Defenders of Wildlife Blog

“Coast to Coast” is a summer blog series highlighting some of America’s most imperiled wildlife. By using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s new state-by-state endangered species map, we will tell  stories about native plants and animals in unique landscapes where Defenders will be focusing its conservation efforts in coming years.

The next stop on our trip around the U.S. is an area in the Southwest called the Sky Islands. The “islands” are actually scattered mountain peaks that rise above the rest of the desert landscape in the region, disconnected from the much larger mountains ranges to the north (the Rockies) and the South (Sierra Madres). Because of the sharp contrast between the arid lowlands and the forested mountains, these areas often become a critical refuge for rare wildlife.

Ocelots are one such species that rely on Sky Islands in Arizona for their survival. About twice the size of a house cat, the ocelot is a solitary and nocturnal animal. With a life span of up to seven years in the wild, they hunt prey small and large. Although sticking mostly to rabbits, rodents, lizards and medium–sized amphibians, this powerful predator can also take down animals three times its size. Their distinctive leopard-like stripes and spots help them elude predators as they take cover in trees and dense brush.

Most of the ocelot’s remaining territory lies in Mexico and covers a large swath of South America, but the northern tip of their range lies in southeast Arizona and southern Texas. Sightings are rare in the U.S. Only four have been officially documented in the last 50 years in Arizona, the most recent in July of 2011. Lucky for us, however, one of these sightings included the capture of amazing photos and video of the elusive big cat, courtesy of Arizona Fish & Game.

Watch as local ranchers relive the sight of a lifetime–an ocelot on their property:

While cute and cuddly-looking, the ocelot is still having a rough time. Facing the deadly duo of habitat loss and poaching, the cute cat has been listed as endangered through its entire range. The major conservation move has been to criminalize the taking of ocelots and the selling of their fur within the U.S., while encouraging protection of their habitat. Ocelots also have international protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). CITES protections prohibit international trade of these animals, which helps keep them alive throughout the Americas.

Ocelots aren’t the only critters hiding out in the Sky Islands of Arizona and New Mexico. They share their alpine refuge with jaguars, gray wolves, Sonoran pronghorn and many other imperiled plants and animals, but they all benefit from efforts to conserve this unique habitat.

Learn more about the ocelot from Defenders factsheet and our previous blog post.

On a chilly bright blue sky day on top of the Vermillion Cliffs in northern Arizona, I finally got to see first-hand the results of a project I worked on while at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the late 1990s.  I stood on the edge of the cliffs with colleagues from Defenders and conservation partners from AZ Fish and Game and The Peregrine Fund watching critically endangered California condors soaring in the wind updrafts and sitting on boulders sunning themselves in the crisp morning’s sun.  They are certainly spectacular birds. Until you actually see one of these massive creatures on the wing, it’s hard to truly visualize just how incredible these birds are and how precarious their future still is.  They are almost magical to watch as they ride the thermals against the strikingly severe cliff sides near the Grand Canyon.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

Condors

Condors

Condor 011

Condor soaring

Condors in flight

Condor flying

Condor soaring

Condor 017

Condors on netting

Condors on netting

Condor

Condor taking flight

Condor taking flight

Condors

Jamie Rappaport Clark

Defenders CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark watches condors soaring

Condors perching

Condor perched on Vermillion Cliffs

Condor perched on Vermillion Cliffs

Condors

Condors perched on Vermillion Cliffs

Condors perched on Vermillion Cliffs

Vermillion Cliffs

Vermillion Cliffs

Condor Wingspan

Display showing the wingspan of a condor

Jamie Rappaport Clark

Though there have been some birds now born in the wild since the original releases from captivity over a decade ago, most still wear the obvious brand of human help in the form of tags and transmitters to track their movements in northern Arizona and southern Utah.   It is only with significant human support that we are making headway in returning these incredible flying creatures back to their rightful place in the wild.  All of the birds now in the wild still require supplemental feeding and are monitored regularly to manage the leading ongoing cause of their deaths today; the ingestion of lead from carcasses and gut piles of animals hunted throughout their range.  As carrion eaters (consumers of dead animals), the lead often left behind by hunters in carcasses or gut piles is ingested during feeding and accumulates quickly to deadly levels in the birds.  If we are seeing it at such high levels on an ongoing basis in condors, just imagine all the other wildlife that feed in a similar fashion.  It is abundantly clear that lead and wildlife are not a good mix for long term survival and sustainability.

AZ Game and Fish and The Peregrine Fund have been working diligently through voluntary ammunition swap programs (free exchanging of lead bullets for copper or steel).  In addition, they have an around the clock program of supplemental feeding and monitoring of the birds’ lead levels with intervention by trapping and treatment to remove lead from the systems of those birds most affected.  Regardless, the condor population overall is still in real trouble.

Though there has been a positive response from hunters with the ammunition swap out program in Arizona, there is no such opportunity in Utah and that makes recovery of the condor all the more complicated and frustrating.   The birds range from their “home base” at the Vermillion Cliffs but are now flying further and further away into Utah where there are no controls or incentives to use other than lead shot while hunting.  Until the lead is out of ammunition used to hunt wildlife, it will continue to be a labor intensive uphill battle to save the condors.

It’s time for ammunition manufacturers to step up and do what was done for waterfowl decades ago.  Conversion away from lead should not affect hunter success, but it will do a world of good for condors and other critters.  The science is clear, now we need to encourage manufacturers and hunters to step up.

Photo courtesy of Randall Longcore

Well, it wasn’t a real jaguar but it was the 175 foot jaguar tapestry that Defenders of Wildlife, our supporters, and volunteers from across the nation helped to create and carry up Sentinel Peak Park’s A Mountain this past weekend at the first BEYOND Tucson event. This was one of a community-wide series of events that aims to keep the message of unity alive that the city experienced after the tragic shootings of January 8, 2011 and encourages residents to get out and enjoy public lands.

The “Sewing Spot Together” tapestry, which was conceived by local artist Stephanie Bowman, was created with the aim of drawing attention to the struggles faced by the jaguar in the southwest region of the United States as it tries to regain a foothold within its historical range. The variety of intricate panels that comprise the tapestry represent the diversity of the Tucson community, but they are stitched together in a single tapestry to send a united message of tolerance and openness to the return of the America’s biggest cat to Arizona’s wild lands. The event itself was a great success with over 30 Defenders supporters coming out to help carry the tapestry up the mountain as they marched beside other Tucson residents, high school students and boy scout troops from the area who had designed sectional panels of their own.

Jaguars once roamed as far north as the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Although now rare in the United States, jaguars are still sometimes seen in the southwestern US, and there is hope that they will return to their home in the borderlands.  It is believed that the most northern viable population of these big cats is just south of the US-Mexico border in the foothills of the Sierra Madre.  Their numbers are now perilously low due to human population growth, agricultural expansion, and poaching.  The jaguar is federally listed as endangered throughout its entire range.  For the long therm health of jaguar populations, the various “spots” in which they live must have wildlife corridors connecting them.  Like much of life, the jaguar needs room to roam.

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support!

The Wallow Fire in Arizona and New Mexico burned over Mexican wolf habitat on June 3, 2011.

A massive wildfire raging across Arizona and New Mexico appears to have spared endangered Mexican gray wolves, wildlife officials reported on Monday.

The Wallow Fire — now the largest in Arizona’s history — has consumed close to a half-million acres since catching ablaze in late May, including forest lands that are home to the lobos and their newborn pups.

Two weeks ago, the flames spread through denning areas occupied by three packs, threatening more than a quarter of the known wild population.

Two of the packs in the fire’s path, Bluestem and Hawks Nest, were known to be raising a total of at least eight pups, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

After the Smoke Clears, Hope Prevails

Helicopter and airplane surveys on Monday sparked hope that newest generation of lobos may have escaped the blaze alive. Signals from collared wolves showed that the packs’ adults were still lingering close to the burned denning areas – a sign that the pups could also be nearby.

“The adults continuing to utilize the den area may be an indication that the pups survived the fire,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a report.

Defenders of Wildlife’s Southwest program director in Tucson, Ariz. and Mexican gray wolf expert, Eva Sargent, has been keeping an anxious eye on the fire’s course.

“I was relieved to hear that this year’s pups may be okay,” she says. “I’ve been holding my breath as I’ve watched the fire spread, and now I feel like I can breathe.”

The Wallow Fire is mere miles away from three more Mexican gray wolf packs that could be raising pups.

Sargent has good reason to worry. She has worked tirelessly for years to help return wolves to the Southwest.

“We’ve made a lot of progress recently in Mexican wolf recovery efforts,” she says, pointing to a team of scientists the Fish and Wildlife Service has assembled to draw up a new recovery plan for the wolves and last year’s boost in the population. “We’re close to getting lobo recovery on the right track. And this fire threatened to send it all up in smoke. Thankfully, hard work by staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Arizona and New Mexico state game agencies helped save these wolves. That’s dedication to conservation of the landscapes and wildlife of the Southwest – to be on the job even when you’ve had to evacuate from your own home or office.”

More Wolves in the Fire’s Path?

It’s still too soon to wave the all-clear flag. Three more packs appear to be denning within in 2-to-6 miles of the fire, which has covered more than 750 square miles in just three weeks. The Arizona Republic reports that only 33 percent of fire has been contained.

“Even if Mexican wolves survive the blaze,” Eva says, “their habitat may be significantly impacted. And they’re going to need our help now more than ever.”

Matt Clark, Defenders Southwest Representative

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Arizonans are invited to help make the call on whether solar energy development is “in the zone.” The U.S. Department of Interior is holding meetings starting Tuesday in Phoenix and on Wednesday in Tucson to listen to citizens’ views on plans for solar projects on public lands.

Matt Clark with Defenders of Wildlife in Arizona says the biggest reason for Arizonans to participate is that these lands belong to them and future generations.

“It’s vital that the public participate in this public process, which affects millions of acres of their public lands. We need to plan solar energy development smart from the start, in order to avoid the loss of important wildlife habitat, hunting areas, cultural sites and water resources.”

The plans on the table will set guidelines for “where, what, when and how big” for solar projects on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Clark says the ideal solar zones are areas where conflicts with recreation, wildlife and the environment are expected to be minimal. Ideal zones would also be sited near transmission grids.

The biggest reason for Arizonans to participate is that these lands belong to them and future generations. — Matt Clark

Alex Daue, renewable energy coordinator with The Wilderness Society, says large-scale solar projects are needed quickly to meet energy demands. But he says getting zones in place first is a good proposal from the BLM.

“They’ve identified a number of places across the state that have great solar resources and limited conflicts. By guiding projects to these zones, we can ensure that solar development on public lands is faster, cheaper and better.”

Complete meeting schedules for the Solar Energy Development Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Solar PEIS) are available at online.

View this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories.

– Doug Ramsey, Public News Service – AZ

The ocelot, a spotted feline not much larger than domestic cats, has been documented to occur across two continents — all the way from Argentina to Arizona.  In recent years, a series of verified ocelot occurrences have been confirmed only 30 miles south of the Arizona-Mexico border through field research conducted by Sky Island Alliance. And two verified sightings, as recently as 2009-2010, confirm that the Sonoran subspecies of ocelots still calls southern Arizona home, at least intermittently.  Yet, some have been too quick to dismiss the potentially crucial role Arizona may play for ocelot recovery and evolution.

As Defenders stated in recent comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on their draft ocelot recovery plan, considerations related to climate change and an increasingly impermeable and degraded international border call for the development of robust ocelot research, conservation and recovery strategies to include the northernmost portion of the ocelot’s historic and current range in southern Arizona.

The ocelot faces a host of threats to its very existence, including habitat loss and degradation, poaching, mounting border-related disturbances and barriers (e.g. walls), and more intense climate change-driven droughts (droughts have shown to significantly diminish reproductive success). The threat of intensified drought in northern Sonora, as some climate change models predict will occur, may necessitate a northward range shift into Arizona and other Southwestern U.S. states  (Last month, High Country News published a great article on this and other ocelot issues).

Ocelots can be hard to find in the wild. They’re nocturnal by nature, and spend much of their time in very dense and thorny vegetation, so it’s not surprising that people don’t report seeing ocelots very often, even where they do exist in relative abundance.

The ocelot faces a host of threats to its very existence, including habitat loss and degradation, poaching, mounting border-related disturbances and barriers and more intense climate change-driven droughts.

While there’s no evidence that the Sonoran subspecies of ocelot has bred north of the US – Mexico border in recent times, we can’t say for certain that it hasn’t either, because the government and the scientific community have failed to conduct a systematic survey north of the border for this rare and elusive species.

Unlike the well-studied and highly managed ocelots in south Texas, the ocelot population in the Mexican state of Sonora is very poorly studied. Only one effort to estimate the population’s size has been made, and that study (Lopez Gonzales et al., 2003) was based on very limited data (only 36 records). The study estimated that some 2,025 ocelots – plus or minus 675 cats – may live in the northern Sierra Madre. Unfortunately, the 2003 study did not include southern Arizona, but it did recognize the vital and growing importance of the ocelot’s northermost habitats: “As noted for other threatened species, the most distant portions of species’ distributions have been the last refuge for their survival, and this may also be the case for the future of the ocelot in North America.”

Male ocelots have been well-documented to roam no more than 5-25 kilometers in search of new territories and mates.  So the fact that a wild male ocelot was recently struck and killed by a vehicle as far north as Globe, Arizona (150 km north of the Arizona/Mexico border) suggests that a population of breeding ocelots may exist near, or even north of, the political dividing line we call the border. And even if ocelots are not now breeding in Arizona, there may still be ample habitat to support a breeding population in the future.

Now more than ever, conservation planning for the ocelot should be guided by science, not politics or special interests.  The potential contribution that southern Arizona could make to the future recovery of the ocelot should not be underestimated or downplayed, and in fact we argue, it should be central to the development of a forward-thinking and successful recovery vision for the ocelot.