Overview
- Remote camera images from November documented a jaguar visiting a watering hole and returning over roughly 10 days.
- Researchers identified a distinct individual, labeled Jaguar #5, by its unique rosette pattern.
- The University of Arizona Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center reports five different jaguars detected in the region over the past 15 years.
- Federal officials note that more than 99% of the species' range lies in Central and South America, with U.S. detections believed to be dispersing males and no documented breeding in over a century.
- Conservation context includes threats from habitat loss, fragmentation and illegal trade, and a 2024 federal rule that reduced designated jaguar habitat in Arizona to about 1,000 square miles across Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.