Large jungle cat finds its way to Tuscon

Rare Arizona jaguar roams mountains near Tucson
 
Arizona Daily Star
 
Published on Feb 3, 2016

A remote sensor camera run by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity shows a jaguar roaming the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson. The groups say this is the first publicly released video of the jaguar, named El Jefe, who is the only known wild jaguar in the United States.


Only Known Wild Jaguar in US Captured on Film (CoastToCoastAM.com)

February 3, 2016
 
A conservation group has captured rare footage from the mountains of Arizona of the only wild jaguar known to roam the United States.

The big cat had been spotted and even photographed by witnesses and researchers about 25 miles away from Tucson over the last five years.

The elusive beast was finally captured on film after a three year study by the group Conservation CATalyst managed to correctly ascertain where it might roam and snared the footage with game cameras.

Over the years, the jaguar has become such an institution in the area that a contest was held to name the creature and schoolchildren voted for the moniker 'El Jefe.'

Jaguars once thrived in the American southwest but were almost entirely wiped out over the last 150 years.

The conservation group hopes that the rare footage will raise awareness of the big cat and help prevent its habitat from being destroyed by mining interests.

Between the game camera footage captured of rare bush dogs last month and now the El Jefe film this week, we're beginning to get a little impatient with Bigfoot's camera shyness.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity

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