Jaguar Reintroduction Essential in the American Southwest

A young male jaguar captured on camera trap earlier this year in northern Sonora.

The jaguar is generally associated with the lush tropical rainforests of Central and South America. But this powerful big cat of the New World was once found in the dry arid landscape of the American Southwest. Decades after disappearing from its desert homeland, jaguar sightings had been reported in certain areas along the U.S-Mexico border in early to mid-2010s. But now, a study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice has asserted that these big cats should be reintroduced deeper into their historic American range. The study, written by sixteen conservation biologists, suggested a vast tract of Arizona and New Mexico for the reintroduction of jaguars. This area stretches from the White Mountains to as far north as Flagstaff and as far west as Prescott. The study also argued that bringing the jaguar back to southwestern U.S would "remedy the injustice" of the cat being eradicated by people almost six decades ago. The group hopes it will persuade the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to revisit its jaguar recovery plan from 2018, which determined an area south of Interstate 10 in southern Arizona and New Mexico as the only U.S habitat for the big cat. However, the land is large enough to support only six jaguars. This newly proposed release site, on the other hand, has the potentiality to support 150 jaguars. The authors of the study also recognized the possibility of human-wildlife conflict in the form of jaguars preying on livestock in the area, but predicted such incidences can be mitigated through range management methods and compensation payments. They further pointed out that unprovoked jaguar attacks on people are very rare and there has never been a recorded attack in the 21st century. Eric Sanderson, the lead author of the study, stated that further research which will analyze how the reintroduction process will be done would be due sometime next year.

Map of the proposed jaguar reintroduction site

I really think this recent study of reintroducing the jaguar in the American Southwest should be seriously considered. This big cat historically played a crucial role in the ecological balance of the Southwest. It demonstrated that by keeping the deer and peccary populations in check. When the jaguar disappeared, the numbers of deer and peccaries were left to be in control by its smaller and lighter cousin, the puma. The puma alone is not able to control the peccary population because the latter is known to defend itself when in a group. Also, the peccary's neck is protected by a thick layer of bristles which makes it difficult for the puma to bite into and kill it. The jaguar, on the other hand, is the only big cat that kills with a bite to the skull. This makes it a highly efficient predator of the peccary, whose only vulnerable spot is its head. Therefore, the reintroduction of the jaguar in Arizona and New Mexico is essential for controlling the peccary population and other prey species.

The collared peccary is one of many animals that forms the jaguar's prey base.

I also agree that this reintroduction project should include involvement of stakeholders like state, federal, and tribal officials, and the public - especially those living in the vicinity of the proposed release site. I believe it is crucial to conduct awareness programs to educate the public about the benefits the jaguar has on the ecology of southwestern U.S and provide guidance on what they can do to minimize human-jaguar conflicts. This includes improvising security to protect the livestock from jaguars and implementing steps to prevent jaguars from attacking people. In the U.S, over the past few years, jaguars have only been spotted in certain areas along the U.S-Mexico border via camera traps. But these individuals were never sighted deeper into Arizona or New Mexico; they most likely returned back into Mexico. This is why it is essential to reintroduce the jaguar in these two states, in order to reestablish the original ecological balance of the American Southwest.

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