By Jonathan Sullivan Science
writer
1 September 2016
Free movement between the US and
Mexico - the hottest of topics in the 2016 US presidential campaign - is not
just a human issue. What would the construction of a wall mean for animals that
live near the border?
In June 2015, from the lobby of
the building that bears his name in Manhattan, the businessman Donald Trump
announced his intention to run for the Republican presidential nomination.
One of the pledges he made during
his announcement was to construct an impenetrable barrier running the length of
the US border with Mexico. It would be, Trump said, "a great, great wall
on our southern border".
As the Republican primary
progressed, his wall pledge became a literal rallying cry, with supporters
shouting "build the wall" at public appearances.
Trump, of course, subsequently
secured the nomination. His wall proposal, symbolizing his position on
immigration, has sparked heated debate. But it mainly centres on the wall's
economic feasibility, social consequences and ethics.
Very few people have been talking
about what it would mean for wildlife.
The US-Mexico border region is a
delicate ecosystem located between twobiomes, with
regular animal and bird migrations moving between the north and south of the
American continent.
It is home to a diverse
population of mammals, birds and plants, including the iconic American
roadrunner and the saguaro cactus, the cinematic symbol of the American
southwest. The dry, desert ecosystem also supports cougars, desert bighorn
sheep, the endangered North American jaguar and the ocelot - which is down to
its last 50 animals in southern Texas.
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