In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard an intimate portrait of the endangered exotic and elusive jaguar When the nature writer Richard Mahler discovers that wild jaguars are prowling a remote corner of his home state of New Mexico he embarks on a determined quest to see in the flesh a big beautiful cat that is the stuff of legend--yet verifiably real. Mahler's passion sets in motion a years-long adventure through trackless deserts steamy jungles and malarial swamps as well as a confounding immersion in centuries-old debates over how we should properly regard these powerful predators: as varmints or as icons trophies or gods? He is drawn from border badlands south to Panama's rain forest along a route where the fate of nearly all wildlife now rests in human hands. Mahler's odyssey introduces him to unrepentant poachers pragmatic ranchers midnight drug-runners ardent conservationists trance-induced shamans hopeful biologists stodgy bureaucrats academic philosophers macho hunters and gentle Maya Indians. Along the way he is forced to reconsider the true meaning of his search--and the enduring symbolism of the jaguar. Journalist Mahler admits that he is not a scientist and his book is not a science book. It is the story of a quest––an odyssey––in search of wild jaguars. In 1996, a mountain-lion hunter was following his dogs in the mountains of southern New Mexico, hot on the trail of what was thought to be a large lion. But he soon discovered the dogs had cornered a jaguar, the first seen in the U.S. in decades. A brief mention of this encounter in a newspaper Mahler saw set an obsession on fire, and he set off on his on-again, off-again pursuit of jaguars. As he talked with the “Jag Team” (officially the Jaguar Conservation Team), set up to photograph jaguars in “camera traps,” he learned that there have been sightings of more than one jaguar in the southwest. As Mahler travels to Belize, Mexico, Panama, as well as through the scientific literature, he imparts the folklore and science surrounding this largest of the New World cats. Did Mahler ever see his cat? Follow his journey to find out. --Nancy Bent This excellent book is a thoughtful and sad account of [the jaguar's] probable passing from the world within the next century. ...Mahler is not really looking for a real jaguar, but for what the jaguar means. --Tucson Weekly (Tim Hull) "Beautifully written. ...Mahler scours diverse sources, consulting all kinds of historical documents, tribal mythology, and scientific journals for information about the world's third-largest cat." --BBC Wildlife magazine (Mark Bowler) Mahler prevents the "will he, won't he see a jaguar" question from playing out too quickly. Instead, the mystery, intricately spun within a crucial conservation tale, prevails. --Audubon magazine (Michele Wilson) The shadow cast by the jaguar, the object of obsession in this fascinating book, is indeed a long and deep one. ...Mahler weaves all of his diverse interests into an entertaining and harmonious whole. --Albuquerque Journal (Robert Woltman) "A compelling account of the jaguar's natural history, its cultural status among jungle tribes, and its precipitous decline because of over-hunting, industrial exploitation and loss of habitat." --Toronto Globe & Mail (Charles Wilkins) The jaguar may be one of the ten most gorgeous animals on Earth. Yet this creature, along with our planet's other big cats, may very well disappear from the wild within our lifetimes. With this in mind, I set out to learn as much as I could about Panthera onca -- and to see a specimen on the prowl in its natural habitat. I came away astonished, and hope to convey my sense of respect and wonder in this book. At the end of my quest, I was reminded of something naturalist Konrad Lorenz once wrote: "There are certain things in Nature in which beauty and utility, artistic and technical perfection, combine in some incomprehensible way." Such a thing is this felid, the Western Hemisphere largest cat. Conservation biologist Richard Knight of Colorado State University calls The Jaguar's Shadow "a wonderful book. Not only is it a detailed compilation of the economic, cultural, and ecological issues swirling around the jaguar, it is a balanced account of these complex issues." Richard Mahler is an award-winning writer, editor, and tour guide based in Silver City, New Mexico. He is the author or co-author of ten books, and his reporting on the environment, health, travel, arts, and culture also circulates via newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and public radio. The Jaguar's Shadow Searching for a Mythic Cat By Richard Mahler Yale University Press Copyright © 2009 Richard Mahler All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-300-12225-1 Contents List of Illustrations..........................................................ixPreface........................................................................xiONE "God Almighty, That's a Jaguar!"..........