TIL There May Be Two Jaguars Currently Living In Arizona
Living in the suburbs of Chicago, I don't have the opportunity to see very many exciting animals on a daily basis. For me, "wild" animals live in zoos and inside my television. (How do they get them in there? It must be witchcraft!)
Oh no! This Jaguar has escaped from my television! Hide the squirrels!
Rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels (oh my!) are the types of animals I am used to seeing. The one time I actually saw something interesting, I was so shocked, I nearly wet my pants. On that occasion, I looked in my yard and witnessed a hawk picking up a chipmunk and then fling away with it. I'm sure they were just going for a chat or setting out on some cute adventure like I've seen in all those children's books... but I was still freaked out.
Every once in a while, I will hear about "urban coyotes"... but I have never actually see one. In fact, I actually thought "urban coyotes" was a bad 1980s movie starring John Travolta in a cowboy hat. As a result of this lack of exposure to real animals, I get blown away when I see, read or hear about the more exotic wildlife that lives in the U.S.
Today I discovered that there may be a second jaguar living in the U.S. But to be honest, I didn't even know there was one already living here.
Apparently, Jaguars used to be common in the Western United States. However, due to hunting and other factors, jaguars are very rarely seen in the U.S. today.
In February of this year, for the first time since 2010, a jaguar was filmed near the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona.
That jaguar, named El Jefe, appeared to be the only one living in the United States.
At least that is what everyone thought until earlier this month. The Arizona Game and Fish Department said that on December 1st, a second jaguar was photographed at Fort Huachuca, a U.S. Army installation near the Santa Ritas.
Experts are examining the photograph to see if it is simply a new picture of El Jefe.
Although there have been other jaguars spotted on U.S. soil, experts say these cats are probably just visiting from Mexico.
Because every jaguar has its own unique pattern of spots, some biologists believe it should be very easy to tell whether these are photos of El jefe.
Although the above photos appear to show two distinct animals, there has not been official word as to whether or not these are two different jaguars.
For more info, please check out the following link.
We have coyotes in vegas... theyre pests. There were at least two small dogs attacked and killed this year by coyotes. We also had a bunch of mountain lion sightings last year.
I used to live in scottsdale, and it was lousy with coyotes. You'd see like a dozen of them wandering around the golf course early in the morning. I once saw what im 95% sure was a wolf. Also, javelina every now and again.
Out on the salt river, if you go out of town a bit, you can see wild horses.
I moved to AZ from Chicago. I got tired of shovelling snow. :)
You are smarter man than I. Just got done shoveling mine...
Sorry.
No jaguars here, but lots of squirrels and a few coyotes.
No chipmunks huh? The hawks took them all...
Yeah, we have a lot of things here that folks don't know about. Shhh, it's a secret.
The old timers around here will tell you there were lots of jaguars in the southern part of the state a few decades ago. I've never seen one and am pretty excited that they're returning. There's a lot of hubbub here about El jefe.
I have a decent sized lot for town and we get irrigation. About a month or so ago I was waiting for the water, which comes through a series of culverts just before my property, some of them kinda long.
A cat was looking up the culvert with a lot of interest, as the water got closer. Then it ran under the one on my property, where I was standing. About 5 seconds later, a huge skunk came out, scurrying along the canal ahead of the water. It must stay there during the day, coming out at night. I'd never seen one in town before though. It was beautiful, but I didn't let it get too close to me.
We had a roadrunner in the front yard not long ago too. They're still sort of rare, but are protected and seem to have made a nice rebound.
There's a small fox that roams around here too. My wife pointed it out one time, but I thought it was just a scrappy dog. Apparently it's an indigenous species of fox that lives in the desert here, and this one runs around town like a stray.
Bats in the palm tree, eaten by owls that moved in (little bat pellets on the ground), then repopulating when the owls moved on. There's a lot of life in the desert. It's pretty cool how much is out there, and so many people never learn of it. In a 30 minute drive I could see deer, pronghorn, eagles, hawks, quail, roadrunner, coatimundi, coyote, turkey, mountain lion, bear, various fish, etc. Of course, that's an advantage of small town living. But we used to see all these on the outskirts of the Phoenix suburbs too.
As soon as I read this I started thinking, "I wonder what all of those animals together sound like". I bet you it is awesome on a still desert evening. I really am a silly city boy.
Yeah, we don't get to hear them here, though I do smell a skunk once in a while. We'd have to drive a few miles to be around them. Coyotes are the noisiest at night. I've never heard a mountain lion, I don't think. Quail make a cool sound. Other than a few small animals and birds, I can't think of other noises. Interesting... I hadn't thought of it before.
This was a very interesting read! Thanks for posting it :) I had never heard of jaguars in the US in modern times, so this was pretty cool.
Anyway, here in Norway I get some wildlife in my backyeard every once in a while. I see badgers, foxes and roe deer pretty often (as well as lots of birds and rodents), and sometimes I see a moose as well. There have also been wolves and lynxes closely to where I lived, but I have never seen any of them in my backyard.
Moose and lynx! Wow. I like living in the city... but I do miss out on that experience.
I knew they were native to here (Arizona)... Im actually shocked to learn there are only 2?!
TYL that there are only 2 jaguars. LOL
Never thought of it the other way around.
A few years ago the only known Jaguar died. I'm glad there are at least 2.
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/jaguar/MachoB.shtml
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Leopard, rhinos, hippos, whales to name a few. I have the chance to travel a lot so that I can see a lot :)
Nice post.
I live in a suburb to Portland Oregon. I spot bald eagles, osprey, raccoon s and an ever so often deer. A few years ago as I was walking my dog a cougar crossed right in from of us at great speed. Dog and I turned around and walked home and skipped the evening walk for a few days.
El Jefe! Perfect name. Hmm. Bears in a tree near me when we lived near the mountains. Blue heron in neighbor's tree - loudest screech ever. Once a lobster dropped in our back yard. Good question!
What a great post, @hanshotfirst. I had never heard this!