every 15 days during the dry season. Thirty nest boxes will also be built and installed for hyacinth macaws, reducing competition for nesting spaces. The nest boxes will be made from wood using a design that has already been tested and proven effective. WWF-Bolivia will work closely with the local communities, municipalities, and park rangers to select appropriate intervention sites and monitor the interventions through patrols and camera traps.
As an umbrella species, jaguar conservation is critical, as is the protection of hyacinth macaws, who play a key ecological role as seed dispersers. By improving access to water and increasing nesting opportunities, these species’ vulnerability to drought and fire will be reduced, helping to maintain ecological balance in the Pantanal. An increase in water availability for jaguars—and the more than 25 other species of wildlife that the watering holes will support—also decreases the potential of human-wildlife conflict as jaguars won’t need to compete with communities and livestock for water.
