The Northern Jaguar Project is a conservation effort on behalf of the jaguar that is headed by an Arizona based organization of the same name, in conjunction with Mexico’s Naturalia.
Description
The Northern Jaguar Project is unique as it is focused entirely on protecting the jaguars living near the U.S.-Mexico border. The project began in 2003 with the purchase of the 10,000 acre Los Pavos Ranch in northern Mexico, just 125 miles south of the border. In 2008 it was expanded to more than double its size when Rancho Zetasora was acquired. Both ranches are remote, difficult to access, and relatively untouched, making them perfect habitat, not just for jaguars, but for many other species as well. The Northern Jaguar Project is the “northernmost location where jaguars, mountain lions, bobcats, and ocelots are all found in the same vicinity”, and the park also features a variety of floral habitats as well.
The Northern Jaguar Project is primarily focused on efforts to create a stable jaguar population in Northwestern Mexico. But, their long term aspirations include a return of the jaguar to the Southwestern United States. The potential for such a re-introduction is high; as much as 30% of Arizona alone is considered suitable habitat for the jaguar.
Currently, Jaguars are infrequently sighted in Arizona and New Mexico, and there are no permanent populations anywhere in the U.S. In the past the jaguar roamed much of the southwestern U.S., but they were hunted to extinction. The Northern Jaguar Project hopes to reverse this, and their preservation of 78 square miles of prime habitat in the Sonora region serves as a basis for establishing permanent American population groups.