Coordinator of Panthera’s Conservation Program in Brazil

Fernando Rodrigo Tortato graduated as a biologist in 2008 from the Regional University of Blumenau in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and joined Panthera in April 2009 as a field researcher working with jaguars and related wildlife on two cattle ranches in the northern Pantanal. Through his master’s degree in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (2010-2012), Fernando evaluated environmental factors related to cattle predation and the economic assessment of the damage caused by jaguars in cattle herds in the Pantanal.

In April 2018, Fernando completed his PhD at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, where he evaluated economic aspects related to jaguar conservation in the Pantanal, mainly assessing the role of ecotourism. Fernando has contributed dozens of articles on jaguar ecology and conservation in the Pantanal and is currently co-supervising master’s and doctoral students on topics related to jaguar tourism as citizen science, governance and economic valuation.