Meet Cholla Duir | Assistant Director, Northern Jaguar Project

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cholla Duir and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cholla, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?

I was born in Tucson, Arizona. I consider Tucson my home, and I deeply respect and love the desert and the people who live here. My parents also named me Cholla Rose after the cactus flower, so the desert is part of every introduction I make. I also spent some of my childhood in neighboring states (NM, CA, CO). My upbringing was unique as my parents came from very different backgrounds economically, and we moved a lot. Being exposed to diverse landscapes and cultures gave me valuable insight into how people’s upbringings affect how they view the world and what is important to them.

Growing up in central Tucson, an urban environment with all the challenges it presents, also made me very grateful for my resources and the gift and privilege it is to have access to healthy environments and the natural world. Knowing firsthand how healing interacting with animals and wild areas can be, I want to share that experience with others.

Lastly, as a child, I took for granted just how biodiverse southern Arizona is. It was only upon moving to Colorado and missing the sounds of so many birds in the morning and all the small creatures like lizards and bugs (not to mention the plants) that I realized how lucky I was to call this place home. Additionally, as a person of European descent, the experience of attending schools in Tucson, where I was a minority, was a humbling experience that I am very grateful for as it made me very aware of the privileges I have inherited from an unjust, racist system that still exists in this country.

What should our readers know about your business?

I am excited to be the new Assistant Director of the Northern Jaguar Project. NJP’s mission is to protect and recover the world’s northernmost population of jaguars, its unique natural habitats, and native wildlife under its protection as a flagship, keystone, and umbrella species. This mission is accomplished by protecting a 56,000-acre preserve in Sonora, Mexico, and, just as importantly, partnering with neighboring ranchers (through our Viviendo con Felinos program), local educators, and other non-profits.

NJP has been around for nearly twenty years, and it is plausible that some of the jaguars documented in Arizona came from the protected areas in Sonora. Historically, jaguars used to roam as far north as the Grand Canyon. Advocating for a large predator is not easy, but protecting them and their large territories protects an expansive amount of life and land that serves not only wildlife but many human needs, such as ranching and ecotourism. I am fortunate to be a part of that and proud to be a part of a bi-national organization that understands the importance of good relations between neighbors and cultures.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Oh wow, so my first thought is we should eat a lot! Tucson has so many great restaurants.

But first, We should drive down to Nogales through Sonoita and Patagonia. Check out Patagonia’s three unique wildlife areas: Borderlands Wildlife Preserve, TNC’s Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve, and The Tucson Audubon Society’s Paton Center. Have breakfast at Gathering Grounds in Patagonia and lunch at Cocina La Ley in Nogales. Hit a winery on the way home to Tucson and finish up with dinner at Tito and Pep on Speedway. Or, if they have their passport, walk across to La Roca in Nogales, Mexico, for some great food and a little perspective on the region.

The rest of the week, we could check out The Sonoran Desert Museum and the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and if they love the stars, the Planetarium. Maybe a movie at the Loft Theater. Take a drive up to Mt. Lemmon as well. Of course, we would be eating all the way! My favorite spots are The Coronet, Loving Spoonfuls, Taqueria La Esquina, Crossroads, Taqueria Pico De Gallo, La Chaiteria, Holden’s Rise Above, and many more. OK, now I’m hungry!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

My parents instilled a love for the natural world in me at a young age. So, a shoutout to them for ensuring my sister and I understood how our lives depend on the health of others and the world around us. So many people along the way helped me get to where I am now. I moved out at 16 and had a supportive group of friends in high school (including my dog Luna) who got me through some tough times. I also had a lot of support from my daughter and partner during my second round in college. 

Professionally, one of my first jobs was at an animal shelter, where my manager taught me how to be compassionate and effectively run a business where the animals and people were well taken care of and had fun. I worked there for nearly seven years and still consider it one of the best jobs I have ever had.

More recently, I worked for Borderlands Restoration Network under Ron Pulliam, who shared his wildlife conservation and land management knowledge with me. When I moved on to work with the Northern Jaguar Project, he had nothing but kind words for me in my next adventure, another supportive moment in my life that is not always the case when taking on a new position.

Lastly, I must thank all the animals I have worked with. They share honesty and love like family with no restraints, and it has always motivated me to do good by them.

Website: https://www.northernjaguarproject.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northernjaguarproject/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reservajaguardelnorte/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIk1mGdW77u3ECh9vjqdBjw

Image Credits
NORTHERN JAGUAR RESERVE AND VIVIENDO CON FELINOS RANCHES (for pictures of jaguars and landscape)