STORY: :: FileMexico's jaguar population has grown significantly in recent years --- up 30% since 2010, but the largest feline in the Americas remains at risk of extinction.That’s according to the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation, which released a national census of the animals on Wednesday.Researchers tracked jaguars using motion-sensor cameras across 15 states.The Yucatan Peninsula region recorded the highest numbers, with 1,699, followed by the South Pacific region with 1,541.Humberto Pena Fuentes, from the Mexican advocacy group, told Reuters that expanding protected areas has helped boost jaguar numbers."Today, the jaguar roams freely across nearly 10 million hectares of protected land, including 1.2 million new hectares, 8 million existing, and 1 million in community reserves. This is almost equivalent to four Mexican states, all protected for the jaguar." Still, he warns it could take decades for the species to be out of danger."The jaguar is still a threatened species. We need 15 to 30 years of gradual growth to remove it from the risk of extinction. But what surprised us in this third census is the population increase."Mexico declared the jaguar an endangered species in 2010.It's threatened by habitat destruction, illegal hunting and trafficking, among other factors.  The 2024 census counted 5,326 of the big cats, up 30% from 2010 and 11% higher than the previous count in 2018...a result the group called “surprising and encouraging.”The ANCJ is urging incentives to conserve jaguar corridors, and is calling on authorities and social media platforms to crack down on illegal trafficking of jaguar parts, including skins, skulls, claws, and fangs.