For seven decades, Argentina had no wild jaguars. The last was spotted in the 1950s. Then in May 2026, guides in the Iberá National Park filmed Ombú, a young male, walking alone across public hiking trails. Behind this footage lies one of conservation's most remarkable rewilding stories.
1950s: The last wild cat
Jaguars once roamed Argentina widely. In the Gran Chaco, Iberá wetlands, and the Atlantic rainforests of Misiones Province, they hunted peccaries, caimans, and tapirs. By the mid-20th century, hunting, habitat loss, and conflicts with cattle ranchers pushed them to extinction. Argentina became a land without wild jaguars.
In Corrientes Province, where the Iberá park sits, jaguars remained culturally alive long after they vanished: as heraldic symbols, in Guaraní folklore, and as place names. Their return reshapes not just ecology, but how a society relates to what it lost.
2021: The first return
Rewilding Argentina, an NGO descending from the legacy of US conservationist Doug Tompkins, began reintroducing jaguars to Iberá in 2021. Animals came from breeding programs in Brazil and were first acclimated in large enclosures to learn hunting behavior without human contact. At the same time, prey populations like capybaras and peccaries were actively boosted across the park.
2022: First wild-born cubs
In 2022, the park documented the first cubs born without human intervention in the wild. A turning point: wild-born animals are far shyer than captive-bred ones and behave more naturally toward prey and rivals. By May 2026, the Iberá population had grown to over 50 animals.
May 2026: Ombú walks alone
That Ombú appeared on a public trail and allowed himself to be filmed reflects normal behavior for young males seeking territory. They leave familiar core areas and explore adjacent zones. The footage, published by La Nación and international media in May 2026, shows a healthy animal crossing the path with no signs of stress.
Cattle ranchers outside the park view the growing jaguar population with skepticism. Rewilding Argentina has established a livestock-loss compensation scheme and works with ranches in buffer zones. Whether this secures long-term acceptance as jaguars expand their range remains to be seen.
Comparison: Lynx and lammergeier as benchmarks
The Iberian lynx in 2002 held fewer than 100 animals, making it the world's most endangered wild cat. Coordinated breeding and reintroduction programs across Spain and Portugal grew that population to over 2,000 by 2024, according to IUCN data. The bearded vulture (lammergeier) was extirpated from the Alps in 1913. Since reintroduction began in 1986, over 300 wild lammergeiers now fly the Alpine region, according to the Vulture Conservation Foundation.
Both comebacks show: when habitat exists and food is sufficient, reintroduced populations grow faster than anticipated. The Iberá wetlands, over 1.3 million hectares of one of South America's largest inland water systems, offer good conditions. So do the Gran Chaco and Atlantic rainforests, which Rewilding Argentina has designated as long-term targets for wildlife corridors.
From zero to 50: Five years in numbers
1950s: last wild jaguar in Argentina. 2021: first reintroductions at Iberá. 2022: first cubs born in freedom. 2026: over 50 animals, first free-roaming jaguar documented on camera.
The pace is remarkable. The Iberian lynx took two decades from critical collapse to stable population. Jaguars need larger territories and breed more slowly. That Iberá's population grew to over 50 in five years exceeded Rewilding Argentina's original expectations.
The biggest challenge lies beyond the park boundary. Jaguars roam far. Once they leave the national park, they encounter ranching and poaching. Rewilding Argentina is building wildlife corridors to protected areas in Brazil and Paraguay, aiming to create stable migration routes between South America's remaining jaguar populations.