2025: A Year of Achievements, Collaboration, and Impact in Brazilian Conservation

The year 2025 marked another significant chapter in the history of Onçafari; a period in which conservation and people came together to face the challenges of protecting Brazil’s biodiversity. In an environment shaped by wildfires, habitat loss, and constant pressure on Brazilian wildlife, our actions remained guided by the pursuit of balance.

In the field, we celebrated advances in wildlife reintroduction, an effort aimed at returning rescued animals to nature. Pacas, toucans, agoutis, and capuchin monkeys were successfully released back into their native habitats in the Santa Sofia Reserve region of the Pantanal. A historic milestone was the reintroduction of Valente, the first tapir successfully returned to the wild by Onçafari. Rescued as a young animal during the 2024 wildfires, Valente underwent months of intensive care and rigorous monitoring before being released in the Caiman Pantanal region.

Ecotourism continued to be an important tool for promoting awareness of wildlife conservation. At Pousada Trijunção, ecotourism combined with the continuous monitoring of the maned wolf has allowed sighting rates to increase year after year. In 2025, 381 sightings were recorded, reaching an observation rate of 87%; a remarkable result for Onçafari considering that the species is notoriously difficult to spot.

At Caiman Pantanal, a total of 1,131 jaguar sightings were recorded throughout the year with an increase of 23,451 minutes in total observation time compared to the previous year allowing for longer and more information-rich encounters. Most of these records involved females (82.7%), many of them accompanied by cubs. This data highlights how ecotourism combined with fieldwork contributes to conservation and to advancing knowledge about the jaguar, enabling continuous observation of different aspects of the species’ behavior.

Both results are the outcome of a process built over many years. At the beginning of Onçafari’s work, sightings were rare and uncertain. Today, sightings have become more frequent thanks to habituation processes, continuous monitoring, and scientific data.

The science front also advanced in 2025, expanding our understanding of wildlife and supporting strategic conservation decisions. During the year we consolidated 20 partnerships with universities and research centers in Brazil and abroad, publishing 38 scientific articles based on data collected from GPS and VHF collars on jaguars and maned wolves. These studies have improved our understanding of how different species use the landscape, which habitats are most suitable, and how we can act to conserve strategic areas. In parallel, wildlife monitoring expanded to eight active bases strengthening Onçafari’s observation network across Brazil. These bases include Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge, Fazenda Velocitta, Legado das Águas, São Paulo Catarina International Airport, Itatiaia National Park, Iporanga, Vera Lucia/Barra Mansa, and Seringal Guajará.

Throughout the year, it became increasingly clear that species protection, especially of the jaguar, depends on the integrity of forests and the connections between them. In 2025, Onçafari deepened its work in landscape and forest conservation, expanding its presence into new areas and contributing to the creation of ecological corridors between the Pantanal and the Amazon.

A historic highlight was the union of four Latin American organizations to form the Jaguar Rivers Initiative (JRI). Onçafari (Brazil), Rewilding Argentina, Nativa (Bolivia), and Fundación Moisés Bertoni (Paraguay) joined forces around a bold shared goal; to create a continental-scale ecological corridor connecting natural areas across the Paraná River Basin to promote ecosystem restoration in South America. By integrating ecological corridors across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay we strengthen the protection of essential habitats for jaguars and thousands of other species demonstrating that successful conservation must look beyond borders and embrace entire landscapes. Read more here.

Wildfires remain one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. In 2025, our Fire Prevention and Response program helped reduce heat hotspots by 98.5% in monitored areas. Investments included 258 pieces of equipment, training 18 staff members as firefighters, and clearing 235 km of firebreaks and fences thereby creating essential vegetation barriers to contain fires. Actions throughout the year prioritized territorial preparedness and team training, strengthening fire prevention strategies.

One of the highlights of this front was the project “Perigara in Flames, No More” created in direct response to the severe impacts of the 2024 wildfires when more than 80% of the São Francisco do Perigara Reserve was affected by fire. With support from the ADM Cares program, the project built firebreaks and water reservoirs and implemented a 360° monitoring system to strengthen fire prevention and response in the reserve. Today these efforts protect an area of 35,700 hectares, making the community more prepared and the reserve safer against future wildfires.

Environmental Justice Foundation

Throughout 2025, Onçafari continued to support the Boe Bororo people in the Perigara Indigenous Territory through initiatives such as the commercialization of products from the community garden, gatherings of Indigenous women, training of the Fire Brigade, and the construction of a storage facility to organize and inventory materials used in fire prevention and response. These actions are part of the Pemega Perigara Project developed over the past three years in the Perigara Indigenous Territory and aim to strengthen community autonomy in conserving the land and protecting the local ecosystem.

All of this was only possible thanks to a strong network of partners. In 2025, we counted on the support of 48 organizations, companies, and donors who contributed in different ways making everything from wildlife monitoring to fire prevention actions and editorial projects possible. Events such as OnçaPartners and the dinner “Where There Are Jaguars, There Is Life in Balance” helped expand dialogue around conservation and strengthen a network  collectively committed to protecting biodiversity.

More than a summary, this retrospective is an invitation to continue building pathways together, recognizing that healthy landscapes, empowered communities, and protected species are all part of the same system. Where the jaguar finds space to exist, life in balance becomes possible.