{"id":174,"date":"2010-03-05T16:18:01","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T23:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/?p=174"},"modified":"2010-03-08T10:02:23","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T17:02:23","slug":"updates-on-the-story-of-macho-b-and-jaguar-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/2010\/03\/05\/updates-on-the-story-of-macho-b-and-jaguar-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Updates on the Story of Macho B and Jaguar Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since first publishing the story of Macho B on this blog<\/a>, several important events have taken place.<\/p>\n

On January 22nd<\/sup>, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the findings of the investigation into the death of Macho B. The report stated that AGFD had intentionally \u2013 and criminally \u2013 trapped Macho B without the proper federal permit as required under the Endangered Species Act.\u00a0 Several specific violations by AGFD employees were noted and the report went on to state that the case would now be turned over to the U.S. Attorney General\u2019s Office in Tucson for possible criminal prosecution against the AGFD workers.\u00a0\u00a0 No names were given, but it is assumed that Emil McCain, the biologist and contractor who allegedly ordered the setting and the baiting of the snare that caught Macho B, was the primary focus of the investigation and its findings. The report also criticized AGFD for not conducting the proper necropsy (an animal autopsy), noting that Steve Spangler, a supervisor for all endangered species activities in Arizona, mistakenly ordered only a \u201ccosmetic\u201d rather than the called for full necropsy, and in fact, did not even know what a necropsy was.<\/p>\n

Earlier, on January 13th<\/sup>, The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it was reversing its long time position and would designate \u201ccritical habitat\u201d for jaguars in the American Southwest.\u00a0 Critical habitat is defined under the Endangered Species Act as \u201cspecific geographic area(s) that is essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management and protection.\u201d The definition then goes on to state \u201ccritical habitat may include an area that is not currently occupied by the species but that will be needed for its recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Environmentalists have long called for the designation of critical habitat for jaguars.\u00a0 AGFD, hunters, ranchers and other landowners have long opposed such designation fearing that it would limit their access and use of the land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had long argued that jaguars were primarily native to South and Central America and that any jaguar appearing in the U.S. borderlands region would be a \u201ctransient\u201d animal from Mexico. \u00a0Those who opposed designation of critical habitat also maintained that the borderlands were at best \u201cmarginal\u201d habitat for jaguars. The Macho B tragedy dispelled this myth.\u00a0 It was clear that Macho B was a resident jaguar who for at least 15 years not only survived, but thrived in the mountains and deserts of Arizona. The publicity surrounding the death of Macho B played a major role in leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its position.<\/p>\n

Within days of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife announcement, the famed jaguar biologist Alan Rabinowitz published an Op Ed in the New York Times <\/em>criticizing this policy change.\u00a0 My response to Rabinowitz which will be published in the next Sky Island Alliance Newsletter.<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier in January a third event had taken place which was not yet known to anyone. A remote camera set out by Sergio Avila of the Northern Jaguar Project and Sky Island Alliance captured an image of a jaguar on the Rancho El Aribabi in Sonora, Mexico less than 30 miles from the U.S. border.\u00a0 Considering the fact that the home range of a jaguar might be up to 525 square miles in size, it seems highly likely that this animal has spent time in the United States. \u00a0\u00a0No one knows, or will even venture an educated guess, as to how many jaguars remain in Mexico.\u00a0 One source estimates there may be 2000.\u00a0 But it seems more likely that the number of jaguars left in this nation might more properly be measured in the hundreds.\u00a0 Without question, however, a breeding population exists in the northern state of Sonora.\u00a0 If the United States protects its habitat in the borderland regions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, jaguars will continue to enter \u2013 and hopefully repopulate \u2013 the American Southwest.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tony Davis. 2010. \u201cCamera Snaps Jaguar Photo Below Border<\/a>,\u201d Arizona<\/em> Daily Star. <\/em>February 16.<\/p>\n

Tony Davis and Tim Steller. 2010. \u201cJaguar\u2019s Capture Broke Law, Feds Say<\/a>,\u201d Arizona<\/em> Daily Star. <\/em>January 22.<\/p>\n

Leslie Kaufman. 2010. \u201cIn Reversal, Jaguar Habitat Will Be Protected<\/a>,” The New York Times. <\/em>January 13.<\/p>\n

Leslie Kaufman.\u00a0 2010. \u201cArizona Intentionally Snared Jaguar, Inquiry Finds<\/a>,\u201d Arizona<\/em> Daily Star. <\/em>January 23.<\/p>\n

Alan Rabinowitz.\u00a0 2010. \u201cJaguars Don\u2019t Live Here Anymore<\/a>,\u201d The New York Times. <\/em>January 25.<\/p>\n

Sky Island Alliance.\u00a0 2010.\u00a0 \u201cNorthern Jaguars Are a Reality: Sky Island Alliance and Partnering Mexican Rancher Document Jaguar Close to U.S.\/Mexican Border<\/a>,\u201d News Release. <\/em>February 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since first publishing the story of Macho B on this blog, several important events have taken place. On January 22nd, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the findings of the investigation into the death of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[222,216,86],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-papers","tag-macho-b","tag-mountain-lion","tag-papers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nwic.edu\/pavlik\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}