It's a first: Wild jaguar captured in Arizona desert
TUCSON, AZ -- State gaming officials say they have captured a wild jaguar in the Arizona desert, and it's a first for them.
The animal was captured Wednesday during a research study monitoring habitat for mountain lions and black bears near Tucson.
Lynda Lambert with Arizona Game and Fish said jaguars have been photographed sporadically along the Arizona border over the years, but none had ever been captured by the agency.
The captured jaguar was fitted with a satellite tracking collar and then released, according to Lambert.
The collar will apparently provide biologists with the location of the animal every three hours. Early tracking indicates that the cat has already travelled more than three miles from the capture site.
Lambert said the collar data should shed light on a little-studied animal that uses southern Arizona and New Mexico as the northern extent of its range.
"While we didnt set out to collar a jaguar as part of the mountain lion and bear research project, we took advantage of an important opportunity," said Terry Johnson, endangered species coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
The collared jaguar weighed in at 118 pounds with a thick and solid build, Game and Fish reported.
The species has been protected outside of the United States under the Endangered Species Act since 1973. That protection was extended to jaguars within the U.S. in 1997, the year after the animal's presence in the Arizona and New Mexico borderlands was confirmed.
Game and Fish reports Jaguars are the only cat in North America that roar. They prey on a variety of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles.
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