Photo: Getty Images
On Friday, officials in southern Arizona confirmed the recent sighting of a wild jaguar, captured on a trail camera in December.
The Center for Biological Diversity disclosed that the footage, taken by a wildlife enthusiast and scrutinized by the organization, marked the eighth documented jaguar sighting in the U.S. Southwest in the past thirty years. Importantly, this particular feline is distinct from Sombra and El Jefe, two jaguars known to have roamed the region recently.
This jaguar was photographed in the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona, with federally run trail cameras capturing the elusive creature. While the images are yet to be publicly released, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity in the southwest has viewed them.
The significance of this sighting lies in its contribution to jaguar conservation efforts, revitalizing enthusiasm among wildlife enthusiasts. Previous attempts to photograph a wild jaguar in the region last year yielded blurry images, impeding identification. Wildlife officials stress the uniqueness of the rosette pattern on each jaguar, similar to a human fingerprint, facilitating specific animal identification.
Whether this latest jaguar is the same one photographed last year remains uncertain.
Interestingly, all jaguars documented in the Southwest in recent decades have been male, and the gender of this newly sighted jaguar is yet unknown, adding another layer of curiosity to the ongoing efforts to comprehend and safeguard these magnificent creatures.