After years of struggling numbers, the Mount Graham red squirrel population is holding steady.
A new survey from state and federal wildlife agencies shows the number of squirrels in the Pinaleño Mountains of southeastern Arizona held at about 230 over the last two years.
After the Frye Fire of 2017, their population fell to just 35, which led to environmental groups petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the protected habitats for the squirrels.
And in July, a federal judge gave U.S. Fish and Wildlife until next September to come up with a plan for protecting the endangered species.
For years, the Mount Graham red squirrels have struggled with habitat loss, insect infestations and competition with non-native species. The population peaked at about 550 in the late 1990s, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
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Nearly two centuries ago, in the 1850s, close to a dozen Middle Eastern cameleers helped ex-naval officer-turned-explorer Edward Fitzgerald Beale lead a caravan of camels through the arid American Southwest. -
For Hans and Ana Maron, the experience was still a thrill. They live in Chandler and own racehorses, including So Happy; they race under the Saints or Sinners banner. -
There are less than three weeks left to submit comments on a draft of a new Phoenix Police Department policy on the use of canines. -
The Bureau of Land Management reports it rescued a wild burro trapped in a septic tank in northwestern Arizona. With help from the community, the burro was lifted out of the tank and then released. -
A string of bobcat attacks in Prescott, injuring at least three people and three dogs, has been determined to most likely be from the same animal that is now dead, officials say.
