Defenders of Wildlife are doing their best to provide homes for all different kinds of animals.  Their concern ranges from the smallest butterfly to the biggest of mammals.  Recently they have taken on the task of finding new homes for the beautiful Sonoran Jaguar.  Did you know that the jaguar is the largest native North American cat?  Yep!  They used to wander from Arizona, to New Mexico and even into Texas.  They traveled as far south as Argentina!  That’s a pretty long trip.  But these days, they have rarely been seen north of Mexico.  In fact, the last sighting of a jaguar in the states was before the 1900s.

A remote ranch in northern Mexico is now becoming a rescue haven for jaguars.  Naturalia, a Mexican conservation group just purchased 10,000 acres at a ranch just south of Arizona.  They hope to turn it into a center that promotes protection and conservation of these awesome and graceful cats.  The Sonoran Jaguar are listed as endangered species throughout their native range, so the Northern Jaguar Project which is aiding in the rescues, hopes that their new purchased land will aid in the publics education about jaguars.  Another interesting fact is that there are only 75 of these jaguars left in the wild.  In the past three years, 25 of the wild cats have been killed by ranchers protecting their livestock or poachers.

To learn more about these cats and other conservation information visit Defenders of Wildlife’s Web site.