Arizona Has a Spotty New Visitor

The spots gave it away. Just like a human fingerprint, the rosette pattern on each jaguar is unique so researchers knew they had a new animal on their hands after reviewing images captured by a remote camera in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center says it's the fifth big cat over the last 15 years to be spotted in the area after crossing the US-Mexico border. The animal was captured by the camera as it visited a watering hole in November. "We're very excited. It signifies this edge population of jaguars continues to come here because they're finding what they need," Susan Malusa, director of the center's jaguar and ocelot project, told the AP.

The team is now working to collect scat samples to conduct genetic analysis and determine the sex and other details about the new jaguar, including what it likes to eat. The menu can include everything from skunks and javelina to small deer. As an indicator species, Malusa said the continued presence of big cats in the region suggests a healthy landscape but that climate change and border barriers can threaten migratory corridors. She explained that warming temperatures and significant drought increase the urgency to ensure connectivity for jaguars with their historic range in Arizona.

More than 99% of the jaguar's range is found in Central and South America, and the few male jaguars that have been spotted in the US are believed to have dispersed from core populations in Mexico, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal biologists have listed primary threats to the endangered species as habitat loss and fragmentation along with the animals being targeted for trophies and illegal trade. The FWS issued a final rule in 2024, revising the habitat set aside for jaguars in response to a legal challenge. The area was reduced to about 1,000 square miles in Arizona's Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties.

Recent detection data supports findings that a jaguar appears every few years, Malusa said, with movement often tied to the availability of water. When food and water are plentiful, there's less movement. In the case of Jaguar #5, she said it was remarkable that the cat kept returning to the area over a 10-day period. Otherwise, she calls the animals quite elusive. "That's the message—that this species is recovering," Malusa said.