Hello, my name is Daniel McInnis and I am a born and raised citizen of rural NC (in the sandhills region).  I do not have a formal degree in wildlife biology- but I do have a vested interest in the well being of the woods and fields that I've grown up with and call home.

I grew up on a small peach farm.  I spent a lot of time wandering the surrounding woods and hunting as a child.  

As an adult I've realized that we have a significant issue with a lack of a proper apex predator in the Carolinas.  There's the occasional mountain lion up in the apps in the higher altitudes and the coast has a few black bears but black bears have become so intertwined with suburbia they fail to perform as a true apex predator, and their migratory patterns make them inconsistent in this role.

In antiquity Jaguars were native from Florida to the Carolinas.  They're a highly specialized and effective apex predator that can easily check the deer overpopulation, can put an immediate halt to the thriving of coyotes (which are not meant to be an apex predator), and also help MASSIVELY with the intrusion of wild boars.  I mean we all see that nearly annually now a hogzilla crops up, while, fortunately, there have been scant few injuries, they are still extremely aggressive, large animals that disrupt the forest and root systems in an extreme way.

We also have the presence of the prion disease- CWD-  in the midwest.  While it hasn't made its way here yet, overpopulation of deer and lack of hunting and lack of predators has led to it spreading.  Having a large apex predator to control the wildlife may help stop this disease.

Control of the deer population would also preserve the integrity of our forests and in an age of wildfires being more common and where our state is regularly beset by other natural disasters, this is of chief interest to us.  Healthy trees and robust root systems prevent erosion and can mitigate the dangers of the flash floods we are currently experiencing.  

It also would reduce the number of deaths we currently see of domestic pets such as dogs and cats, as coyotes often prefer them as a form of prey.

It isn't lost on me that the reintroduction of the jaguar would require oversight on a state and federal level similar to reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone.  It would be a long process and would be met with backlash by farmers (rightfully so) and we would need to create a state or federal funding to reimburse farmers who lost livestock to the animals.  

Jaguars need large corridors to thrive, and the Great Dismal Swamp and Uwharrie National Forest both come to mind.  

I have a lot of thoughts on this and welcome any feedback.  Reach me at 910-206-2216.

Update:

I've received some concerns and questions about safety.  Bear attacks happen at a rate of roughly 40-50 a year; tigers can be near 100; there have been less than five recorded fatal attacks by a Jaguar in the wild, even in the Amazon where millions of people live in proximity with them.  They are an exceptionally elusive and shy animal that are mostly nocturnal and try to avoid human contact altogether.  Virtually any of the less than a dozen instances of attacks on humans can be attributed to a Jaguar that was being actively hunted, in captivity, or one that was wounded and already defensive.