AMERICAN JAGUAR

Using the jaguar as its touchstone, this thorough, well-organized book explores the challenges wildlife face in today’s world of human-created habitat fragmentation.

The book begins with the fascinating fact that there are indeed jaguars living in the United States—specifically the Sky Islands, high mountain ranges separated by desert in Arizona and New Mexico. But the jaguars are in trouble: Their need for vast areas of pristine habitat is threatened by human behavior. Deforestation, physical boundaries between nations, and highways, among other factors, compromise their ability to roam with the freedom they need to survive. The main story is bolstered with fascinating adjuncts—the evolution of big cats, the beginning of the conservation movement, the intricacies of DNA, and the dangers of a closed gene pool, for example. As the narrative progresses, other threatened species and their habitats are introduced (e.g., orangutans in Borneo, monarch butterflies’ migration paths, and amphibians and vernal pools). A few conservation success stories are sprinkled in, but the uncertain fates of many of Earth’s wild creatures are presented realistically and not sugarcoated. The book does end with hope, encouraging readers to become conservation activists and offering a list of actions to take, an extensive bibliography, and other sources of information. Latinx scientists are featured as well as White. Illustrated with full-color photos, this book will educate and motivate readers.

A powerful call to protect our Earth and its vulnerable creatures.