Trump Wall May Threaten Rare Arizona Jaguar

I feel dumb right now because I thought Jaguars were either large cats of the African Savannah, or British luxury cars. I had absolutely NO IDEA that they existed in the United States (outside of zoological facilities) until I read an article posted in the Durango Herald

A rare jaguar has been photographed in the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports. The photo of the big cat was taken Dec. 1 by a remote trail camera on the Fort Huachuca Army installation near Sierra Vista, southeast of Tuscon.

What a gorgeous creature! My father lives in Tucson and I have traveled in the area where the above photo was taken. It is some of the most rugged, harsh, and unwelcoming terrain I have visited (perhaps second only to the Escalante Canyon area of Utah). But, this post isn't about me, it's about the great cat, and here is some more information from the article:

Since the 1980s, there have been occasional jaguar sightings in Arizona by hunters and hikers. In 2009, a jaguar was caught in an Arizona Fish and Wildlife trap. The jaguar, named Macho B, was collared with a GPS tracking device and was estimated to be 15 to 16 years old. In 2011, a new male jaguar estimated to weigh 200 pounds was spotted roaming the Arizona Ski Island mountain ranges. Named El Jefe after a vote by Tuscon school children, he has been photographed more than 100 times by remote trail cameras in the Santa Rita mountains, less than 30 miles from Tucson.

Macho B is a splendid name for a giant male feline, and no, jaguars don't eat Fancy Feast or Whisker Lickin's- they prefer deer and bear!

Jaguars are larger than mountain lions and roar like African lions. They prey mostly on deer, and El Jefe has been documented taking down a black bear, according to an article in Smithsonian magazine.

But, these precious kittens are endangered (I would guess they are also DANGEROUS), and protected (as they should be). Trump's plan to build a wall along the Arizona/Mexico border may make life difficult for these majestic spotted creatures:

Jaguars are a protected species under the Endangered Species Act and cannot be harmed or harassed. They are more prevalent in northern Mexico and are known to roam back and forth across the U.S. Mexican border to find habitat and prey. In 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service finalized the designation of 764,207 acres as critical for the survival and recovery of jaguars in southern Arizona and a small portion of southwestern New Mexico. In 2006, there was a confirmed sighting of a jaguar in New Mexico’s boot heel area in a mountain range that extends into Mexico. There are several corridors where jaguars cross the U.S. Mexican border, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tuscon. And efforts to extend the border wall would jeopardize the jaguar by restricting its habitat. “The wall is a huge concern,” he said. “Areas where the jaguar has crossed in the past have been walled off such as at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.”

What do you think? Is increasing the security of our nations borders by building a wall worth the possibility of making life more difficult or impossible for a rare animal?

My solution would be to increase the population of jaguars and let them serve as border patrols rather than build a wall.

I'm serious. The time is meow!

SOURCE
Learn more about Jaguars at National Geographic

a reply to: seattlerat

The Trumps don't care.

inhabitat.com...

a reply to: seattlerat

I wonder which Trump kid will shoot it first?

Eric or Donald?

They can train the Jaguars to eat people who try to climb over the wall.

This is all very hypothetical seeing as how no wall has even been planned yet.

originally posted by: rickymouse
They can train the Jaguars to eat people who try to climb over the wall.

I was wondering if they were to be designated as threatened because their food source was soon to be shut off?

originally posted by: shooterbrody

originally posted by: rickymouse
They can train the Jaguars to eat people who try to climb over the wall.

I was wondering if they were to be designated as threatened because their food source was soon to be shut off?

Yeah, the Jaguars will not have a choice, Mexican food will be taken off the menu.

I have actually seen this beautiful animal in person while Javelina hunting down south. My buddies and I were sitting on a ridge glassing and we saw its tail flick under a bush. I zoomed in with my spotting scope and El Jefe was there licking his chops full of blood from his fresh Javi kill that morning. I was a little pissed because I knew right then there wouldn't be and piggies in the area. Beautiful cat though. Almost impossible to see with the naked eye unless you walk right up on him. We hit him with the range finder and he was about 650 yards away from us on an opposite ridge with the sun just about to hit him in the morning.

Soon as we saw him though we waited another 5 min or so then left. Like I said we know with him in the area the piggies were long gone.

a reply to: seattlerat

uhh guys...

The reason you didn't know jaguars were in America is the same reason you don't think African killer bees are in America..

They don't come from here.

Jaguars are rare in New mexico because they are jungle cats.

You are being fooled by the articles wording like it's some other type of rare jaguar. And if you're not you are being disingenuous.

In fact scientists are trying to monitor the numbers because it could become a problem if more South American Jaguars come over here.

"One individual [animal] in the Southwest is not going to be a concern, but if the population does re-establish itself" it could become a problem, Quigley says. That's one reason the exact location of the most recent sighting has not been revealed.

The two cats seen in 1996, as well as the recent visitor, were all young males and had moved into the area from their normal habitat, which extends about 150 miles south of the border with Mexico.

ABC news Jaguars making come back in US


but yes a kitty that can drag a cow along the ground with his face whos natural habitat is NOT the united states has a LOT to do with Trump. Please can we not fall for these things. I hate Trump too but I hate stupid even more.

a reply to: PraetorianAZ

I'm not into hunting, but I bet that was a nifty experience! What do you think about the possibility of someone shooting these animals for sport? I would guess that there would be a very hefty penalty, with the possibility of an extended vacation at Club Fed.

I don't know much about Javalina, but I frequently saw them around Tucson when I would go on my evening walks... aren't there restrictions or limits on hunting them? There didn't seem to be any shortage of them from my perspective, and I suppose they would make great bacon burgers for jaguars!

For those who don't know what a Javalina is:

a reply to: Reverbs

I respect your input, however, from the sources I have been able to locate, jaguars have indeed lived in what is now part of Arizona and have been a part of Native American culture since before the Europeans took over the area for themselves...

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only extant Panthera species native to the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Americas. The jaguar's present range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Apart from a known and possibly breeding population in Arizona (southeast of Tucson) and the bootheel of New Mexico, the cat has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century.

Definition of extirpate: to destroy completely: wipe out

I did read your source article, however, I apparently did not comprehend the information in the same manner as you did. It sounds to me like jaguars roam very long distances and may be re-establishing in areas where they were eradicated in the past.

SOURCE

a reply to: seattlerat

if you read my source it says the SAME but its NOT their habitat...

the furthest reaches of their natural habitat is 150 miles inside mexico..

a reply to: seattlerat
all this reminds me of is George Carlin, the part where he talks about the planet.

a reply to: seattlerat

Isn't this what dog/cat doors are for?

But, seriously, if a big cat wants to climb over something, they'll find a way.

Also, Jaguar is owned by Tata Motors Limited, a company in India. While the cars are still mostly produced at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, I don't know if that really makes them an English car or an Indian car.

originally posted by: seattlerat
a reply to: PraetorianAZ

I'm not into hunting, but I bet that was a nifty experience! What do you think about the possibility of someone shooting these animals for sport? I would guess that there would be a very hefty penalty, with the possibility of an extended vacation at Club Fed.

I don't know much about Javalina, but I frequently saw them around Tucson when I would go on my evening walks... aren't there restrictions or limits on hunting them? There didn't seem to be any shortage of them from my perspective, and I suppose they would make great bacon burgers for jaguars!

For those who don't know what a Javalinais:

Well here in AZ everyone that hunts is familiar with EL Jefe. The chances of actually running into a Jaguar in the wild here are slim to none. They say that grizzly bear is extinct out here as well but I have seen tracks up in the Payson wilderness wayyyyy deep. I reported it to game and fish and they said they would follow up but who knows.

We knew spotting him was either a really good omen or a really bad one. But we all killed a Javi that weekend so it turned out to be a good one!

As for hunting Javi there is a specific season for them. It changes slightly year to year but there is always a Fall and Spring hunt for them. Limit is one per hunter and it is a draw system so you cant but the tag over the counter (Unless your bow hunting). But they have different hunts for them. They usually start with bow/mussleloaders first. Then pistol only javi hunts. Then center-fire rifle hunts.

Javi meat is alright by itself. I lied its really not that great. We grind it up and mix it with pig fat for extra flavor and make sausages and chorizo out of them.

But they are a hoot to track and shoot. They are virtually blind so as long as you stay downwind and don't make a ton of noise you can literally walk right up on them. They have a really strong pack mentality and have no problem charging you if you threaten the heard.

One way my buddies and I will hunt them is once you shoot one of them if he doesnt die right away (we usually go for one shot kills so the animal doesnt suffer) but if he doesnt die let the Javi call out in distress so he calls the others back in to help him then blast them too. If he does die in the first shot we will have the guy who shot immediately start using the Javi distress call and watch the pack come charging in to help their comrade. Its actually quite a sight to see them coming to help. But once they realize hes dead and were still shooting they scatter.

And to answer our first question if you shot a Jag and Game and Fish caught you you would see some El Jefe fines and jail time for sure.

originally posted by: shooterbrody

originally posted by: rickymouse
They can train the Jaguars to eat people who try to climb over the wall.

I was wondering if they were to be designated as threatened because their food source was soon to be shut off?

Right, Jaguars only eat south of the border?

a reply to: seattlerat

You do realize that a large percentage of exotic pelts are from poaching in Mexico and central/south america right? I'm not advocating the stupid wall either, so please don't jump on me. Many of our animals have lost their natural travel corridors and home ranges due to highways and over development. Noone seems to care as long as their house has a great view and the highway to work is nearby so they don't have to be inconvenienced. A book by the title of "walking the big wild" by Karsten Heuer in 2003 explains much of the problems of travel corridors for wildlife.

a reply to: Butterfinger

Guess a hungry jaguar wouldn't attack and eat a person attempting to cross the border? Cause you know so many american citizens are illegally crossing into mexico.

Lets repopulate them and defend the border with Jaguars.

a reply to: Natas0114

Thank you Natas, for your post. I have noticed that some municipalities have begun to build wildlife accessible bridges/tunnels that allow animals to cross highways safely. It is an unfortunate side-effect of human civilization that so many non-human biological entities suffer due to encroachment. It is a seemingly impossible task to balance our needs with those of the creatures that existed before our concrete jungles took root. I hope that someday we begin to take a more proactive approach to preserving the lives and well-being of the other lifeforms that we should be SHARING this planet with.