GC’s Work in Calakmul, Mexico Appears as Finalist in National Prize for Scientific Journalism
A jaguar is captured and about to be collared while going through a health check by jaguar biologists. Photo by Daniela Medellín.
The article “On the Trail of the Jaguar” by our friend Astrid Arellano is one of just three finalists for this prestigious national award. This comes after GC Partner Gerardo Ceballos and his team announced that Mexico’s population of jaguars has gone up by 30%, which currently is one of the only populations of wildcats in the world whose population is shown to be on the rise.
“In the Ejido Laguna Om, a group of local former hunters, now conservationists, uses trained dogs as a non-invasive method to capture jaguars for scientific purposes. This report follows the team of specialists from the Institute of Ecology at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and this local community in Quintana Roo, in southeastern Mexico, on their complex quest to attach GPS tracking collars to the felines to monitor their movements within the vast territory of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. The goal is to contribute to their long-term conservation and protection. The story portrays a unique effort to preserve the jaguar, an endangered species in Mexico, where the wild population was estimated at 4,800 individuals as of April 2025.”
About the Evaluation Process
The Organizing Committee of the National Science Journalism Award convened a distinguished jury of experts to evaluate the submitted works. This award recognizes the quality of journalistic reports in Spanish produced by Mexican journalists.
Evaluation Criteria:
✓ Scientific rigor and accuracy in information
✓ Narrative and journalistic quality
✓ Social relevance and impact
✓ Originality in the treatment of the topic
✓ Inclusion of diverse sources and perspectives
On the left, biologist Daniela Medellín during the capture of a jaguar in the Laguna Om Ejido in 2019. Photo thanks to Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Laboratory
Jaguar captured by a camera trap in Calakmul, Campeche. Photo: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Laboratory
