Jaguar killed in southern Arizona

Arizona officials captured and placed a tracking collar on a wild jaguar for the first time ever in the United States (2/20/09 see article in AsStarnet here )the state wildlife agency said Thursday. The male cat was captured southwest of Tucson during a research study concerning mountain lions and black bears. While individual jaguars have been photographed sporadically along the Mexican border the past few years, the capture occurred outside the area where the last known photograph of a jaguar was taken in January, state Game and Fish officials said in a press release.

Then, a few weeks later the Jaguar was recaptured and euthanized in a Phoenix zoo. It was believe to have had acute kidney failure. However, since then a Tucson pathologist at the UA's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory said authorities may have moved too fast to euthanize the animal early this month. See the article here.

The Jaguar was caught in a snare trap of some kind while Arizona Game and Fish was tracking bear and mountain lion. It is believed that this Jaguar had lived in southern Arizona for most of its life (14 ys). In the following photos you can see the claws made on a tree and 2 other shots of the Jaguar after its capture.

All images are courtesy of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.