In Southern Arizona, Rare Sightings of Ocelots and Jaguars Send Shivers

The article “In Southern Arizona, Rare Sightings of Ocelots and Jaguars Send Shivers,” talks about three different sightings that have been recorded of ocelots and jaguars in the southern Arizona wild. This is an important and big discovery because jaguars and ocelots are not native to Arizona or even North America at all, they are native to southern and central America. These sightings were called in to wildlife officials from a variety of sources. One sighting was called in by a father and a daughter on a mountain lion hunt on November 19 of this year, and it was the first time the rare jaguar had been seen and confirmed in the state since 2009. Earlier in the year in June the jaguar was sighted by a helicopter pilot who was pretty versed in wild cats however the sighting went unconfirmed because wildlife officials couldn’t find any footprints, hair, or droppings in the area. Finally, the most recent sighting was actually photographed by an Arizona state resident who saw the jaguar and crept up behind it to take a photo.
The events noted in the article are very important to be noted, especially for those living in Arizona. The people of Arizona, especially those who were cited in the article and who have an appreciation for the wildlife and the rare opportunity to see new types of animals in their environment. Mark Hart, a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department said, “What’s so appealing to the general public is that jaguars are so exotic. They are jungle cats from Central and South America, and the fact that they might be in our state really gets people’s attention. It’s a romantic notion.” In addition to the “romantic” aspect of the jaguars being in Southern Arizona, their presence also poses a pretty serious threat to the residents of Arizona. These jaguars are much stronger and bigger than any other mountain lions or other cats that roam the hills of Arizona. For this reason, hunters and hikers who wish to go out should be careful and make sure they don’t run into any of the extremely dangerous jaguars.
Overall, I think the article did a pretty good job of discussing the subject matter. There wasn’t a lot of details or people cited, but that was on account of the fact that there have only been three sightings so far of these cats. The article did do a very good job of going in depth to the three sightings and explaining the implications of what these sightings could mean for the southern Arizona residents. I very much enjoyed the article and personally think that it is very important for the Arizona wildlife officials to look into any and all sightings and make sure that these jaguars go unharmed and are protected.
Lacey, Marc. "In Southern Arizona, Rare Sightings of Ocelots and Jaguars Send Shivers." New York Times. 4 Dec. 2011. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. .
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/us/in-arizona-rare-sightings-of-ocelots-and-jaguars.html?ref=science
Thomas Hudson
AP Biology
December 5, 2011