National Geographic Special : In Search of the Jaguar : Premieres Wednesday November 26th Only on PBS

A NEW NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL ON PBS
“IN SEARCH OF THE JAGUAR”

IN THE FACE OF A THREATENING ILLNESS, RENOWNED CONSERVATIONIST
DR. ALAN RABINOWITZ STRUGGLES AGAINST TIME AND ADVERSITY
TO SAVE A SPECIES IN PERIL; ACTRESS GLENN CLOSE NARRATES

Premiering Wednesday, November 26, 2003 on PBS (check local listings at www.pbs.org)

Nature’s third largest cat—after only the tiger and the lion—the jaguar can survive in a variety of terrain ranging from swamplands to drought-stricken country. But for all its survival tools, it’s no match for man. Today, the species stands at a crossroads—its habitat under siege, its long-term survival in doubt. The new National Geographic Special “In Search of the Jaguar” follows world-renowned scientist and conservationist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz and his fellow scientists on a mission to save these magnificent cats before its too late. Follow along on a journey through the rainforests of Panama, into the swamplands of Brazil’s Pantanal, and to Belize’s Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve in a battle against time and adversity to protect lands vital to the jaguar’s survival. Premiering Wednesday, November 26, on PBS (check local listings) and narrated by actress Glenn Close, the film also provides an intimate look into the life of Rabinowitz, as he comes to terms with the greatest challenge of his life–-an illness that threatens his health, his family and the work that has become his lifelong obsession.

For more than 20 years, Rabinowitz has devoted his life toward the conservation of wildlife. As a boy faced with a debilitating stutter, Rabinowitz learned to overcome his disability by talking to the menagerie of turtles, chameleons and hamsters he kept in his Brooklyn home. When it came time for him to choose a field of study, he chose to work with animals, and use the voice they had given him to communicate their needs to the world. While completing his Ph.D. studies at the University of Tennessee, Rabinowitz was asked the well-known conservationist Dr. George Schaller to conduct a study on jaguars in the little-known country of Belize. Rabinowitz jumped at the chance and never looked back. 

The author of three books including “Jaguar,” “Chasing the Dragon’s Tale,” and “Beyond the Last Village” and a field research training manual, Rabinowitz has spearheaded the preservation of vast tracts of wilderness land around the globe in his role as Director of the Science and Exploration Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) based at the Bronx Zoo, New York. His work with jaguars led to the establishment of the first jaguar sanctuary, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, and his work with the clouded leopard in Taiwan helped pave the way for the Tawu Mountain Nature Reserve. Over his career, he has also helped elevate the status of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary to a World Biosphere Reserve, and created wildlife sanctuaries and reserves in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and other areas throughout the world. In pursuing his work, Rabinowitz has endured treacherous habitats and even a plane crash, but he now faces his biggest threat yet. In 2001, Rabinowitz was diagnosed with chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL), a slow-moving form of cancer that affects the body’s white blood cells, and a disease currently without a known cure. Rabinowitz, who has spent his life saving wildlife, now faces a struggle for his own survival.

“I have two choices in my life now,” says Rabinowitz. “I can play it very, very safe and sit at home and maybe prolong my life by a few years and be there for my kids. Or I can be the person who I am and who makes me feel best and be the father I want them to know, but maybe cut my life short with them.”

With the time he has now, Rabinowitz has chosen to continue with his work with the jaguars, redoubling his efforts and moving forward with a greater sense of urgency.

“Someone like Alan doesn’t think about giving up. He doesn’t think about turning back,” said fellow WCS biologist Dr. Mike Fay.

Rabinowitz’s goal is to establish a “jaguar corridor,” a continuous chain of public and private lands stretching from Mexico to Argentina. Essential to the survival of the species, the corridor will serve as a haven for jaguars, freeing isolated populations and allowing the cats to migrate safely throughout their existing range.

“In order to truly save jaguars, we must create a corridor so jaguars can migrate from one population to another,” Rabinowitz says. “Otherwise, there won’t be enough genetic diversity to sustain a single population. An isolated population over generations is as good as dead.”

Famously elusive creatures, jaguars require a great deal of space in which to live. While jaguars once roamed from what is now Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico all the way to southern Argentina, deforestation, conversion of land to other uses, and the killing of jaguars and their prey have cut that range significantly since 1900. At the height of the fur trade in the 1960s, some 15,000 jaguars were killed each year in Brazil alone. And through development, agriculture, and logging, man has taken more than one and a half billion acres of jaguar habitat.

Today, national and international laws make it illegal to trade jaguar skins or parts for commercial gain, but poaching still exists, and jaguars are often killed by those who consider them a threat to humans and their livestock or pets. Rabinowitz’s project also focuses on working with those living in close proximity to jaguar populations to dispel misconceptions about the species and reduce the conflict between livestock and the big cats.

With his own future in flux, Rabinowitz is working to recruit a new generation of scientists to help continue his work and complete the jaguar corridor, including fellow WCS scientists Eduardo Carrillo, Sandra Cavalcanti, and husband and wife research team Scott Silver and Linde Ostro.

“It’s about the whole thing carrying on now on its own. New people, new jaguars,” says Rabinowitz. “We will do it. It will happen. We will save jaguars throughout their existing range.”

“In Search of the Jaguar” is produced and directed by Kate Churchill. The film was co-produced and written by Stella Cha. John Bredar is the executive producer; Michael Rosenfeld served as senior executive editor. Christine Jameson Henry served as editor.

National Geographic Television & Film (NGT&F) is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Geographic Ventures, which also manages National Geographic’s businesses in interactive, online, merchandising, travel expeditions and related businesses. Building on its global reputation for remarkable visuals and compelling stories, National Geographic Television & Film augments its award-winning documentary productions (119 Emmy Awards and more than 800 other industry awards) with feature films, large-format films and long-form television drama programming.

Worldwide, National Geographic’s television programming can be seen on the National Geographic Channel, MSNBC, and PBS, home video and DVD, and through international broadcast syndication. The National Geographic Channel is received by more than 200 million households in 25 languages in 146 countries, including the United States. For more information about National Geographic Television & Film, log on to nationalgeographic.com.

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org.  For more information on WCS' Jaguar program please visit www.savethejaguar.com

Ways you can help

Make a donation
Adopt a Jaguar
Buy the book
Buy Save the Jaguar products
Print out the WCS/Jaguar Cars Jaguar poster

Learn more

Sample Costs for Jaguar Conservation Program
Read about the National Geographic Special
Dr. Alan Rabinowitz’s biography
Visit SavingWildPlaces.com
Visit SavingTigers.com
Visit WCS.org

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