How researchers in Arizona are hoping to breed the next generation of saguaros [Video]

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News)—Researchers in Arizona are now exploring ways to make saguaros more adaptable to the state’s changing conditions.

According to experts, last year’s excessive heat and little rainfall wreaked havoc on saguaros across the state. The desert giants play a fundamental part in southern Arizona’s desert ecosystem, from providing shelter to producing fruit for animals

Beth Hudick, the interpretation, education, and outreach manager for Saguaro National Park, tells 13 News that the park isn’t seeing any major changes in terms of mature saguaros. She said there are no reports of damage or widespread illness.

However, Hudick said it’s the younger seedlings that are seeing issues.

“Saguaros are such a long lived species it’s hard to see the changes in our lifetime, but we’ve been in a long term drought since the 90s’,” Hudick said. We’re seeing fewer and fewer saguaros entering the population.”

According to the University of Arizona, saguaros have been a part of the …