Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity released new video today of the only known wild jaguar currently in the United States.Captured on remote sensor cameras in the Santa Rita Mountains just outside of Tucson, the dramatic footage provides a glimpse of the secretive life of one of nature’s most majestic and charismatic creatures. This is the first-ever publicly released video of the #jaguar, recently named 'El Jefe' by Tucson students, and it comes at a critical point in this cat’s conservation. Learn more here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/jaguar-02-03-2016.html
Posted by Center for Biological Diversity on Wednesday, 3 February 2016
For the first time ever, the United States’ only known jaguar has been captured on film.
With the help of specially trained dogs, the research team managed to catch the footage on remote sensor camera. The male jaguar was found roaming in the Santa Rita Mountains, just 25 miles away from Tucson, Arizona.
The 41 seconds of footage of the elusive big cat is the result of three years of tracking by researchers from Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The jaguar has been dubbed El Jefe, which means ‘The Boss’ in Spanish.
It’s believed that he is the last remaining jaguar in the whole of the U.S. since ‘Macho B’ was euthanised in 2009. According to National Geographic the nearest known population of breeding wild jaguars are over 200 kilometers (125 miles) away in Sonora, Mexico.
Despite this incredible discovery El Jefe is facing a massive threat, as a proposed copper mining project could be built right in the middle of the jaguar’s range.
In a statement, a biologist at Conservation CATalyst, Chris Bugbee said:
The Rosemont Mine would destroy El Jefe’s home and severely hamstring recovery of jaguars in the United States. Clearly, the Santa Rita Mountains are a vital part of this cat’s home range. This jaguar has been photographed in every month of the year in these mountains – there are more than 100 detections of him in the Santa Ritas since 2013 – how could anyone argue the importance of these mountains?
We can only hope that they will do everything in their power to preserve this magnificent creatures habitat.
