Protecting the endangered Chaco eagle and other threatened fauna from mortality at human infrastructures in semiarid landscapes of central Argentina

The project aims to safe-guarding breeding territories and juvenile dispersal areas of the endangered Chaco eagle from one of the main mortality sources for the species and for other vertebrate fauna in semiarid landscapes of central Argentina, as is the case of drowning in water reservoirs established for cattle raising. The project will focus on 1) implementing rescue ramps in water reservoirs in these areas and 2) establishing educational campaigns and community-based conservation to promote the adoption of these ramps by local landowners at a larger spatial scale, with the aim to reduce drown casualties of threatened vertebrate species.

Rescue ramps built with wire mesh covering from the bottom to the top of water reservoirs have proved to reduce in 50% the occurrence of wildlife drowning casualties in these rural infrastructures. With the participation of local landowners, we will implement this mitigation measure in ca. 200 water reservoirs comprised in breeding territories and juvenile dispersal areas of Chaco eagles in La Pampa province. Rescue ramps and reservoirs will be continuously monitored using camera-traps. Furthermore, we will conduct education campaigns at local stakeholders with the aim of promoting the implementation of these rescue ramps at a large spatial scale.