Trail cameras set up by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have caught images of a wild jaguar twice this year.
The federal agency’s database shows two sightings from 2023 — both in the Huachuca Mountains in southern Arizona.
The first photo from the agency was taken in March of this year, and another was captured in May.
It’s the second time a jaguar has been photographed in the range since 2016. The agency says the images taken this year could show a jaguar previously only seen south of the border — or a new one that hasn’t been previously photographed.
Jaguars have a historic range that stretches across the southern half of the U.S. and much of Mexico. But hunting, border infrastructure and habitat loss have dwindled their numbers.
