The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC in Spanish) has announced Operation Jaguar, an effort to capture those responsible for killing and dismembering a black Panthera onca (black panther or jaguar negro) weeks ago near Pejibaye de Cartago.

At least 20 members of different environmental protection and law enforcement organizations will be involved in the search for the poachers, who have been presumably identified by an initial report in the social network Facebook. The photo of the dead panther in the process of being quartered by the poachers began circulating in the status updates and Facebook walls of several members, who promptly notified authorities and the news media.

The black panther was an adult male that was brutally hunted down, skinned and quartered in the Tapanti National Park in Cartago. The conservation status of Panthera onca is Near Threatened, but the black panthers are melanistic variations of the species and very rare. Hunting panthers and other big cats is a crime in Costa Rica.

Park rangers and OIJ agents searched for evidence of the poaching and found the severed head of the cat within days of the incident. They started their investigation by tracking down individuals who had possessions of trophy parts such as the skin and paws.

The manager of the Tapanti National Park told digital newspaper Costa Rica Hoy that the poachers are suspected to be hiding in the dense forests of two main sectors: El Humo and San Martin-Taus, near Pejibaye. The search will start off today with security patrols of the area.

The Corridor Panthera Foundation will lend support by installing surveillance cameras and providing a K-9 specially trained in detecting the scent of felines. Members of the community surrounding the Tapanti National Park have recently reported sightings of the female companion of the panther that was killed, and they are afraid that the poachers may be after her as well.

A previous article in The Costa Rica Star reported on the poaching incident and the unfortunate hardships our feline wildlife has been experiencing over the last years.