‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to

the US
Level 3: Advanced

1
  Warmer

a. Sort these animals. Are they extinct or endangered? Which ones surprised you? Discuss.

Arctic wolf blue whale crocodiles dodo

golden toad koalas macaw Tasmanian tiger

Extinct Endangered

2
  Key words

a. Choose the correct words to match the definitions below. Then find and highlight them in the
article to read them in context.

1. having firm, strong muscles or relating to muscles

a. rugged b. muscular c. flank

2. a feeling of happiness and excitement that usually lasts a short time

a. euphoria b. tentative c. insurmountable

3. very excited and pleased

a. standstill b. sighting c. thrilled

4. difficult to find, define or achieve

a. elusive b. muscular c. flank

5. land that is not level or smooth and has rocks instead of plants and trees

a. rugged b. biodiversity c. toll

6. when you see something rare or unusual

a. standstill b. prey c. sighting

7. not definite or certain because it may change later

a. rugged b. tentative c. stepping stones

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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
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Level 3: Advanced
8. having many different kinds of animals and plants, creating a balanced environment

a. euphoria b. expenditures c. biodiversity

9. an event or experience that helps you make progress towards achieving something

a. stepping stone b. toll c. elusive

10. ​the side of something such as a building or mountain

a. toll b. flank c. rugged

11. a problem or difficulty that cannot be solved or dealt with successfully

a. insurmountable b. standstill c. tentative

12. an animal that is hunted, killed, and eaten by another animal

a. flank b. biodiversity c. prey

13. the act of spending or using a resource, like money or energy

a. expenditure b. toll c. insurmountable

14. the amount of damage caused in a particular event, such as a war, disaster, etc.

a. rugged b. expenditures c. toll

15. a situation in which all movement or activity has stopped

a. sighting b. standstill c. elusive

b. Complete the sentences with words from the previous activity. You might have to change the
form of the word.

1. The conservation group discussed their concerns about the loss of

in the forest.

2. Often, it takes many to reach a larger goal.

3. Our moving date is the 1st, but it depends on when we close on

the house.

4. Antelope, gazelles, and rabbits are the usual for cheetahs.

5. The happy couple were to announce that they were engaged.

6. Is the yeti or simply a myth?

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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced
7. Finding a new job is not an challenge, but it can take some time.

8. There were two of a rare bird here last week.

9. The snowstorm hit the construction site and caused a huge .

10. The western of the mountains is more remote than the

eastern side.

11. When it takes longer for animals to find food, it takes a

on their health.

12. Big cats, such as lions and jaguars, are very animals.

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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced
A series of sightings suggests 7 “You can just imagine a jaguar stopping
the big cats are, against the somewhere like this for a drink,” says Burns as
we make our way up a rocky dry creek bed to
odds, growing in numbers in where the underground river surfaces, creating
New Mexico and Arizona a series of freshwater pools. Jaguars’ primary
Samuel Gilbert prey, the pig-like javelina, lives here, and
springs provide year-round water.
6 February, 2024
8 “I often think of these mountain ranges as
1 The young, muscular male approached from stepping stones, providing different habitats,
the east at about 4 am. He paused briefly different food sources, often more abundant
in front of the motion-sensor camera, as if water,” says Burns. Another jaguar was
posing for the photo. “It was overall a moment detected here by Sky Island Alliance in May
of euphoria,” says Emily Burns, programme 2023, but it is not known if it is the same cat
director at the Sky Island Alliance conservation photographed in December. “If these mountains
group in Arizona. can support the jaguar, it means it is a great
habitat for so many other species as well.”
2 “I was equal parts thrilled and shocked that
there was a jaguar here.” 9 Louise Misztal, Executive Director at Sky Island
Alliance, says: “We know the western flank of
3 Jaguars once roamed throughout the American the Huachuca Mountains and the San Rafael
southwest, but they were hunted to local Valley provide one of the last open corridors
extinction by the 1960s. In the 1990s, the for the northernmost population of jaguars to
elusive cat began to occasionally reappear move between habitat in the US and Mexico.
in the rugged Sky Islands mountain ranges To recover these cats in the US, it’s vital that
in New Mexico and Arizona. Now, a series of we protect this pathway.”
sightings in the region over the past year marks
10 But that freedom—and the animal’s return to
their tentative return.
this region—is threatened by the construction
4 Yet numerous obstacles remain to re- of the border wall, which began under Donald
establishing a jaguar population in the US. Trump’s presidency and continued under
The wide-ranging cat faces growing climate Joe Biden’s, despite the latter’s opposition to
extremes, habitat loss – and the continued the policy.
impact of the Trump administration’s 11 This region hosts numerous endangered
border wall. species, such as the subtropical ocelot,
5 In November 2023, Sky Island Alliance Mexican grey wolves, and Sonoran
captured an image of a large jaguar walking pronghorns, as well as jaguars. These animals,
along a wooded hillside in the remote and many others, have been adversely affected
Whetstone Mountains of southern Arizona. by the wall that extends nearly 364km along
The photo represents the fifth recorded jaguar the Arizona border.
sighting in the US last year. In December, a 12 “The border wall is nearly insurmountable to
wildlife camera captured a video of the same anything much larger than a badger,” says Russ
jaguar in the Huachuca Mountains to the south. McSpadden, southwest conservation advocate
6 The Whetstone and Huachuca Mountains are for the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona.
part of the Sky Islands in northern Mexico and 13 The barrier forces jaguars to expend more
the US southwest. Their peaks and valleys energy to reach critical habitat, prey and
boast some of the highest biodiversity in the water – an increasingly unstable resource in
US – and are a plentiful habitat for jaguars. the warming southwest.
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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced
14 “A jaguar is accustomed to going to certain
water sources known throughout its life,” says
Traphagen, who has co-authored a study on
the border wall’s impact on jaguar energy
expenditures. “With the border wall, they
must travel much greater distances to find
that water.”
15 Krista Schlyer, a photographer and author who
has spent 15 years documenting the human
and environmental toll of the border wall, has
witnessed, time and again, animals dead or
stranded along the barrier. In 2007, Schlyer
was walking along a new section of wall
near the San Pedro River when she noticed
javelinas sniffing and anxiously pacing back
and forth.
16 “They were smelling for their family on the
other side,” Schlyer says. The javelinas
finally gave up, returning in the direction they
had come.
17 That wall section now extends 70 contiguous
miles from the border with New Mexico, ending
near the San Rafael Valley.
18 McSpadden says, “It is critical that we actively
protect jaguars’ habitat and habitat
connectivity in the southwest. Freedom to
roam across vast territories is written into the
DNA of jaguars.”
19 Traphagen says resuming border wall
construction could mean the end of the jaguar
in the US. “The drum beat to finish the wall
is here,” he says of the growing support for
the border wall. “If they walled off the San
Rafael Valley, jaguar recovery would come to
a standstill.”
© Guardian News and Media 2024
First published in The Guardian, 06/02/2024
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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced

3
  Comprehension check

a. Answer the questions using information from the article.

1. What is the name of the conservation group in Arizona?

2. When were wild jaguars hunted to local extinction?

3. When did the jaguars start to reappear?

4. What are the three obstacles to re-establishing the jaguar population mentioned in the article?

5. When did a wildlife camera capture video of a jaguar in the Huachuca Mountains?

6. Where are the Whetstone and Huachuca Mountains located?

7. What is the jaguars’ primary prey, and what other animal is that prey compared to?

8. What are other endangered animals, besides jaguars, in the region?

9. Why is the border wall problematic for jaguars and other animals?

10. What does Krista Schlyer document in her work?

4
  Key language

a. Look at the nouns below and the adjectives and articles next to them. Put the elements in
the correct order: determiner, opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, and purpose.
Then, find the phrases in the article and underline them to check your answers.

1. male (muscular, young)

2. Mountains (Whetstone, the, remote)

3. sighting (the, jaguar, recorded, fifth)

4. corridors (last, the, open)

5. species (numerous, endangered)

b. Add another adjective to each item in task A. Write the adjectives in the correct order.
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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced
c. Choose a noun to describe. Write one adjective from each category.

determiner opinion size age shape

colour origin material purpose NOUN

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these statements.

• “Humans are the most dangerous threat to animals.”

• “We should not allow laws and policies for people to affect animals.”

• “Most people do care about protecting endangered species and the environment.”

6
  In your own words

a. Do some research about wild jaguars or another endangered species.

• Where is the animal’s native habitat?

• Why is it an endangered species?

• What is being done to protect it?

• What human-made obstacles are there?

b. Report your findings to the class and share your opinions. Here are some phrases to help you
when you discuss facts.

According to my research, …

One example is …

Some ways to do this are …

One law/initiative that is in place aims to …

Another thing people/governments can do is …

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 ‘I was thrilled and shocked’: images raise hopes of return of wild jaguars to
the US
Level 3: Advanced
Here are some phrases to use when stating your opinion.

I think (that) …

From what I know/have read, …

From my perspective, …

In my understanding/opinion, …

I (dis)agree with …

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