Based on a citizen vote in which nearly 6 thousand people participated, the name of the seventh jaguar in the Chaco region, registered in the Formosa Natural Reserve, was chosen: it will be called Tañhi Wukwhich means “owner of the mountain” in the Wichí language.
This name received the highest number of votes among the proposed options, which also included the denominations Hajjwhich is how the yaguareté is known in the Wichí language, and Gualambademonym used for those who live in the Chaco region.
The vote included the participation of students, teachers, residents of the area and the general public. It was developed through an online call and a visit to rural schools -eight in the province of Chaco and nine in Formosa- as part of environmental education and awareness-raising activities about the importance of jaguar conservation.
Tañhi Wuk, the adult male jaguar, was recorded for the first time in the Formosa Nature Reserve in March 2022. Since then it has been monitored through camera traps and records of people in the area, which allowed us to confirm its presence and obtain information valuable about their behavior.
In addition to the images shared within the framework of the call, during the last survey to review camera traps, new records of the specimen were obtained in the protected area.
The choice of this name not only represents a name for the specimen, but also symbolizes the union of the community with the conservation of the jaguar, a species declared a Natural Monument, and the essential nature of its presence in the natural cycles of the Chaco mountain.
The initiative to name the yaguareté was possible thanks to the joint work of the National Parks Administration, Yaguareté Project (CeIBA-CONICET), the Ministry of Production and Environment of Formosa, the Undersecretariat of Environment of Chaco and Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina
The presence of Tañhi Wuk in the Formosa Natural Reserve reflects the efforts made daily for the conservation of nature in the country’s protected areas, as well as the relevance of protecting key species for the ecosystem.
