Located just 30 miles south of the United States in the Sierra Azul mountain range of Sonora — at the very heart of the Sky Island region — Rancho el Aribabi is managed as one of the premier conservation ranches in the region, hosting over 30 endangered and threatened species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and plants.
In 2007, Sky Island Alliance’s Northern Mexico Conservation Program in partnership with Rancho el Aribabi captured the first-ever photographs of ocelots in the Sky Island region, leading to a Memorandum of Understanding that has advanced strategies to restore and protect these 10,000 acres of riparian, desert and upland wildlife habitat.
Since then, SIA continues to track and photograph ocelots, in addition to jaguar, coati, opossum, fox, bobcat, badger, mountain lion, black bear, and many other species including the myriads of birds, reptiles, and amphibians that call this place home. For information on Rancho el Aribabi please visit www.elaribabi.org.
El Aribabi is located on the Rio Cocóspera, which provides wonderful hiking and birding. Each morning, an informal bird walk is organized for Writing Down the Jaguar participants. Additionally, participants will join one of Sky Island Alliance’s expert staff members for an animal-tracking field trip where ocelots and jaguar, mountain lion and coati mundi roam.
