First ‘cloud jaguar’ spotted in 10 years sparks hope in Honduras | CNN

EDITOR’S NOTE: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. Camera traps have photographed a jaguar high up in the Honduran Sierra del Merendón mountain range, the first time the big cat has been detected there in a decade. In images shared exclusively with CNN, the lone male, known as a “cloud jaguar,” was spotted on February 6, about 2,200 meters up in high-altitude forest, a positive signal for the Central American nation attempting an environmental turnaround. Jaguars have lost 49% of their historic range in the Americas, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The largest population lives in Amazonia, but all other populations are classified as endangered or critically endangered. In Honduras jaguars are protected, though they face challenges. “Deforestation and poaching are the biggest threats, and we have been working to tackle both,” said Franklin Castañeda, Honduras country