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Adventure DiariesAuthor: Chris Watson Language: en-us Genres: Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Sports, Wilderness Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Saving Brazil's Jaguars — with Letícia Benavalli
Episode 3
Wednesday, 11 March, 2026
🎧 Follow the show here— it really helps Adventure Diaries reach more listeners. Thank you.Chris sits down with Brazilian conservation biologist LetÃcia Benavalli to talk about her work protecting jaguars in the Cerrado — one of the world's most biodiverse yet overlooked biomes. From growing up in São Paulo to founding the Pro Onça Institute, LetÃcia shares how a childhood fascination with nature led her to track some of the rarest cats on the planet, including melanistic (black) jaguars. She also opens up about the importance of community-led conservation, empowering women and young people in rural Brazil, and her ambition to create wildlife corridors connecting isolated jaguar populations across biomes.Chapters00:00 Tracking Melanistic Jaguars 04:43 From City Life to Conservation Biologist 07:10 The Cerrado: Saving Brazil's Biodiverse Savanna 14:47 Learnings from Oxford University & African Wild 22:53 Rare Black Jaguar Encounter in the Wild 27:07 Survival Story: Lost Alone in the Brazilian Jungle 36:38 Jaguar Hunting Threats & Landowner Conflicts 40:58 Pro Onça Institute: Conservation & Community Empowerment 47:02 Women Leadership in Ecotourism 1:00 Urban Jaguars in BrasÃlia National Park 1:06 Rolex Explorers Club Grant & Future Goals 1:14 Call to Adventure: Climbing Brazil's Serra do CipóGuest BioLetÃcia Benavalli is a conservation biologist and founder of the Onça Institute (Instituto Onça), an NGO dedicated to jaguar conservation in Brazil's Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. She has worked across multiple Brazilian biomes — including the Pantanal, Caatinga, and Amazon — studying large carnivores and developing community-based conservation programmes. LetÃcia is a Rolex/Explorers Club grant recipient and a member of the IUCN's Wildlife Conservation and Protected Areas group. She presented her research at the Explorers Club in New York and is preparing a PhD focused on jaguar density, diet, and the genetics of melanistic jaguars in the Cerrado.Key Topics DiscussedGrowing up in São Paulo & finding conservation — How a city kid from Latin America's largest metropolis ended up dedicating her life to wildlife, sparked by a childhood visit to the zoo and a love of nature documentaries.The Cerrado: Brazil's forgotten biome — Why this vast savanna is critically important for biodiversity but receives far less attention and protection than the Amazon or Pantanal.Black jaguars and the Onça Institute — LetÃcia's face-to-face encounter with a wild melanistic jaguar, the rare genetics behind black colouration, and the founding mission of her NGO to connect isolated jaguar populations.Community-led conservation & empowering women — Why conservation cannot succeed without involving local and rural communities, particularly women and young people, and how traditional knowledge strengthens scientific work.The Rolex/Explorers Club grant & global ambitions — Winning the graSend a text Support the showThanks For Listening.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment and subscribe for more exciting content. Please visit AdventureDiaries.com/GO For more authentic stories of Adventure Exploration and the natural worldThe Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering
