| On a trip to Mexico, I had the unique experience to | | | | Ecuador and Guyana. The United States |
| play with a baby jaguar! Beautiful creature and | | | | government has made some poor decisions for |
| amazing to interact with! I was disappointed to learn | | | | self-fulfilling purposes in my opinion in regards to the |
| that like many species roaming the globe today, the | | | | safety of these majestic animals. As jaguars |
| jaguar is considered to be "near threatened" by the | | | | typically cross between the US and Mexico, the |
| International Union for the Conservation of Nature | | | | government was building a border fence and they |
| and Natural Resources. This means that it may | | | | were getting in the way. Sadly, On January 7, 2008, |
| become extinct in the future. There are many | | | | the US Fish and Wildlife Service Director, H. Dale Hall |
| contributing factors of which humans play a large | | | | (under the Bush Administration), removed from the |
| role. Some factors include: poaching, deforestation, | | | | Endangered Species Act a federal goal aimed at |
| being killed by ranchors for preying on livestock, | | | | jaguar recovery. Typical and disappointing to say |
| competition with humans for food, and hurricanes in | | | | the least! |
| the northern part of its range. Their range extends | | | | My point in this blog is to highlight another amazing |
| from Mexico to South America to northern Argentina | | | | animal that we have the privelage of seeing while it's |
| and South to Paraguay. In the US there is a | | | | still here. Really just to raise awareness of yet |
| breeding ground in Arizona, southeast of Tucson. | | | | another creature that because of a lack of |
| In many parts of the world where Jaguars roam, | | | | compassion and a need to personally progress may |
| trophy hunting is illegal, however it is still allowed in | | | | disappear in the future. |
| Bolivia and there is no legal protection for them in | | | | |