Arizona Game and Fish sued over death of jaguar Macho B

Macho B after being collared

When the last known jaguar to consistently roam in the U.S. died of kidney failure after being captured and collared,  many questions about the legality of the permit to collar Macho B were asked, including a call for a federal investigation.

Now, the Center for Biological Diversity is doing something about it, suing the Arizona Game and Fish in an attempt to get a judge to stop the Department from capturing and collaring imperilled jaguars again.

Arizona Game and Fish sued over death of jaguar Macho B – Arizona Daily Star

Accounts conflict on how jaguar was trapped

Was Macho B intentionally caught?

The question about whether or not jaguar scat was placed at the trap site or not is the focus of the article. One former employee says she placed the scat at the trap site on the orders of her boss while the employee who was fire recently says she is lying.

Some have suggested to me that the use of a snare may have greatly contributed to Macho B’s death. There are photos of his paw which show it being swollen and that this may have caused much stress as well as caused infection.

Accounts conflict on how jaguar was trapped
Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

G&F worker is fired for alleged lying, cover-up in jaguar capture

The investigation of Macho B’s death is ongoing

Macho B after being collared

I saw this story but was too busy to post it when it was published last month. I’m posting it now because I think it is an important story and also because we’ve been covering the saga of Macho B, the last wild jaguar in the US.

He was captured in February of 2009 in Arizona, tranquilized, and given a gps radio collar. Shortly afterwards it was noticed that his movements became limited so he was recaptured and then euthanized. Investigators say that his death was hastened by capture related stress.

There have also been allegations claiming that jaguar scat was placed at the trapping sites in an attempt at capturing him while trapping cougars for an ongoing study. The worker fired by AZGF has said as much.

“One federal agency, the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General, concluded earlier this year that the capture by state workers was intentional and that the evidence points to criminal wrongdoing.”

G&F worker is fired for alleged lying, cover-up in jaguar capture
Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Permit for jaguar’s capture questioned

Documents and e-mails suggest state may have lacked authority to take cat

Macho B after being collared

Could the capture and subsequent death of the only wild jaguar in the U.S. by Arizona Game and Fish have been illegal?

Permit for jaguar’s capture questioned
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

I baited jaguar trap, research worker says

Former Arizona Game and Fish Employee claims she was told to bait the trap with female jaguar scat obtained from the Phoenix Zoo or the Reid Park Zoo.

I baited jaguar trap, research worker says
Arizona Daily Star

Macho B after being collared. Arizona Game and Fish

They had to kill the jaguar to save the jaguar

USFWS and Arizona Game and Fish in a sloppy screw-up?

An interesting article today in Demarcated Landscapes.

Update. Jaguar may have experienced ‘capture myopathy’. Necropsy by zoo inconclusive, two outside vets say. By Tim Steller. Arizona Daily Star

Update 4/2. I baited jaguar trap, research worker says. Attorney general opens investigation into capture. Biologist denies telling worker to use scat to lure cat.  State claimed Macho B’s capture was inadvertent. By Tony Davis and Tim Steller. Arizona Daily Star.

Update 4/2. Grijalva calls for federal investigation of jaguar’s death. B. POOLE and RYN GARGULINSKI. Tucson Citizen

Tools That Leave Wildlife Unbothered Widen Research Horizons

Non-invasive techniques such as hair traps, camera traps, and scat samples can tell biologists a lot about habitat use and population size

Tools That Leave Wildlife Unbothered Widen Research Horizons. By Jim Robbins. New York Times

There has been a lot of discussion on this blog about radio collars and other invasive techniques used to get information about wildlife. After Macho B’s death this is a timely article.

I used to inject PIT tags into juvenile salmon and steelhead and the information gathered is valuable. The quandary with these methods comes from the fact that individuals will inevitably be killed and the wild nature of the animals can be affected.

Collared Arizona jaguar dies of kidney failure

Demarcated Landscapes has this post concerning the death of an Arizona jaguar that was recently collared in an effort to track its movement.

They killed “euthanized” Macho B – DL

This is a particularly saddening loss – there have been only 4 jaguars known to have visited north of the border in recent years. Macho B was the most frequently seen, visiting annually since at least 1996 and he was the only jaguar known to visit this year. One of the 4 was killed in Mexico. With the border wall advancing, the sunset on jaguar inhabitation of America becomes more and more evident.

Update: Arizona jaguar’s death probably hastened by capture, zoo veterinarian says – LA Times

Update: Press Conference on Macho B’s Untimely Death

Information on Macho B

Thanks to Ron Kearns for pointing this video and information out