People 1, Wildlife 0

Recently, we learned that we're actually not in Arizona at all but in an area known as the Sky Island Region. It's comprised of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and northwestern Mexico. Keep the crossing of a political boundary in mind because it's important. The area represents the meeting of 4 major ecosystems (Rockies, Sierra Madres, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts) and it's a transitional region, flora- and fauna-wise. For instance, there are ocelots and jaguars here, but also cougars and pumas. Very interesting, as Arte Johnson once said. (I can almost hear the under-40's saying, Who the hell is Arte Johnson?)

They call them Sky Islands because they're small islands of mountains surrounded by a sea of desert. So far, I've been unable to really capture that photographically, but here are a couple of my attempts to date:

Well, you can sort of see what it's like, tho' it's kind of like looking at the Grand Canyon -- pretty much mind-boggling.

The other day, we listened to a biologist from Sky Island Alliance, Sergio Ávila, talk about his research, tracking big cats and trying to figure out how they operate in this transitional zone. He uses hidden cameras, triggered by motion, so gets some really interesting photos indeed. Like house cats, transborder house cats. And javelinas, coatimundis and, of course, ocelots and jaguars. Interestingly, he said it's a lot easier working on the Mexican side of the border because the land is privately owned. On the US side, the land is "protected" so he has to deal with several levels of government and a slew of agencies to get permission to, say, set up a camera in a new spot.

So, getting back to the political boundary..... According to Sergio, there is a major issue pending for area wildlife which is the existence of what people here call The Fence. Another mind-boggling concept, The Fence is being constructed (by the US) all the way from California to Texas to keep out Mexicans, also known as illegals. Border Patrol is a big operation here and so is The Fence. 10 or 12 feet high, it is also dug in 8 or 10 feet so nobody can dig underneath it.

Ah. Does this fence serve its purpose? Not really. People just go somewhere else, where (so far) there is no Fence. Animals, on the other hand, don't have the same sophisticated problem-solving skills as highly motivated humans. So, unable to reach, for example, a traditional feeding or breeding ground, they languish south (or north) of The Fence. You can imagine what consequences might result.

On the bright side, The Fence isn't finished yet so there's always hope people will reconsider other options for dealing with the perceived problem. And there is a fair number of people who don't agree with the approach. They don't get a lot of press coverage but are apparently working hard to make that happen.