In the most remote and rugged area of northern Sonora, Mexico, a small breeding population of jaguars struggles to avoid extinction. Conserving land is essential to preserving the jaguar species in North America and reoccupying lost habitat along the borderlands of Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico.
In March 2003, two non-profit conservation organizations, Northern Jaguar Project in the United States and Naturalia in Mexican, realized the shared goal of establishing a jaguar sanctuary in northern Mexico when Naturalia purchased the 10,000-acre Los Pavos Ranch. This ranch is the essential core of the Northern Jaguar Reserve. The present reserve, though a great beginning, is still too small for effective jaguar protection and must be expanded.
Now three organizations—The Northern Jaguar Project, Naturalia, and the Wildlands Project—have a brief window of opportunity to purchase Rancho Zetasora, the 40,000-acre ranch adjacent to the existing reserve. Exbiblio made a $13,000 grant towards the purchase of the reserve.
This grant supports a three-pronged approach to preserving the jaguar species in North America: 1) expanding existing reserves for jaguars by purchasing key ranches that are part of the habitat, 2) expanding on the ground research to improve knowledge about the jaguar, and 3) developing education programs to help local communities recognize that jaguars provide ecological and economic benefits and work on land management alternatives for local ranchers.
Rancho Zetasora is situated on the backbone of the Sierra Zetasora, with elevations up to 4,000 feet where rough mountains, deep canyons, sheer cliffs, perennial streams, and rivers abound. Other large, rugged, private ranches surround Rancho Zetasora, which explains why such an astonishing diversity of wildlife continues to thrive despite human pressures.
Rancho Zetasora boasts the region's largest number of jaguar sightings with mountains and lengthy frontage on the Rio Aros that provide natural protection and isolation, a single road that is often impassable, and deep canyons with deer and other prey. All of these elements support the best possible habitat for northern jaguars.
