Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY 25

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 25 March 2017

Conservationists: Wild Jaguars can make U.S. comeback

ASTRID GALVAN the gender of the third
Associated Press one, which was captured
PHOENIX (AP) — Conserva- on camera in the Dos Ca-
tionists are making another bezas Mountains in Arizona
push to get federal wildlife about 60 miles north of the
officials to devote more re- U.S.-Mexico border late last
sources to the re-establish- year, is unknown.
ment of wild jaguars in the Recovery efforts have
U.S. faced pushback from all
Only three jaguars have sides, including livestock
been seen in recent years, owners who sued the Fish
but conservationists like and Wildlife Service when
Rob Peters, a senior repre- it set aside nearly 1,200
sentative for Defenders of square miles along the bor-
Wildlife, believe they can der as habitat for the con-
call the United States home servation of jaguars in 2014.
again with a series of con- “There are all these po-
servation measures includ- litical issues, but when you
ing translocation and es- have good plan, coexis-
tablishing a larger habitat tent techniques that really
area by federal officials. work, I think there’s a path
Wild jaguars lived in Ari- toward success,” Peters
zona as far north as the said.
Grand Canyon and in New Peters said the biggest ob-
Mexico for years before stacle to a renewed push This Dec. 1, 2016, file still image from video provided by Fort Huachuca shows a wild jaguar in
habitat loss and predator for recovery is the habitat southern Arizona.
control programs aimed at boundaries set by a pro- Associated Press
protecting livestock elimi- posed jaguar recovery where a sizeable popula- about jaguars and to make sider translocation. It also
nated them in the past 150 plan released by the U.S. tion of jaguars lives. the big cats more socially doesn’t touch on the bor-
years. It’s been over 50 Fish and Wildlife Service in Peters also says Fish and accepted. der wall President Donald
years since a female jag- December. That plan aims Wildlife should also con- “The modeling, mathemat- Trump has proposed.
uar was seen in Arizona. to sustain habitat, eliminate sider relocating female ics and science that the “The border wall would be
But in the past few years, poaching and improve so- jaguars from Mexico to the recovery team has applied an absolute disaster. If it’s
trail cameras have cap- cial acceptance of the United States. indicate that the best bang completed with pedestri-
tured three jaguars in Ari- animal. It focuses recovery Jeff Humphrey, a spokes- for our buck for recovering an throughout jaguar cor-
zona. Two are males, and efforts on northern Mexico, man for Fish and Wildlife, jaguars is to focus on those ridors, it would completely
said the proposed plan is populations in Mexico,” preclude the option of jag-
under review and will like- Humphrey said. uars getting to the United
ly be finalized in about a The agency’s proposed States on their own,” Peters
year. plan for jaguar recovery said.
He said a team of jaguar would cost $56 million over There’s also the matter of
experts made the recom- five years and $605 million money.
mendations best suited for through 2066. Peters says Fish and Wildlife
recovery and that much Peters says the plan doesn’t is already underfunded,
of the Defenders of Wildlife do enough. and that budget cuts pro-
report agrees with its pro- It limits the proposed habi- posed by Trump “would se-
posals, such as the need to tat to south of Interstate riously undermine recovery
better educate the public 10 and doesn’t even con- for all species.”q