Grand Canyon -- Humans and Wildlife

Behind the Scenes | A Jaguar's Neighbors | Jaguar Sightings | Resources


	Although jaguars largely vanished from the United States at the beginning of this century, every now and then one appears, giving the observer the surprise of his life.

Jaguars have been largely wiped out here . . .


	When Warner Glenn, a cattle rancher and hunting guide in southern Arizona, set out on a routine mountain lion hunt in March, 1996, he was prepared to give his client a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, he had one himself. When the hounds picked up the scent of a cat, Glenn followed to round up what he thought would be a mountain lion. As the others raced to catch up, Glenn was taking pictures of the animal when he realized what was going on. This was no mountain lion; this was a jaguar.

Eradicated from the southwestern United States by ranchers whose cattle were falling victim to hungry jaguars, these animals have come north from Mexico only a few times this century. A sighting such as Glenn's raises conservation issues: should we protect the jaguars, or the livestock they would inevitably hunt? "I didn't really know what to do," admits Glenn. He feared that if he made his discovery public, ranchers would demand that the jaguar be killed.

. . . but still appear occasionally.


	Since jaguars had disappeared from the United States years before, they had never been put on the endangered species list. This meant that the jaguar Glenn had spotted could legally be shot. Moving carefully to publicize his jaguar encounter, Glenn enlisted the help of the Malpai Borderlands Group, a nonprofit organization run by local ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico to improve ranch lands.

Glenn also contacted the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It was soon determined that this lone jaguar had merely wandered into the United States from Mexico as a visitor. In that case, ranchers like Glenn and his neighbors did not need to worry about protecting their cattle from jaguars. As an occasional visitor, not a permanent resident, the cat belonged on the list of endangered species. Glenn was relieved: "That jaguar was certainly there to be admired and left alone," he explains. "I didn't want to bring any harm to him, but I thought it would be better to make people aware." And the story has a happy ending for all: "Within a few months [of the sighting], the jaguar was listed under the Endangered Species Act," Glenn says proudly.

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