Fish and Wildlife Service Creates Crucial Habitat for Endangered Jaguars

It's just another day at the office for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Whether it's an invasive species, discovery of a new species, or the endangerment of another, the government service is back to work thanks to reports regarding the safety of jaguars.

According to the IUCN Red List, a group that assesses the conservation status of species, jaguars (Panthera onca) are a near-threatened species and will face official endangerment status if proper measures aren't taken immediately. In response to the report, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated a critical habitat for jaguars in New Mexico and Arizona.

The 764,000-acre habitat contains six units with mountain ranges where jaguars have been seen to roam. The area in southwestern New Mexico and western Arizona was designed to provide a safe living area for jaguars due to increasing habitat destruction and hunting of the species. In North and South America, deforestation and draining of wetlands have contributed to diminishing habitats. The hunting of the species has also occurred in greater numbers to protect livestock, and they're also poached for their fur.

A news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on March 4^th declared that the habitat will take effect by April 4^th. The original proposal was presented to the wildlife service back in 2011 by feline ecologists, conservation biologists, and other experts from the U.S. and Mexico. After multiple revisions, the service finally announced the 764,207-acre critical habitat to protect the jaguars under the Endangered Species Act.

The ESA defines a critical habitat as a specific geographic area that contains features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species that may require special management and protection. The habitat is designed to protect areas that are necessary for the conservation of the species in question.

To read more about jaguars and their near-threatened status, visit this IUCN report and this USFWS news release.