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Camera traps have captured images of a jaguar deep within Honduras’ Sierra del Merendón mountain range — the first confirmed sighting of the species in the area in ten years.

In photographs shared exclusively with CNN, the solitary male — referred to as a “cloud jaguar” — was recorded on February 6 at roughly 2,200 meters above sea level in high-altitude forest. The discovery offers renewed hope for a country working to reverse environmental decline.

Across the Americas, jaguars have disappeared from 49% of their historic territory, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). While the largest remaining population is concentrated in the Amazon, all other groups are considered endangered or critically endangered.

In Honduras, jaguars are legally protected, but significant threats remain.

“Deforestation and poaching are the primary dangers, and we have been actively addressing both,” said Franklin Castañeda, Honduras country director for the wild cat conservation group Panthera, which obtained the images.

Data from Global Forest Watch shows that between 2001 and 2024, Honduras lost 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of tree cover — about 19% of its forests. Most of the loss was driven by permanent agriculture, including plantations and cattle grazing.

The government has pledged to halt deforestation by the end of the decade and to restore 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) of forest. Under its Zero Deforestation Plan 2029, an environmental emergency was declared to safeguard forests and wildlife. An 8,000-strong military patrol has been deployed to deter illegal farming and logging.

At the same time, the poaching of animals that jaguars depend on — such as brocket deer, peccaries and iguanas — is believed to reduce the availability of prey for the big cats.

Yet within the Merendón mountains, there are encouraging signs of recovery.

The forested highlands, along with other cloud forests in Honduras, have been under protection since 1987, when lawmakers recognized their importance as crucial water sources for nearby communities.

“At the time, they were thinking about water security,” Castañeda said. “Today we understand they were also preserving vital jaguar habitat.”

Illegal activities and biodiversity loss did not disappear entirely. In recent years, Panthera and its partners have expanded monitoring efforts, including ranger patrols, camera traps, and concealed acoustic devices. They have also worked to reintroduce key prey species. According to Panthera, poaching has declined, and improved forest conditions have made the area more suitable for large cats.

“We appear to be witnessing a broader recovery of big cat species,” Castañeda added.

After 17 years of surveys, pumas were documented in the range for the first time in 2021, with additional sightings since then. Ocelots, jaguarundis and margays have also been recorded, meaning all five wild cat species found in Honduras now inhabit the area.

Most jaguars typically reside below 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), making high-altitude “cloud jaguars” exceptionally uncommon. Only a few similar sightings have been reported elsewhere in Central America. It remains uncertain whether this reflects new behavior or simply previous gaps in monitoring remote highland regions, explained Dr. Allison Devlin, Panthera’s jaguar program director.

Only three high-elevation jaguar recordings have been documented in Honduras, the last occurring in 2016. That earlier sighting prompted Panthera and its partners to establish a protected wildlife corridor in the Merendón mountains linking Honduras and Guatemala.

Castañeda described the latest sighting as “incredible,” noting that the specific mountain where the jaguar appeared has been monitored for 15 years — and continuously for the last decade.

Jaguars are highly mobile animals. In Honduras, records show they can travel 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in a single night. In other regions, individuals have been documented covering distances up to 400 kilometers (249 miles), Castañeda said.

The Merendón range does not host a permanent jaguar population. Castañeda believes the young male was likely moving along the wildlife corridor between eastern Honduras and Guatemala, possibly in search of a mate.

Nearby source populations exist in Guatemala’s Izabal region and in Honduras’ Pico Bonito and Jeannette Kawas national parks. These Honduran populations are believed to be relatively small — between 10 and 18 jaguars in Jeannette Kawas, and 20 to 50 in Pico Bonito. Connectivity between these groups is crucial to preserving genetic diversity.

Devlin said the sighting underscores the importance of safeguarding habitat at all elevations, even areas not traditionally viewed as essential for big cat movement. “Wide-ranging and adaptable species like jaguars and pumas require continuous landscapes for survival,” she said.

The Merendón corridor forms part of the broader Jaguar Corridor Initiative, introduced in 2018 under the Jaguar 2030 Conservation Roadmap for the Americas. This vast network stretches from Mexico to Argentina and includes 30 conservation landscapes. Panthera is actively involved in projects across 11 of the 18 countries where jaguars remain.

The Honduran discovery comes amid other positive developments for the species. A recent nationwide survey in Mexico found a 10% increase in its wild jaguar population, rising from 4,800 in 2018 to 5,326.

Additionally, at the UN Convention on Migratory Species Conference of the Parties (CMS COP15) in Brazil, nations adopted a new international framework dedicated to jaguar conservation — a move Devlin described as a significant milestone.

Under the agreement, governments across the jaguar’s range have committed to stronger coordination to protect habitats, support coexistence with Indigenous peoples and local communities, improve monitoring systems, and combat illegal killing.

Nongovernmental organizations will continue to play a key role. In Honduras, Panthera is working with Rainforest Trust to create a new protected area known as Wildlife Refuge Guanales. The proposed refuge will include high-altitude research stations and biodiversity zones, linking Cusuco National Park in Honduras with Guatemala’s Sierra Caral Reserve. This effort will further reinforce a continuous corridor for wild cats.

“Connectivity is essential for the jaguar’s long-term survival,” Devlin said.