Arizona Jaguar Cat
What’s the furthest north of a Jaguar range?
I live in the SE corner of Oklahoma, there have been stories of a large black cat on the local military base, which stretches a few thousand acres. They’ve called it a black panther but could it be something else?
Also, according to several zoologists and wildlife specialists, the jaguar has been spotted in Arizona and Texas, 2 males and a female, they say they’re not sure of a breeding population.
There was a private collection just 8 miles out of town where a collector had African lions, leopards, mountain lions, Thompson gazelles, it was quite an exotic collection, but financial and legal troubles over the years have taken their toll and the collection disappeared.
Is it possible they could have turned all but the African lions loose?
The jaguar historically got into the SW United States, and there are a few individuals there today. However, they are suffering from habitat loss and now from the construction of a border wall between Mexico and the US.
Jaguars can have a “black phase” – or a really dark coloration. So can pumas (mountain lions, or cougars, or panthers – - all names for the same thing), and they are much more common in the US.
There is always the possibility that cats have been released from captivity, but big cats often cover large areas, so they don’t necessarily stay near the point of release.
JAGUAR – Species Spotlight