the U.S. Mexico border wall at night

Arizona’s border wall will include openings too small for many animals

New border wall passages the size of small doggy doors, 50 in total, are unlikely to mitigate the wall’s negative impact on wildlife, experts say.

The border wall cuts across the foothills of Arizona’s Huachuca Mountains, home to a range of species. It’s one of the only places in the United States that four wild cats have been sighted—mountain lions, bobcats, ocelots, and jaguars—which, like most large animals, will be impeded by the wall.

Photograph by Krista Schlyer, iLCP

Customs and Border Protection will soon finish installing 50 wildlife passages across 63 miles of recently-completed border wall in southern Arizona in an attempt to allow more small animals to move across the border. The openings, which some have likened to “doggy doors,” are flush with the ground and the dimensions of a standard sheet of paper—eight and a half inches wide and 11 inches tall.

The agency says the openings will make it easier for small animals to get through the wall, and that it plans to install more in the future. But scientists and environmentalists tell National Geographic that these openings are too small and too far apart to have a significant impact.

Nearly 400 miles of border wall have

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

SeaWorld violated the Animal Welfare Act. Why is it still open?
'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought
World’s first ultrasounds of wild manta rays reveal a troubling truth

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet