Scientists at the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) recently completed an independent analyses of trail cam photos of a jaguar taken in the Huachuca Mountains and confirmed that the animal has not been seen previously in Arizona.
The other most recent sighting of a jaguar in Arizona was in the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona; however, that animal has not been documented in the state since September 2015. Prior to September 2015, this jaguar was photographed hundreds of times over a three-year period.
“Jaguars are a unique component of this state’s wildlife diversity and it is exciting to document a new visitor. However, in the absence of female jaguars and with the irregularity with which we document any jaguar presence in Arizona, this sighting in early December is important, but not an indicator of an establishing population in the state,” said deVos.
The closest breeding population of jaguars is about 130 miles south of the Arizona-Mexico Border, according to deVos.
source: Arizona Game and Fish Department