What happened is that the Arizona Game and Fish Department screwed up massively.
They were running what they claim was a mountain lion and black bear study in the border area, using leg snares, to gather data on how the border fence has and will impact large predators. Perhaps. Nevertheless, they knew (and admitted) there was a decent chance of capturing a jaguar as well. They were ready for it, had the protocol in place.
A few months ago, after a significant absence, Macho B showed up again on Jack Childs' trail cameras. This animal was known to be at least 15 years old, an incredibly advanced age for a big cat. Yet AZGF left their snares in place, and sure enough one of them got Macho B. They sedated him and collared him, and took a blood sample, before releasing him. His condition deteriorated immediately after the capture, and his movements nearly ceased, which was why they followed up and recaptured him. He had lost weight and was obviously failing, thus the decision to euthanize him. So there is certainly ample reason to assume the capture contributed to his kidney failure. Thus this jaguar, which had roamed free in Arizona for at least 13 years, died on a veterinarian's table in Phoenix.
Roseann and I have been staunch supporters of AZGF in the past. Roseann was on the board of the Heritage Fund. But the agency blew it this time, in a manner that might prove historic. Given the border situation, who knows when, if ever, another jaguar might move north to take Macho B's place. If none does, AZGF will forever bear the responsibility of killing the last jaguar in the United States.
This hits us personally. We lived in Brown Canyon when Jack Childs first videotaped Macho B in 1996, and heard the jaguar calling one evening, an experience neither of us is likely to forget. We've helped Jack, Roseann has secured funding for him, and of course we published the story in Overland Journal. Now there's just a big blank hole.
