The Jaguar’s Friend

The jaguar is one of the largest cats in the world and one of the most emblematic species of the Americas. This animal, which is at the top of the food chain, needs large preserved areas to survive, acting as an indicator of environmental quality. The increasing climate change provoked by humankind, deforestation, and poaching have devastating consequences for wildlife, and the jaguar is one of many animals affected, and is in danger of extinction.

In an effort to try to preserve this species, attempts have been made on several fronts, one of which is reproduction. This is where scientist, poet and artist Patricia Saragüeta contributes, through the genetic study of jaguars, reconstructing their evolutionary history. In a larger project, with the participation of experts from different countries, a collective effort has been made to find new tools that will ultimately contribute to the conservation of this endangered species.

Besides being a researcher, Saragüeta is a poet and artist, crossing the world of science with that of arts and thought. In the session of Galery Energy, she will share the work she has been developing around the jaguar, but also reflect on the meeting points between this reality and the creative universe.

Patricia Saragüeta has a degree and a PhD in Chemistry, is a researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), scientist and artist. She is a professor at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FCEyN UBA) in Buenos Aires, and together with her team, she participates in the creation of the Bank of Genetic Resources of endangered native species in South America, most recently in the sequencing of the jaguar genome. In the artistic field, she is dedicated to poetry and to the intersection between art and science. In 2007, she was selected for a collaborative performance with American visual artist Joan Jonas (USA), on the occasion of her exhibition “Timelines: Transparencies in a Dark Room”, at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (Macba, 2007), and presented works with artists Martin Bonadeo and Oliverio Duhalde around the work of Nobel Prize winner in Physiology Bernardo Houssay.

Photography: Dinis Santos