Jaguar Crosses North of Mexico Line

A trail camera captured the image of a jaguar in Arizona’s Chiricahua/Dos Cabezas mountain range Jan. 6.

According to officials with the Chiricahua National Monument, it is the same male that has been photographed in the area off and on since 2016.

Both Arizona and New Mexico have verified jaguar migration into their jurisdictions through a trail camera project over the last 15 years.

Although chiefly associated with South America and tropical rainforests, jaguars occupy a variety of habitats that once included Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. There are even historical accounts of them in Louisiana.

Jaguars face a host of problems including increased poaching.

The Asian black market for tiger parts, such as claws for traditional medicines, has depleted most of Asia’s tiger populations. Due to having direct links because of thousands of workers in South and Central American countries, they are targeting jaguars-in particular for their claws and heads.

According to a study published in Conservation Biology, jaguar poaching, as noted by seizures of their parts by wildlife officials and customs agents, increased 200-fold in South America in five years.

Hunting of these big cats is illegal in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela.

Ecotourism has proven a valuable asset to wildlife in areas where it is feasible but only in Brazil’s Pantanal region is the jaguar a factor. It’s the only place on Earth where ecotourists see them regularly. Otherwise, they are one of the planet’s most elusive animals.

To read more about the return of the jaguar to the United States click here.