Medical mixup wipes out wild jaguar population

This medical mixup proved to be costly, as the last wild jaguar in the United States was extinguished.

I can hear the Game And Fish people in Arizona right now: "Whoops, clumsy me!"

This is from New Times, an alternative newspaper in Phoenix:

In February, Game and Fish trapped and tagged a jaguar named "Macho B," as part of an effort to track the migration patterns of mountain lions and other animals near the Mexico-Arizona border ... it was released back into the wild until March, when they recaptured the jaguar and determined it was suffering kidney failure ... that was the end of the road for "Macho" and he was euthanized ... as medical records later showed, "Macho B," who happened to be the last known wild Jaguar in the United States, was more likely dehydrated than suffering kidney failure, and giving the animal a little water probably would have done the trick ... oops.

Now, that's an error that's a little hard to fix, yes?

Photo: Well, that's the last of 'em. "Macho B," in healthier times. Photo by the Arizona Fish And Game Department.