Another jaguar has come through southern Arizona. It's only the third seen in the state since 2011.
A trail camera photographed the rare animal in the Dos Cabezas Mountains about 60 miles north of the border in November 2016. Scientists aren’t sure whether it’s a male or a female, but they’re certain it’s a new jaguar. That follows the sighting of a male in the Huachuca Mountains in January.
Federal and state wildlife officials say this backs up the theory that jaguars come from Sonora, where they breed, looking for habitat in Arizona. Jaguars are an endangered species and can traverse distances up to 500 miles.
Starting in 2011, a male jaguar, which came to be known as El Jefe, was spotted in the Santa Rita mountains on and off for years but hasn’t been seen again for more than a year.
