The Sonoran desert, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, is full of wildlife that is unique to the region. However, its ecosystem is being negatively affected by humans, causing many species that are key to the ecosystem's survival to become nearly extinct; though if our actions as humans continues, they will be extinct altogether.
Northern jaguar
The Northern Jaguar is nearly extinct in the Sonoran desert and is threatened mostly by being hunted by humans. There are only about 120 Jaguar left in the Sonoran Desert. They are the largest cats in North America and they are a symbol of the desert. Unlike most cats, which kill their prey by grabbing the throat and suffocating it, the jaguar kills by piercing its prey’s skull or neck with one swift bite – demonstrating the amazing strength of its powerful jaws and impressive teeth. As strong climbers and excellent swimmers, jaguars are perfectly adapted to capture deer, javelina, desert bighorn sheep, birds, turtles, snakes, and fish.
The extinction of the Jaguar would be a huge loss to the desert; the deer population would increase dramatically since the jaguar is the deer’s only predator. This would lead to an increased consumption of fauna in the region, creating a chain reaction that could potentially destroy the entire ecosystem. This is because more deer would infringe upon other animals's food supply and dwindle their numbers. If the deer population got out of control, which it often does in other regions of the world, it would wipe many species out and could consume too much of the fauna (such as the creosote bush, which is one of the main sources of food for primary consumers) for the ecosystem to remain stable.
The extinction of the Jaguar would be a huge loss to the desert; the deer population would increase dramatically since the jaguar is the deer’s only predator. This would lead to an increased consumption of fauna in the region, creating a chain reaction that could potentially destroy the entire ecosystem. This is because more deer would infringe upon other animals's food supply and dwindle their numbers. If the deer population got out of control, which it often does in other regions of the world, it would wipe many species out and could consume too much of the fauna (such as the creosote bush, which is one of the main sources of food for primary consumers) for the ecosystem to remain stable.