SCIENCE19 - Endangered Animals in Arizona

This blog was inspired by my eight-year-old granddaughter, Sarah.  Pat and I were “blown away” a few months ago when Sarah read out loud to us a school report she had researched and written on an endangered Arizona animal, the ocelot.  We learned that she has been interested in endangered animals for some time, has collected several books on the subject, has been researching the subject in the library and on the internet with her kids tablet, and with her schoolmate, Jonny, “plans to save animals when she grows up.”

As regular readers of this blog know, I often choose subjects of interest to me, that I don’t know much about, so I can learn something new.  Endangered animals is one of those subjects, so after listening to Sarah, I decided to write an article on endangered animals in Arizona.  Pat and I decided that it would be fun to involve Sarah, and her dad agreed, so we asked Sarah if she’d like to “help me out,” by choosing an endangered Arizona animal to investigate.  She enthusiastically chose the jaguar and got to work.  See below.

  

Introduction

Let me start with some definitions.  A species is a set of animals or plants which have similar characteristics to each other, and which can breed with each other.  An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future.  A threatened species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.   Endangered and threatened species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, illegal hunting, invasive species (nonnative species that significantly modify or disrupt the existing environment), and pollution. 

In this article, I’m going to focus on animal species, specifically wildlife, undomesticated animal species that live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. 

Most scientists agree that much wildlife is affected by human activities.  Some animals threaten human safety, health, property, and quality of life.  However, many wild animals, even the dangerous ones, have value to human beings.  This value might be economic, educational, or related to a desire to maintain a variety of species on Earth (biodiversity).

I will be discussing the conservation of wildlife in the United States and particularly in my home state of Arizona.  Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild animals and their habitats in order to maintain healthy animals and sustainable populations, and to restore, protect, or enhance natural environments.

I will start with a review of U.S. wildlife conservation history from the early 1900s to 1973.  Then I will discuss the Endangered Species Act of 1973 that governs U.S. wildlife conservation activities today, and summarize it effectiveness to date.  Next, I will define the wildlife conservation infrastructure in my state of Arizona, and then I will talk about endangered animals in Arizona today, highlighted with some examples of their conservation history.  I will finish with a discussion of the ethics of wildlife management.

I will list my principal sources at the end.

 

U.S. Wildlife Conservation History to 1973

Calls for wildlife conservation in the United States increased in the early 1900s because of the visible decline of several species.  One example was the near-extinction of the bison, which used to number in the tens of millions.  Similarly, the extinction of the passenger pigeon, which numbered in the billions, also caused concern.  The whooping crane received widespread attention as unregulated hunting and habitat loss contributed to a steady decline in its population.  By 1890, it had disappeared from its primary breeding range in the north central United States.  Scientists of the day played a prominent role in raising public awareness about the losses.

There used to be tens of millions of bison in the Great Plains of the U.S. before they were hunted to near extinction.

 

To address these concerns, Congress passed the Lacey Act of 1900, the first federal law that regulated commercial animal markets.  It also prohibited the sale of illegally killed animals between states.  Other legislation followed, including the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, a 1937 treaty prohibiting the hunting of right and gray whales, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940.

Despite these protections, animal populations still continued to decline.  By 1941, only an estimated 16 whooping cranes remained in the wild.  By 1963, the bald eagle, the U.S. national symbol, was in danger of extinction.  Only around 487 nesting pairs remained.  Loss of habitat, shooting, and DDT poisoning contributed to its decline.

By 1963, America’s bald eagle was near extinction.

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (formed in 1940) tried to prevent the extinction of these species.  But it lacked the necessary Congressional authority and funding.  In response to this need, Congress passed a Endangered Species Preservation Act on October 15, 1966. The Act initiated a program to conserve, protect, and restore select species of native fish and wildlife.  As a part of this program, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land or interests in land that would further the conservation of these species.

Meanwhile, in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List, or Red Data Book, was founded.  It is a continuing inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species.  A series of regional Red Lists, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit (e.g., country or state), are also produced.

The goals of the Red List are to provide scientifically-based information on the conservation status of species, to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of endangered and threatened species, to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and to provide information to guide actions.

Note:  The number of species which have been assessed for the Red List has been increasing over time. As of 2023, of 150,388 species surveyed, 42,108 are considered at risk of extinction because of human activity, in particular overfishing, hunting, and land development.

The Department of Interior issued the first list of U.S. endangered species in March 1967.  It included 14 mammals, 36 birds, 6 reptiles, 6 amphibians, and 22 fish.  Notable species listed in 1967 were the bald eagle, California condor, grizzly bear, American alligator, and Florida manatee.  The list included only vertebrates at the time because of the Department of Interior's limited definition of "fish and wildlife."

The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 amended the 1966 Act.  It expanded protections for species covered in 1966, and added to the list of protected species.  While the 1966 Act only applied to “game” and wild birds, the 1969 Act also protected mollusks and crustaceans.  Punishments for poaching or unlawful importation or sale of these species were also increased.  Any violation could result in a $10,000 fine or up to one year of jail time.

The 1969 Act called for an international convention or treaty to conserve endangered species.  In February 1973, a meeting in Washington, D.C. was convened.  This meeting produced the comprehensive multilateral treaty known as CITES or the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 provided a template for the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by using the term "based on the best scientific and commercial data," the standard now used as a guideline to determine if a species is in danger of extinction.

 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) is the primary law in the United States today for protecting and conserving imperiled species.  ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973.

President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act on December 28, 1973.

 

The Endangered Species Act is administered by two federal agencies: the National Marine Fisheries Service (formed in 1970), responsible for marine species; and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, responsible for freshwater fish and all other species.  Species that occur in both habitats (e.g., sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon) are jointly managed.  These agencies are staffed with scientists and conservationists who are experts in what species need to survive and thrive.  

Key legal requirements of ESA include:

·        The federal government must determine whether species are endangered or threatened.  If so, they must list the species for protection.

·         Absent certain limited situations, it is illegal to take (kill, harm, or harass) an endangered species.

·         Any import, export, interstate, and foreign commerce of listed species is generally prohibited.

·         Endangered fish or wildlife cannot be taken without a take permit.  This also applies to certain threatened animals.

·         If determinable, critical habitat must be designated for listed species.

·         A recovery plan must be developed that spells out the actions necessary to “recover” species to the point they no longer require the Act’s protections and can be delisted. 

The 1973 Act is considered a landmark conservation law.  The Act has been amended four times: 1978, 1982, 1988, and 1992.  Formal regulations, published in the Federal Register, that specify how the Act will be implemented, have also changed through time.

Note:  The Federal Register is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices.  It is published every day except on federal holidays.

In recent years, U.S. presidential elections that greatly shift environmental priorities have culminated in regulatory shifts in endangered species management back and forth.  Congressional elections also affect implementation of the Act via expansions or contractions in annual funding decisions for the agencies.

 

Effectiveness of U.S. Wildlife Conservation Efforts to Date

As of 2023, 1,780 species have been listed through the years as endangered or threatened.  Of that total, 64 species improved enough to be removed from the list (“delisted”).  Another 64 improved enough to be "downlisted" from endangered to threatened. 

Eleven species have been declared extinct since implementation of the law began, and another 23 species have gone missing for so long that they have been proposed for official designation as extinct.  Some of the more well-known animals that have become extinct, due to interference from humankind, include the dodo, passenger pigeon, great auk, Tasmanian tiger, and Steller's sea cow.

The bald eagle, American bison, California condor, grizzly bear, Eastern timber wolf, and sea turtle were poached to near-extinction.  Many began as food sources seen as necessary for survival but became the target of sport.  However, due to major efforts to prevent extinction, populations of these animals are increasing.

Following is a list of some of the best-known animals that increased in population size (with some improving enough for delisting) since being placed on the endangered list.

·        Bison (increased from 325 in 1884 to approximately 20,500 in conservation herds in 2023; no longer considered endangered

·         Bald eagle (increased from 417 to 11,040 pairs between 1963 and 2007); removed from list in 2007

·         California condor (increased from 22 in 1982 to more than 300 in 2023)

·         Grizzly bear (increased from about 271 to over 580 bears in the Yellowstone area between 1975 and 2005)

·         Whooping crane (increased from 54 to 436 birds between 1967 and 2003)

·         Kirtland's warbler (increased from 210 to 1,415 pairs between 1971 and 2005)

·         Peregrine falcon (increased from 324 to 1,700 pairs between 1975 and 2000); removed from list 1999

·         Gray wolf (populations increased dramatically in the Northern Rockies and Western Great Lakes States)

·         Red wolf (increased from 17 in 1980 to 257 in 2003)

·         California's southern sea otter (increased from 1,789 in 1976 to 2,735 in 2005)

·         Florida's Key deer (increased from 200 in 1971 to 750 in 2001)

·         Hawaiian goose (increased from 400 birds in 1980 to 1,275 in 2003)

·         Virginia big-eared bat (increased from 3,500 in 1979 to 18,442 in 2004)

 

One of the 11 bison conservation herds is located in the Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona.  The herd often ventures into the northern reaches of Grand Canyon National Park.

 

One of three California condor reintroduction sites is in northern Arizona, near the Vermillion Cliffs and the Grand Canyon.

 

Some have argued that the recovery of imperiled flesh-eating birds (notably, the bald eagle and peregrine falcon) should be attributed to the 1972 ban of the pesticide DDT by the Environmental Protection Agency, rather than the Endangered Species Act.  Supporters of the Act argue that listing of these species as endangered led to additional actions that were also crucial for species recovery (e.g., captive breeding, habitat protection, and protection from disturbance).

Note:  A present-day example of the over-hunting of a species can be seen in the oceans as populations of certain whales have been greatly reduced.  Large whales like the blue whale, bowhead whale, finback whale, gray whale, sperm whale, and humpback whale are some of the eight whales which are currently still included on the Endangered Species List.  Actions have been taken to attempt a reduction in whaling and increase population sizes.

 

Wildlife Conservation Management in Arizona

In 1929, Arizona created the Game and Fish Commission, that absorbed the earlier Commissioners of Fisheries (1881) and the State Game Warden Activities (1912).  The Commission’s responsibilities included managing propagation and distribution of wild birds, animals, and fish; enforcing all laws for wildlife protection; establishing hunting and fishing seasons, game limits and refuges; and establishing licensing requirements and fees.  The measure also included provisions related to penalties, violations, and enforcement.

In 1958, Arizona established the Game and Fish Department to administer the duties of the Commission to include sale of unclaimed property, acquisition and disposition of land and waters related to wildlife management; establishing several funds (Game and Fish Fund, Game and Fish Federal Reclamation Fund and the Game and Fish Restoration Revolving Fund); addressing taking and handling of wildlife; establishing fines and penalties; establishing licensing requirements and fees; allowing reciprocal licenses between Arizona and California; and authorizing the Commission to cooperate with the federal government on conservation and restoration projects.

The Phoenix headquarters of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, established in 1958.

 

The U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 authorized the Secretary of the Interior to allocate funds to states for assisting in the recovery of threatened and endangered species.  The Act also created the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund to award grants to states for voluntary projects on non-federal lands.

The 1973 U.S. Act mandated that states adopt their own endangered and threatened species management programs subject to approval by the federal government. The law required states to do the following:

• Conserve the species of fish or wildlife determined by the state or federal government to be endangered or threatened
• Create conservation programs for all species of fish or wildlife identified by the federal government as endangered or threatened and provide detailed plans for these programs to the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Be authorized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct investigations to determine the status and requirements for survival of resident species of fish and wildlife
• Be authorized before establishing programs to acquire land or aquatic habitats for conserving endangered or threatened species

So, today, Arizona’s Game and Fish Department works with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on wildlife conservation efforts within Arizona.

 

Endangered Animals in Arizona Today

There are over 40 endangered and threatened animals in Arizona today, covering mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, amphibians, snails, and crustaceans.

I chose six endangered animals to highlight in this article.  These animals are identified in the table below in the order they were listed for protection. 

Selected Endangered Animals in Arizona Today.

Animal	Status	Year Listed
Black-footed Ferret	Endangered	1967
Sonoran Pronghorn	Endangered	1967
Ocelot	Endangered	1972
Jaguar	Endangered	1972
Mexican Gray Wolf	Endangered	1976
Sonoran Tiger Salamander	Endangered	1997

 

Next, I’ll discuss the conservation history for each endangered animal: 

Black-footed Ferret.  The only ferret native to North America, the black-footed ferret is considered one of the most endangered mammals on the continent. 

The Black-footed Ferret is 18 to 24 inches long, with a 5-to-6-inch tail.  It weighs only 1 ½-2 pounds, with males marginally larger than females.  The Black-footed Ferret is comfortable and well adapted to its prairie environment as its color and markings blend so well with grassland soils and plants, creating natural camouflage.  Up to 90% of its diet is composed of prairie dogs.

 The black-footed ferret is one of the most endangered animals in North America.

 

The Black-footed Ferret is classified as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and has been on the Endangered Species List since 1967.  The species was believed to be extinct until 1981, when it was rediscovered on a Wyoming ranch.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began an intensive search and discovered a population of more than 100 ferrets.  These animals were left on the ranch where they were closely monitored until a plague and canine distemper outbreak caused population numbers to plummet to 18. 

Reintroduction began in Arizona in 1996 after a 60-year hiatus, and around 350 black-footed ferrets remain in the wild as of 2022.  World Wildlife Fund and partners maintain existing ferret sites, establish new reintroduction sites by relocating prairie dogs to increase ferret habitat, mitigate sylvatic plague on prairie dog colonies, and participate in oral vaccine research to better protect prairie dogs from sylvatic plague.

Sonoran Pronghorn.  Sonoran pronghorns are an exceptionally rare subspecies of pronghorn found in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona and northwestern Mexico.  These deer-like animals are slightly smaller and lighter than their cousins, the American pronghorn, which exist across much of the interior western United States from Montana down to Texas.

Sonoran pronghorns are the fastest land mammal in North America, reaching speeds up to 60 mph. 

 

Because they inhabit one of the driest regions on the continent, Sonoran pronghorn have adapted to going long periods without water.  They survive by eating the most succulent parts of desert shrubs, flowering plants, trees, and certain cacti.

For millennia, pronghorn survived by living on the move.  They roamed widely across the desert in search of food and water, often traveling hundreds of miles between meals.  But the expansion of human developments in the Southwest has made their nomadic lifestyle nearly impossible.  As a result of overhunting, fencing, water source development, and prolonged drought conditions, their precarious population quickly plummeted.

The species was officially protected under the precursor to the Endangered Species Act in 1967, but it continued to dwindle as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, human disturbance, and competition for forage with grazing cattle.  Then in 2002, after one of the hottest and driest years on record, Sonoran pronghorn almost went extinct; all but 21 pronghorns in the U.S. perished as a result of a severe 13-month drought.

In 2004, biologists stepped in to rescue the drought-stricken pronghorn by creating a captive breeding program at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, just north of the Mexican border in southwest Arizona.  Supplemented with pronghorn from larger Mexican subpopulations, the breeding program proved to be successful.  Since 2006, captive-bred animals have been released into the wild across several different sites, including Barry M. Goldwater National Wildlife Refuge, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

The binational breeding program with Mexico has helped the species recover, and there are now roughly 400 Sonoran pronghorn in the Arizona.

Ocelot.  The sleek and beautiful ocelot once roamed freely throughout southern Arizona and northern Mexico, but have been hunted to the brink of extinction.  

The ocelot is a spotted wild cat.  It looks a lot like a bobcat, but much smaller.  They weigh 18-34 pounds, are 29-39 inches long, and 16-20 inches tall.  Males are larger than females.  They eat small rodents, birds, snakes, iguanas, and other lizards, baby peccaries, young deer, rabbits, and even fish and crabs.

Ocelot colors vary from creamy, or tawny yellow, to reddish gray and gray, while the underside of the body, tail, and insides of the limbs are whitish in color.  The spots are outlined with black and have both solid and open dark spots which sometimes run in lines along the body.  Solid black spots mark the head and limbs.  There are two black stripes on the face, and one or two horizontal bars on the inner forelegs.  The tail can be either ringed or marked with dark bars on its higher area.

It is believed that only one ocelot survives in Arizona today.

 

Ocelots were highly abused in the 20^th century, particularly from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their fur (or pelts) was highly sought after so they were primarily hunted.  However, they were also trapped and kept as exotic pets almost to the point of extinction. 

Ocelots were listed as endangered species in 1972.  Their population has risen, but they are now threatened by deforestation and destruction of habitat from industrial mining.  In addition to habitat destruction, other threats to the Sonoran Ocelots include poaching and predator removal programs/culling, highway and road collisions, and mounting border-related disturbances, including the erection of the U.S/Mexico border wall.  In Mexico, despite legal protections, Ocelots are still poached for their fur as one ocelot fur coat sold for over US$40,000.   Ocelots are also terminated along with jaguars as predators of livestock, and fall victim to indiscriminate predator poisoning efforts. 

Today, the range of ocelots is limited to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico, including the sky Islands of southeastern Arizona.

The Arizona ocelots are believed to be males dispersing north from the Mexican state of Sonora, where a breeding population of an estimated 1,000 cats persists in the Mexican northeastern backcountry.

“Lil’ Jefe,” or "lil’ boss," is believed to be the last remaining ocelot in Arizona, cut off from other populations of its species by the border wall.  Lil’ Jefe was last spotted on a trail camera in the Huachuca Mountains in 2021. 

Ocelot recovery actions include an assessment of suitable habitat to support viable populations of the Ocelot in the borderlands of the United States and Mexico, and the assurance of long-term viability of Ocelot conservation through international partnerships.

Jaguar.  Sarah started her jaguar project by writing down a list of questions she wanted answers to.  Via her dad, she emailed (her very first email) the list to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, telling them that she was “conducting research with her grandfather on endangered species in Arizona.”  The questions included: “Why are jaguars endangered in Arizona?  Do you know how many are left in Arizona?  What do they eat?  Wher do jaguars live?   Do they live on mountains that are cold?  Do they live in caves?  Have you ever seen a jaguar?  Do the jaguars that live in Arizona go to Mexico and New Mexico?  What wood nead to chang for the jaguars not to be endangered?  Wood they and pumas eat the same food?” 

After passing around Sarah’s email to several interested parties, the Public Information Officer of the Arizona Game and Fish Department answered Sarah’s questions in a return email.  The following information on the jaguar is what Sarah and I came up with.  Thank you so much Sarah and great work!

The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas and the third largest in the world.  Once, this big cat could be found running wild from Louisiana to California.  Over the years, hunting, habitat fragmentation, and habitat encroachment by humans, reduced their territory and population.  Today, the jaguar ranges from the southern Arizona to Central America.  They roam over large areas, never staying in one place for long.  The jaguar was thought to have been eliminated in the U.S. by 1960, but occasional sightings of jaguars have persisted in Arizona.

Jaguars have a body length of up to 6 feet 1 inch and a weight of up to 348 pounds.  The jaguar’s color is a yellow to light brown coat, spotted with black rosettes or rings along the back and sides of its body.  Most of the rings have an inner tan color, with one or two black spots.  A jaguar’s legs, head, and tail have smaller, solid black spots, with black bands towards the end of its tail.  Jaguars feast on a meaty diet, including deer, javelina, turtles, and livestock, as well as various reptiles, birds, and fish.

 

Only eight jaguars have been spotted in Arizona since 1996.

Over the years, jaguars were killed because of perceived conflicts with livestock, and overhunted for trophies.  Habitat loss is also a big problem for the northern population and the U.S.-Mexico border wall threatens to block jaguar migration routes.

Jaguar hunting in Arizona was outlawed in 1969.  Federally listed as endangered since 1972, the large cat is believed to only roam the U.S. side of the border in an area south of Interstate 10.  Only eight jaguars have been seen by humans or photographed by trail cameras in Arizona since 1996 - all of them males.  The most recent was a trail-camera siting in December 2023.  (The last confirmed jaguar siting in New Mexico was in 2006.)  No females have been recorded in the U.S. since an Arizona hunter killed one in the White Mountains in 1963.  Habitat fragmentation, and the border wall (preventing cross-border migration) remain major threats to the species' survival. 

There is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for jaguars, as well as a Critical Habitat designation for vast acreage in southern Arizona.  In 2014, Federal Wildlife officials set aside nearly 1,200 square miles along the U.S.-Mexico border as habitat essential for the conservation of the jaguar.

Since there have been no naturally occurring females on the landscape since at least the 1960s, jaguar conservation efforts are now centered in Mexico where breeding occurs.  The Northern Jaguar Project is an Arizona-based organization which aims to protect the Arizona jaguar and other wild cats.  The heart of the project is the Northern Jaguar Reserve, an 86-square-mile wild landscape and the perfect habitat for jaguars, located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre in Sonora, northern Mexico.  It was established mainly to protect the northernmost population of the jaguar.

In Mexico, because of conservation efforts, the jaguar population has been growing, and is estimated at 4,800 individuals.

Mexican Gray Wolf.  The Mexican Gray Wolf is the smallest of the gray wolf subspecies.  They historically were found roaming the Desert Southwest - New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and southern Utah and Colorado - in forested, high-elevation mountainous terrain.  In the 1970s, they were nearly wiped out due to hunting and illegal killing, often by farmers and ranchers to protect livestock.

Roughly five feet in length, Mexican gray wolves generally weigh between 50 and 80 pounds.  Their coats are buff, gray, and rust colored, often with distinguishing facial patterns.  They have large heads with thick muzzles, bushy tails, oversized paws, and long legs.  Wolves are known for their keen sense of smell, excellent hearing, and binocular vision. 

The Mexican gray wolf remains the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world.

 

The Mexican gray wolf has been listed as an endangered species since 1976, and are fully protected under the Endangered Species Act.

In 1998, an interagency Mexican gray wolf recovery team was formed and a breeding program was established.  Twenty Mexican gray wolves were released back in the wild, over the objections of ranchers, who feared economic losses from livestock predation

With the birth of the first wild-born litter from a wild-born parent in 2002, the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction project entered into a new phase, whereby natural reproduction began to replace the need to release captive-reared wolves.

While the controversy continues, the population appears to be making a comeback.  As of 2023, there are 241 wild Mexican gray wolves in the U.S. and 45 in Mexico, plus another 380 in captive breeding programs.

Currently the Mexican golf wolf can be found only in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. 

Although they have repopulated slowly, Mexican gray wolves remain the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world because of compromised genetics, human intolerance, and reluctance to release more individuals and bonded pairs to the wild.

Sonoran Tiger Salamander.  This amphibian Sonoran tiger salamander is one of about 500 different species of salamander, that live in water and on land, and look rather like lizards, with four legs and a tail. They hatch as larvae from eggs in the water.  At that stage, they have gills that stick out.  Sonoran tiger salamanders live on land when they are adults, after their change of shape (metamorphosis).

First added to the endangered species list in 1997, this salamander is found today only in ponds in the high grasslands of the San Rafael Valley (between the Patagonia and the Huachuca Mountains near the Mexican border in southern Arizona).  Their most important habitat requirement is year-round availability of standing bodies of water for breeding, growth, and development. 

Sonoran tiger salamanders are only 3.0-6.5 inches long, stocky, with small eyes, and broad rounded snout.  The back has yellow to dark olive spots and blotches, often with irregular edges between front and hind limbs.  Worms, snails, slugs, and insects make up most of the adult Sonoran tiger salamander’s diet.  Their predators include badgers, snakes, bobcats, and owls.

The Mexican gray wolf remains the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world.

 

Loss of standing water pools, is the greatest threat facing Sonoran tiger salamanders.  As wetlands are filled in and destroyed, Sonoran tiger salamanders must search longer and farther to find good breeding sites.

The Sonora tiger salamander is currently federally listed as endangered without critical habitat.  Ponds created by ranchers for watering livestock are almost the only good breeding sites left for Sonoran tiger salamanders.  As of 2023, the species has been found in only 53 ponds in the San Rafael Valley of Arizona. 

Future recovery should address habitat maintenance and protection, and management of non-native predators.

 

Those are just a few of the endangered animals in Arizona.  You can help preserve and protect endangered animals in Arizona by donating to wildlife conservation or volunteering for specific projects. Contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department at azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/conservation-and-endangered-species-programs/.

 

Ethics of Wildlife Management

In researching this article, I came across some serious “food for thought” regarding conservation of wildlife, which takes a very significant part of our resources (people and money) today.  The following is adapted from a 2012 article at nature.com, “Ethics of Wildlife Management and Conservation: What Should We Try to Protect?”

Some people believe that extinction is the engine of evolution, the mechanism by which natural selection prunes the poorly adapted and allows the hardiest to flourish.  Species constantly go extinct, and every species that is alive today will one day follow suit.  The only reason we should conserve biodiversity is for ourselves, to create a stable future for human beings. 

Note: Mass extinctions periodically wipe out up to 95% of all animal and plant life on Earth in one fell swoop; these come every 50 million to 100 million years in the form of meteor impacts and/or intense volcanic activity.  Earth has experienced five such extinction in the past.  Scientists agree that we are now in the middle of a sixth extinction, this one caused primarily by humans and our effects on animal habitats.

Two main approaches to wildlife management today can be identified: the wise use of nature for mankind’s benefit, and the preservation of nature on its own merits. 

The wise use approach aims to accommodate humanity's continuous use of wild nature as a resource for food, timber, and other raw materials, as well as for recreation.  The idea of wise use appeals to our own best interests, or to the interests of humans over time, including future people.  The goal of management is to enhance and maintain nature's yield as a valuable resource for human beings.

For the preservationist, on the other hand, the idea is to protect pristine nature.  [Maintaining a diversity of biological species via protecting endangered animals is a primary goal.]  The non-human world and its non-human inhabitants are what's valued here. 

The management and use of wild animals today generates ethical disagreements and dilemmas in which human needs, preferences, and interests, concern for individual animal welfare, and the value of biodiversity, ecosystems, and wild nature are part of the discussion.  The way in which these different values are prioritized determines policy.

Explicit consideration of the values at stake should underpin careful debate about, for instance, whether constant human involvement in nature reserves and other wild areas is desirable, and what constitutes "good" and "bad" human interventions in relation to wildlife.

 

The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on Earth, living or dead, as we now have.  That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility.  In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the Earth.                                                                                David Attenborough from the documentary series, Life on Earth.

 

Sources

My principal sources include: “Endangered Species,” “Endangered Species Act of 1973,” “Arizona Game and Fish Department,” and “California Condor” en.wikipedia.org; “Endangered Species Act,” defenders.org; “Game and Fish Commission and Department,” azlibrary.gov; “Earths Endangered Creatures - Arizona,” earthsendangered.com; “Endangered species in Arizona,” ballotpedia.org; “Threatened and endangered animals in Arizona,” storymaps.arcgis.com; “Seen Them?  44 Endangered, Threatened Animals in AZ,” abc15.com; “Conservation and Endangered Species Programs,” azgfd.com; “It’s Earth Day.  Here’s what you should know about endangered and threatened species in Arizona,” and “Jaguars, leopard frogs, condors:  Here are some of Arizona’s most imperiled species,” azcentral.com; “Can we save these 7 Arizona animals on the verge of extinction?” allhitskzmk.com; “California Condor Recovery Program,” fws.gov; “We don’t need to save endangered species.  Extinction is part of evolution.,” washingtonpost.com; “Ethics of Wildlife Management and Conservation: What Should We Try to Protect?” nature.com; plus, numerous other online sources.