Jaguar Spotted in Arizona

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there were jaguars in North America. The stocky, spotted cats "roamed from Oregon to Pennsylvania" but disappeared from those northern reaches before Europeans colonized the continent (Sunquist & Sunquist, p. 19). For years now, jaguars in North America have been more a rumor than an actual presence, though the cats have been seen sporadically in southern Arizona.

Now, there is video evidence of a male jaguar in the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson. The video, released yesterday by Conservation CATalyst, was taken via remote sensor camera. It shows the jaguar, known as El Jefe ("the boss"), padding through the forest and picking his way along a rocky streambed. Here, have a look:

Wasn't that thrilling? Just imagine coming upon that cat while you're out for a walk in the woods!

Sources

CNN. (Feb. 3, 2016). A Wild Jaguar in the United States? There's Video of One in Arizona. http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/03/us/wild-jaguar-video-arizona-feat/index.html

Sunquist, F., & Sunquist M. (2014). The Wild Cat Book. University of Chicago Press.