Jaguars are apparently becoming more seen in the United States, as a new video surfaced of the only known wild jaguar roaming free around Santa Rita mountains, near Tucson, Arizona.
This jaguar is also called as "El Jefe" which translates to "The Boss" in Spanish, as researchers from the Center for Biological Diversity have monitored this jaguar in Arizona for more than three years. In this most recent footage, remote sensor cameras captured the big cat sneaking its way through woodlands and crossing a mountain creek.
Conservationists say that El Jefe is around seven years old and is just one of the only four to five jaguars that has been spotted in the country for the past 20 years. He is also the remaining verified jaguar in the United States as another cat known as Macho B was euthanized after suffering from capture related injuries in March 2009.
According to biologist Chris Bugbee from the Conservation CATalyst, obtaining data from these elusive cats has been difficult and extremely challenging especially following the only known jaguar for three years. The team behind monitoring El Jefe includes a trained scat detection dog that also spent three years tracking around the rugged terrain of the mountains. The team collected data and filtered camera sites, where these new videos show the peak of the team's study efforts.
Conservationists now hope to gain more valuable insights to this mysterious cat's behavior in its natural habitat. Scientists believe that this lone male jaguar travelled far for some 130 miles to Arizona, beginning from the south of the border. Jaguars are also considered to be solitary animals, which are also the third largest after tigers and lions.
Scientists say that El Jefe's habitat is now exposed to numerous dangerous threats as an open pit copper mine was proposed near the region, where its permit is still being worked out. Since it is now pending approval, this large mining company can cause toxic chemicals to leak out and form wastelands near the jaguar's natural habitat. Apart from this, it can cause permanent damage to forests spanning thousands of acres which are also part of the federally protected area of the jaguar's home.
Bugbee adds how the Santa Rita mountains are a pivotal part of the jaguar's home range. Evidence reveals that this jaguar has been photographed every month on the year in the mountains, as more than 100 detections of the El Jefe that were recorded in Santa Rita since 2013.
Big cats like jaguars were once thriving in the American southwest wilderness however, 150 years of habitat loss and lack of regulations and federal protection displaced these cats.