Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

 

Illness forced vets to euthuanize recaptured jaguar 

Mar. 2, 2009 Heather Hock- The Arizona Republic 

Jaguars are protected as an endangered species but on Monday night one of the rare felines was euthanized after being captured, released and recaptured by state authorities. The roughly about 16-year-old jaguar was put down because of failing kidneys.  

A necropsy, the term for an animal autopsy, will be completed at the Phoenix Zoo and could offer more information on the death as soon as this week, according to Bill Van Pelt, an endangered species specialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. 

Blood work results as early as Tuesday could offer insight into when the animal's kidneys started to malfunction. Officials say that kidney failure is a common ailment in older cats. 

The jaguar gained attention when it was found Feb. 18, caught in a snare the game and fish department had set to catch cougars and black bears as part of research. The jaguar was collared with a tracking device and released near Tucson, offering much hope to researchers about the insight they might gain into the feeding and movement habits of the rare species of cat. But officials became worried when the jaguar stopped moving as much, had an abnormal gait and lost weight. 

A team of game and fish biologists and a wildlife veterinarian began looking for the jaguar on Sunday. They found him shortly before noon Monday and transported him to the zoo, where he was put down at 5:15 p.m. The loss of the jaguar hits on an emotional and scientific level. “The secrets we were hoping to unveil are still going to be secrets,” Van Pelt said. 

Since 1971, only six jaguars have been documented in the United States. This particular jaguar was the only one spotted in the U.S. in more than a decade.  

Trail cameras first snapped photos of the jaguar in 1996 when the cat appeared to be about 2 years old. Pictures would capture him from time to time after that, and researchers named him Macho B. When inadvertently captured last month, they recognized him by his spots. “I've been with the Department for 18 years and Macho B has been a part of my life for 13,” Van Pelt said. He said all sedatives given to Macho B had been tested on other jaguars and big cats, and all were within prescribed limits. 

Before releasing the jaguar last month, wildlife officials had called him a fine-looking animal – even at 16, which state officials said is older than any other known wild jaguar. Macho B had weighed 118 pounds at that time. Two weeks later, he weighed 99.5 pounds. “I'm saddened by the death,” said Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate with the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity. He called the death a blow to the recovery of jaguars.  

Robinson's group fought to get the jaguars on the list of endangered species in 1997 and is fighting in federal court for a recovery plan for jaguars. Van Pelt said recovery efforts must largely focus south of the border, since he said 99 percent of the jaguar population is outside of the U.S.  

Historically, jaguar territory extended as far north as the Grand Canyon, Van Pelt said. They currently live predominantly in Mexico and South and Central America. 

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It is unclear whether the stress from the repeated captures and sedation caused the weak kidney to fail. The Center for Biological Diversity is keeping a close eye on the post-mortem investigation to determine what caused the jaguar's death. 

The Center has been protecting the jaguar for nearly 15 years, and the emotional and scientific loss of this one-of-a-kind animal, Macho B, comes just weeks before the Center will be arguing its jaguar case in federal district court in Tucson, AZ. The case is against a Bush-era U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refusal to develop a recovery plan and designate critical habitat for the jaguar.

April 1, 2009 Tissue samples taken from Macho B upon his death showed no signs of kidney failure.  The jaguar was likely suffering from severe dehydration, probably brought on by his snaring, anesthetizing, and collaring. Rather than being killed said University of Arizona pathologist Sharon Dial, Macho B should have been given intravenous fluids for 24 to 48 hours. There was just not enough information to support euthanizing him so quickly.

Macho B was injured, possibly fatally, during capture. Though the wildlife agencies publicly denied Macho B's death was caused by "capture myopathy" (i.e. stress and injury), internal memos stated: "Department personnel suspected capture myopathy/renal failure." Only after the investigation was it revealed that Macho B's paw was severely swollen, and deep scratch marks were found seven feet up the tree where he was snared.

The necropsy was botched. Investigations into the cause of death have been hampered by a decision to do a "cosmetic" rather than a full necropsy so that Macho B's pelt could be stuffed for "educational" presentations.

Saving the Jaguar - Center for Biological Diversity

Saving Endangered Species & Our Planet (National Geographic Society)

Eastern Cottontails at risk of disappearing; L. a. washingtonii

“If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.” Jonas Salk, biologist