IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Rabinowitz, A.R. | |
| The present status of jaguars in the Southwestern United States | |
| 1999 The Southwestern Naturalist (44): 96-100 | |
The jaguar has been listed as an endangered species from the Mexico border southward for more than 25 years (37 Federal Register 6476, 30 March 1971). In 1979, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged an "oversight" in not listing the United States portion of the species' range and stated their intentions to correct the error (44 Federal Register 43705, 25 July 1979). This correction was not carried out until 17 July 1997, partly in response to events described below. On 7 March 1996, a rancher and part-time hunting guide photographed an adult jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains of southeastern Arizona (Glenn, 1996). Six months later, a second jaguar was photographed in the Baboquivari Mountains of southern Arizona. Both appeared to be males. In April and May of 1997, two additional unconfirmed sightings of jaguars were reported from the Baboquivari and Huachuca Mountains, respectively. The photographs and sightings stirred local and national interest in the jaguar, and prompted environmental groups to pressure the United States government to protect and declare critical habitat for the jaguar north of the Mexican border. Ranchers immediately feared that their use of state and federal lands was in jeopardy. State non-game agencies in Arizona and New Mexico, wanting to avoid federal intervention, developed a "Conservation Agreement" and a Jaguar Action Conservation Team to protect the jaguar, while not interfering with the livelihood of the human inhabitants of the region. The question remained, however, what exactly was it that needed protection? |
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