ARIZONA, USA — It's not El Jefe, it's not Sombra; the jaguar that was recently spotted in southern Arizona is a brand new visitor to the state!
A jaguar was recently seen in photographs from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection camera somewhere along the Arizona-Mexico border in March 2023. However, those photos were too blurry for scientists to identify the jaguar, leading to speculation over whether it was a new cat or a return visitor.
A wildlife photographer captured clear images of the jaguar and sent them to the center for analysis last month. By carefully examining the cat's spot patterns, scientists confirmed it is a new cat, making it the eighth to visit the Southwest in the last thirty years.
Right now it's unclear if this is the same cat that CBP photographed, but it is clear that it's not El Jefe or Sombra, the two male jaguars that previously visited Arizona in recent years.
“Every new jaguar in Arizona is a moment to celebrate,” said Russ McSpadden, a Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “After being nearly wiped out these majestic felines continue to reestablish previously occupied territory despite border wall construction, new mines and other threats to their habitat. We’re extremely lucky to live near such magnificent creatures, and we’ve got to do everything we can to protect our shared landscape.”
Jaguar's iconic spots are known as rosettes, and each jaguar has a unique pattern of rosettes — much like a human fingerprint. El Jefe, for example, is known for a Pinocchio-shaped rosette on his hindquarters.
Jaguars once lived throughout the American Southwest. Evidence suggests they ranged as far as the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the mountains of Southern California and as far east as Louisiana. That territory virtually disappeared over the last 150 years owing to habitat loss and predator control programs.
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