Conservationists Pushing To Reintroduce Jaguars In New Mexico

Conservationists are making a strong case to reintroduce jaguars into New Mexico forests.

Jaguars inhabited areas in Arizona and New Mexico as late as the 1960s but were wiped out, reported KOB 4 News.

Jaguars are listed as endangered on both sides of the Mexico/United States border.

So where do conservationists want to reintroduce the cats?

Michael Robinson, Senior Conservation Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity said, "The vast and wild and well-loved Gila National Forest."

Robinson lives near the forest and thinks it's the perfect location to reintroduce the wild cats.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, that area could only support six jaguars.

Robinson explained, "Jaguars need wild places where they can be safe from potential persecution, and they need prey."

While it seems scary to reintroduce a wild cat, Robinson said that the precautions would be similar to those of mountain lions and black bears.

He said:

"Nobody is saying living with wildlife is easy, but I think on a deep level everybody in the Land of Enchantment understands that it’s really worthwhile and how blessed we are to have these wild animals near us. We can’t just say we’re going to take some of the animals that are easy to live with us and the ones that present challenges, well, they are no good."

Photo: Getty Images