It’s Time to Reintroduce Jaguars to the U.S. Southwest, Scientists Say

[ScipioMoroder]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...est-180977761/

Currently, jaguars are found in 19 different countries. Several males have been spotted in Arizona and New Mexico over the last 20 years, but breeding pairs have not been seen or reported north of Mexico. Natural reestablishment of the spotted big cats is also unlikely because of urbanization and habitat fragmentation caused by existing segments of the U.S.-Mexico border blocking jaguar migration routes, reports Susan Montoya Bryan for the Associated Press.

Citing a study published in the journal Oryx in March, the authors of the new paper suggest a suitable habitat for jaguars spanning 2 million acres from central Arizona to New Mexico. The space would provide a big enough range for 90 to 150 jaguars, the researchers explained in a statement. Authors of the Oryx study also argued that bringing jaguars back to the U.S. is crucial to species conservation as the cats are listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List. Reintroduction could also help restore native ecosystems, the AP reports.

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

The suggested area is located in regions that humans do not densely populate, publicly-owned state and national parks, and indigenous tribal lands, reports Ed Cara for Gizmodo. The rugged terrain also includes enough water and prey sources to be a refuge for the species, per the AP.


Environmentalists and conservationists argued the two-million-acre habitat was not considered in 2018 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife investigated and proposed a recovery plan for jaguar reintroductions. In the plan, a habitat for only six jaguars was set aside within the entire U.S., the Independent reports. Officials say conservation efforts would focus on protecting habitats, educating the public about jaguars to aid social acceptance, and banishing poaching, the AP reports.

I think it would be nice to see jaguars and other animals that were wiped out by humans in modern times to make a comeback in areas where there's little to no conflict with humans. Just hope some of them don't wander into LA, or else you'll see jaguars on Skid Row begging for clean needles to shoot up with

[uuuhname]

anything to keep the wild hog populations in check.

[PC2]

@ScipioMoroder, if they want to test it out there it's fine by me. Personally I don't want to live near a jaguar habitat a whole lot, even though I'm sure my dog would defend me from a jaguar while I make my escape. That's its job.

There was another guy, @Techno-Druid, who also liked the idea of wilderness/nature engineering and rewilding. I'm a little skeptical of it but it seems interesting.

anything to keep the wild hog populations in check.

I guess, I passed by an adult wild pig last week and it had like 8 little cute piglets. But they're not out of control in my county atm.

[uuuhname]

I guess, I passed by an adult wild pig last week and it had like 8 little cute piglets. But they're not out of control in my county atm.

alright well clearly you haven't seen or heard of the ecological damage they do so, ok?

[ScipioMoroder]

alright well clearly you haven't seen or heard of the ecological damage they do so, ok?

Yeah feral hogs are pretty out of control in the US.


Jaguars would probably do a good job keeping their pop balanced, probably so would wolves, bears, etc.

It's time for another silly animal worshipers bad idea to get someone killed.

Yeah, I don't know if it's exactly "animal worship" as much as "Oh shit, we should probably do our best to not screw the ecosystem up"

A few weeks ago, Idaho approved a bill to allow for 90% of the state's wolves to be killed, something essentially every group outside of ranchers lobbied against, from medical and auto insurance agencies worried about an increase in deer ticks and vehicular collisions, and then conservationists for obvious reasons.

We're really just dealing with the fact that we can't destabilize ecosystems and expect good results out of it.

[Doctor Amadeus]

It's time for another silly animal worshipers bad idea to get people killed.

[Yadryonych]

It's time for another silly animal worshipers bad idea to get people killed.

Any stupid idea becomes an undeniable truth if you add "scientists say" to it

[XDurionX]

Looking forward to the Jaguar King reality soap.

[Krakan]

alright well clearly you haven't seen or heard of the ecological damage they do so, ok?

Just make them nuisance game and let them be hunted without a license. I know I would take free pork and a fun day hunting over reintroducing dangerous animals. ( not saying wild boars are not dangerous)

[ScipioMoroder]

Just make them nuisance game and let them be hunted without a license. I know I would take free pork and a fun day hunting over reintroducing dangerous animals. ( not saying wild boars are not dangerous)

Well, I think the idea is that the jaguars would be reintroduced to sparsely populated regions in the Southwest where they would have little actual contact with humans, although realistically there would be some encounters eventually.

[Krakan]

Well, I think the idea is that the jaguars would be reintroduced to sparsely populated regions in the Southwest where they would have little actual contact with humans, although realistically there would be some encounters eventually.

How is that better then just having people hunt down free pork?

[Elegiac]

How is that better then just having people hunt down free pork?

The anthropocene extinction is kind of a bad thing so rewilding and reintroducing native species is the better option, lol.

The free pork is great for the cats.

[Rasulis]

The anthropocene extinction is kind of a bad thing so rewilding and reintroducing native species is the better option, lol.

The free pork is great for the cats.

I don't know. Those free pork can weight up to 300 lbs. With some into the 400lbs and even 500 lbs. The largest recorded feral hog captured in TX weight a whooping 790 lbs. He was caught in 2015 by Blaine Garcia and Wyatt Walton on a ranch on January 16 in De Leon, a town about 35 minutes west of Stephenville and 95 miles southwest of Fort Worth. There are even stories of 1,000 lbs hogs. A North American jaguar weighing around 100 lbs may have problems with those.

[Lynarii]

Yeah, cause having large predatory animals in the lower US has gone over so well.... people will just hunt/poach them like they’ve done all the others.

Yeah. People are talking here about how the jaguars would be dangerous to people, but that's extremely unlikely. It's FAR more believable that humans would just illegally wipe them out again for no actual good reason beyond the fact that they can.

[dwightyo39]

It probably can't work out any worse than the introduction of Canadian wolves to the US. Other than a feelgood tales about how well that worked in a vacuum (national park) it has crushed elk herds elsewhere.

[Tuor]

I'm all for nature conservation, nature balance must be keept.

I know Jag's are a lot more dangerous then Lynxs, but here in Portugal we slowly reintroducing Iberian Lynxs. After the species was almost wiped out, and only a small population survived in Spain, according to the latest news there are now more then 1000 individuals of this species. Anyway, a common thing most animals do towards humans, is that they just avoid them, don't be afraid of reintroducing Jag's.

[Crissi]

Im up for it. They were here for a long time before we pushed them south, and occasionally we do still have jaguar incursions in the very south of Texas. We already have mountain lions so I find the "big predators scary" to be whiny hogwash. Big predators are already here.

Also, we already do essential;ly have free reign to hunt hogs at will. It hasnt made a difference cause they breed so rapidly, and mass poisoning would be horrible for local native wildlife.

[dwarven]

It's time for another silly animal worshipers bad idea to get people killed.

Animals are better than people.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Jaguars have a much, much stronger bite force than even African lions. No thanks.

[Lochton]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...est-180977761/

I think it would be nice to see jaguars and other animals that were wiped out by humans in modern times to make a comeback in areas where there's little to no conflict with humans. Just hope some of them don't wander into LA, or else you'll see jaguars on Skid Row begging for clean needles to shoot up with

I smell a lot of Darwin awards to come..