Our main contact channel is projectpantanoarg@gmail.com We recommend you explore our YOUTUBE CHANNEL with spectacular themed audiovisuals!

A good option to explore our YouTube channel with various audiovisual options, podcasts and more! Our INFOGRAPHICS You can also contact the environmental education specialists at Proyecto Pantano, by writing to proyectopantano .education@gmail.com

In the main section of our website, you will find details of some of our important achievements, but below we detail the following: We discovered that the population trend of the Marsh Deer in the Paraná Delta is increasing! We generated key knowledge about its diet, since it was assumed that it fed on trees in forest plantations. We found that deer prefer other plants! We also work on deterrent methods, to prevent deer from damaging the bark of willows and poplars grown in the delta; We investigated the genetic status of the deer population of the delta and the rest of the country. We discovered that they are the same but different. We develop quality audiovisuals for the dissemination and knowledge of the species; We contributed to the implementation of the Pantanos Deer National Park of the National Parks Administration; We study and disseminate scientific knowledge about the ecology of the species (its interrelationships with the landscape of the Paraná Delta; We advised a forestry company during the process of obtaining the FSC Ecosystem Services certification, for its role in the conservation of the marsh deer. This forest management certification, accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC™), guarantees its buyers that the wood comes from forests where it is evaluated and certified that its management is in accordance with the correct social, economic and environmental standards. Do you want to know more? CONTACT proyectopantanoarg@gmail.com

The dog with and without owner is able to cover large areas when it is allowed to circulate freely. In this way, urban or suburban dogs travel long distances entering rural areas and affecting wildlife in particular. Dogs are carriers of diseases such as distemper or distemper, leishmaniasis, bovine neosporosis, parvovirus, rabies, hydatid disease and some of these, they do not affect humans but they do affect wild species. Instinctively -even the most domesticated dogs-, they behave like predators. This behavior includes chasing, harassing the prey and direct attack. The presence of dogs within protected areas, coming from far distances, has been recorded. They came from urban, suburban areas or rural establishments that were between 10 and 30 km from the place of the protected area -wildlife refuge-. It is believed that our native fauna has not evolved with predators that act in packs such as dogs (or wolves), so they did not generate efficient escape strategies. South American deer are very affected by something called capture myopathy (extreme stress in the face of danger or prolonged persecution), causing death. So even when the dogs do not reach them, they can end up fatally affected. Starting at home The responsible ownership of our dogs and cats is important, and within what we assume as responsible pet ownership includes not only everything related to their care but also, responsibly assuming the impacts towards the rest of the wild fauna that could being affected. So: let's have our dogs vaccinated and with regular veterinary checkups and on the other hand inside our homes. Dogs cannot be “loose”. If we do not have our property properly closed, the dogs will come out, and if they do go out they will chase, harass and kill wildlife by instinct. It can be a guinea pig, lizard or weasel in suburban areas, but when they come into contact with natural areas, the list grows enormously. Free dogs have been documented to kill not only baby and juvenile bayou deer, but also adults. I don't know if it's my case, I keep it well fed…. It's fine, though that doesn't mean it won't kill or harass other animals. When they attack, they don't just do it out of hunger, but since it is an instinctive behavior, they will do it anyway. A well-fed loose dog has enough energy to make an impact on wildlife. Very concerning, but luckily I have a dog that doesn't chase or kill wildlife. It is very likely that you are wrong, the only way to ensure that our dog does not affect wildlife is that it cannot leave the landscaping of your house and this is achieved when the dogs sleep in kennels or on the property is properly closed. All of us who have dogs and love them believe that our dog is good and therefore does not affect anyone. But, in this case, we forget our role as owners and responsible for our pets. To have pets and not affect other animals, you have to take care, not just worry.

The swamp deer of the Paraná Delta remained isolated from other populations of their species due to a sand desert with giant dunes that existed in South America during the period known as the Last Glacial Maximum (between 21 thousand and 18 thousand years). During this time the DNA of the mitochondria of the delta deer was differentiating from the mitochondrial DNA of deer from the rest of South America. The history that occurred during the last glacial maximum is evidenced in the DNA with the deer on both sides as "same and different at the same time". The mitochondria of the Delta continue to show the mark of this differentiation due to the time of isolation, while the so-called "nuclear" DNA continues to be very similar between populations. After this desert disappeared, the deer advanced again along the banks of the Paraná River and reconnected north and south. This new "mixture" of individuals from the Delta with other individuals - for example the deer from the Iberá swamps - "homogenized" - it made them more similar in their genes to the populations, to each other -. In recent decades, we are witnessing a new separation of deer populations, due to anthropic issues -growth of cities, routes, crops, fragmentation of wetlands, among others-. The blue diamonds represent the deer populations that were studied from Proyecto Pantano. From north to south: Delta, Iberá, Mato Grosso (right), Bolivian Pantanal (left). The red part indicates the ancient sand desert. How does the change in the landscape affect them at the genetic level? In the Paraná Delta, the modification of the habitat created a very strong barrier between the deer of the Forest Center and the deer of the Advance Front to the south. This restricts the possibilities of migration of individuals. A deer that wants to migrate, for example, from the Forest Center in the district of Campana (province of Buenos Aires) to the Front of Advance, near the town of San Fernando in the province of Buenos Aires, has to go to Between rivers. The effect that this barrier has on the swamp deer is that there is currently an incipient genetic differentiation between both areas of the Paraná Delta. The lack of long-term connectivity causes populations to become smaller and smaller, individuals begin to become more and more related to each other, and as they interbreed between "relatives" (known as "inbreeding") . Diseases are beginning to be unmasked due to lack of variability or genetic "richness" in the population. Many times I am asked where did you get the DNA for the analysis? During the field trips, the feces (droppings) of the Swamp Deer were collected. When they pass through the intestine of the deer, they drag cells that remain covering the external part. These can be recovered through a laboratory process and from there extract the DNA.

In the following press release, you can see in detail: "Hunters do not quarantine and neither do their prey Argentine Time 07/05/2020By: Luciana Rosende@lucianamagali We share it below: Since the coronavirus pandemic arrived to alter the world in all its aspects, images of wild species circulating freely in areas uninhabited by quarantines in different parts of the planet, even where it was unthinkable to see them. Many were fake news. And others, true scenes. In the area of the Paraná Delta, these types of postcards do not show a complete reality. You see more animals, yes, but also more hunters. With the authorities and controls focused on the health emergency, an endangered species such as the marsh deer was more exposed to poaching and its consequences.“I'm worried about that romantic look because it's kind of naive. We are experiencing something totally different. This respite that nature would be having does not affect how much the population increases or decreases. You have to look at that in an endangered species. One can see a deer where it was not seen before, but that is behavioral, not population-based”, explains biologist Bernardo Lartigau, member of the Association for the Conservation and Study of Nature (ACEN). "The problem is that extinction does not come back," he warns.The marsh deer, which lives in the Delta, is considered in danger of extinction by the Argentine Society for the Study of Mammals. To protect it, it was declared a natural monument of the province of Buenos Aires (Law 12,209). It is the largest native deer in South America and one of only three amphibian deer in the world. Their hunt has never stopped, but in recent years there have been campaigns and programs especially aimed at their protection. In the midst of a pandemic and quarantine, specialists sound the alarm.“Hunting of swamp deer and other species continues to be very frequent in the Delta, because there is a great need there and because controls to prevent it were never a priority. In these months it was usual to hear the romantic idea of the little animals recovering and roaming freely through the fields. That refers to a fairy tale, but deep down it is a nightmare”, warns biologist Javier Pereira, a researcher at Conicet and a reference for the Pantano Project, a conservation plan for the deer in which researchers from universities and several NGOs participate. “When the mandatory social isolation began, a good part of the security personnel and agencies with interference in the conservation of nature in the Delta were assigned to tasks related to managing the pandemic, which further accentuated the historical debt of protection that has characterized this wetland. Many inhabitants of the islands remained in isolation in their homes and, taking advantage of the low movement of people, the animals began to become more visible, looking for food in more exposed places, which they normally avoided. All this turned into an explosive combo," Pereira describes, summarizing: "More visible animals, less people present, and little or no control by the authorities, it is the ideal setting for hunters looking to stock up on meat."The fauna is not recovering," Lartigau reaffirms. On the contrary: zones are liberated and disasters are being made. There are islanders who do it for a cultural reason, and also people who come from outside, who hunt for their own consumption or to trade.” Crisis and needLocal producers, conservationists and researchers report different factors behind the poaching of deer and other species, such as the capybara (see box), in the Paraná Delta, combined in different proportions, difficult to measure. There are cultural and commercial issues, but also economic necessity, aggravated by the pandemic crisis.“The kids who are suspended from the industries or some who are fired go and start ranching. One of the factors is economic need, but it also happened to us that they kill a bull and they don't take all the meat, that's not necessary,” says Darío Ceballos, director of INTA Delta, where cows have been stolen. “Unfortunately, there is an illegal sales circuit in the neighborhoods. The meat arrives in the afternoon, they clean it and they are selling ten kilos for 2,500 pesos. There is a need there and it is sold”.“Where there is a more vulnerable population, many return to the island. There, the municipalities, the Prefecture, INTA itself, we are giving a lot of assistance at this time. We bring seeds, chicks, we try to meet all the needs. But the island is half a no man's land”, Ceballos describes."The entire livestock area of Campana and San Fernando is suffering greater theft and slaughter of animals," says a producer who prefers to keep his identity confidential. “In the Delta there is much less movement, you see the rivers in which nobody passes, no boats pass. The pandemic situation affected production and you don't see many people moving to go to work or logging boats. What you see on social networks is people who may have always hunted, but now they may dare to publish it”, he says about the dissemination of photos and videos with those who brag about their prey.“In general, they act very early in the morning or from mid-afternoon. At night, no, because the rivers are very low and you can't move even with a canoe”, says the producer. Manuel Vázquez, a park ranger dedicated to the protection of the swamp deer, points out that “it is not only at night that people enter the land where they hunt. It is also done during the day. We see a change in that, and we relate it to the deficiency of controls in this pandemic framework. At some point, the increase in hunting may be related to the increase in the cost of living in the place, where it is always more difficult to obtain resources and acquire the basic elements to live, due to the increase in the cost of freight and others. There are people who have been left without resources due to the pandemic.”"Hunting in the Delta will continue, the issue is that it does not get out of hand in such a way that it cannot be turned back," warns biologist Lartigau. And he focuses on the endangered species to which he dedicates his work: “This deer, when the pressures it has are released, can recover. The problem is that we are not leaving it. There are two park rangers who deal with the deer. And now, active, only one. They do not have the means to arrive when complaints are made. Without resources, without appropriate personnel for such a territory, the reality is that we are not conserving the deer”. Fires set to go huntingThe fires that devastate large areas in the south of the province of Santa Fe, as a result of the burning promoted by livestock producers, are not the only ones these days. Alarming outbreaks were also recorded in the Paraná Delta area, although the motivations are different. “The fires that we have here are basically generated by those who go out to ranch or hunt. Those who appear in the newspapers are those who arrived in Rosario, in the north. But last week here, 60 hectares of the Ciervo de los Pantanos National Park were burned. It is the people who go out to hunt,” says Darío Ceballos, of INTA Delta.The park, in the Campana district, was created by a 2018 law and integrates the Otamendi and Río Luján nature reserves.