Natural History Wanderings

English: A portrait of a jaguar (Panthera onca) at the Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to protect 838,232 acres as “critical habitat” for endangered jaguars (Panthera onca) in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Jaguars were driven from the United States by federal and state predator-killing programs. The animals have begun recolonizing Arizona and New Mexico.

They are listed as an endangered species since 1997. The critical habitat proposal will be finalized within a year. To learn more read press release from Center For Biological Diversity:  838,000 Acres Protected for Jaguar.