Scientists Build Case for Reintroducing Jaguars in Arizona, New Mexico

NEW YORK— In a new study published today in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, a group of scientists present the ecological case for reintroducing jaguars into the United States.

The authors provide a prospective framework for this effort and describe “righting a wrong” done to “America’s Great Cat” in the Southwest more than 50 years ago. The big cats lived in the central mountains of Arizona and New Mexico for thousands of years but were driven to local extinction by the mid-20th century, in part because of killing by government hunters.

In March a separate study suggested that an area in central Arizona and New Mexico spanning 2 million acres (82,000 square kilometers) can provide potentially suitable habitat for 90 to 150 jaguars. This area, roughly the size of South Carolina, was not considered in the 2018 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for the jaguar. That plan considered only habitat south of Interstate 10 (an artificial boundary considering historic jaguar records north of that) and therefore concluded there was habitat for only six jaguars in the United States.

However, habitat destruction, transportation infrastructure, natural constrictions in the landscape and the border wall mean that natural reestablishment of female jaguars from source populations in Mexico to this recovery region is unlikely over the next 100 years.

The authors of today’s study conclude that reintroduction of jaguars should be examined as a viable alternative. The authors believe that restoring jaguars can be a net benefit to people and would represent the return of an original part of the U.S. fauna inordinately harmed by the nation’s past actions.

The study focuses on five dimensions of the reintroduction project: conservation rationale, history, ecological context, human context and practical considerations.

“The jaguar lived in these mountains long before Americans did,” said Eric Sanderson, Wildlife Conservation Society senior conservation ecologist and lead author of the study. “If done collaboratively, reintroduction could enhance the economy of this region and the ecology of this incredible part of jaguar range.”

The study notes some key aspects of the reintroduction effort to be discussed with relevant officials and the public in central Arizona and New Mexico:

• The region is a habitat unique in all of the jaguar’s range, representing a special and valuable part of jaguar’s ecological diversity.
• The Central Arizona and New Mexico Recovery Area is vast, covered with suitable vegetation, and well populated with the potential prey. Given its elevation and latitude, it may provide an important climate refuge for the species in the future, though further research is required.
• The majority of the land is managed for the public good, mainly (68%) by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service, with several large designated wilderness areas. Only 381,000 people live in this area, primarily in towns and cities. The most important economic activities there are government expenditures, accommodation and food services, outdoor recreation, health care and social assistance, and retail trade.
• The mountains of central Arizona and New Mexico are part of the ancestral and reservation lands for a number of Native American nations. Currently two Tribal nations, the White Mountain Apache and the San Carlos Apache, manage nearly 12% of the region’s land area, including wildlife and ecological systems.
• Reintroduction would replace a historic member of the species assemblage of the region. U.S. government agents and private citizens hunted and poisoned the jaguar for most of the 20th century. As a result of persecution here and elsewhere, jaguars were listed under the Endangered Species Act. Today there are tools to facilitate coexistence and avoid and mitigate conflict. Reintroduction efforts, such as the Iberá Project in Argentina, have demonstrated the potential. Reintroduction could contribute to its recovery and eventual removal of the jaguar from the endangered species list, especially if the recent recovery plan were revised to consider this area and the possibility of reintroduction.

“This represents a turning point for this iconic wild cat, identifying a path forward for restoration of the jaguar to its historic range in the United States,” said Sharon Wilcox, Ph.D., Texas representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “It should serve as the starting point for a renewed conversation among stakeholders.”

“The Southwest’s native wildlife evolved with jaguars,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They have a storied and vital place in our canyons and forests, so we should plan an intelligent and humane reintroduction program.”

“Restoring jaguars to the northernmost portions of their historic range is an issue of importance for both the U.S. and Mexico,” said Juan Carlos Bravo, Wildlands Network Mexico and Borderlands program director. “Our paper provides an initial step for both countries to draft together a roadmap of what that major rewilding effort may look like.”