Local cameras catch glimpse of only wild jaguar in U.S.

A jaguar roaming the Santa Rita Mountains was caught on remote sensor cameras run by local conservation groups.

Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity released the video Wednesday, saying the jaguar named El Jefe is the only known wild jaguar in the United States. 

“Studying these elusive cats anywhere is extremely difficult, but following the only known individual in the U.S. is especially challenging,” Chris Bugbee, a biologist with Conservation CATalyst who has collected data on the jaguar, said in a news release accompanying the video.

“We use our specially trained scat detection dog and spent three years tracking in rugged mountains, collecting data and refining camera sites; these videos represent the peak of our efforts,” Bugbee said.

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The data and video collected on El Jefe showed he is an adult male jaguar, Aletris Neils, executive director of Conservation CATalyst, said in the news release. 

“These glimpses into his behavior offer the keys to unlocking the mysteries of these cryptic cats,” Neils said. 

Remote sensor cameras have photographed El Jefe repeatedly in the Santa Rita Mountains in recent years, the news release said. El Jefe is the only verified jaguar in the country since Macho B was euthanized in March 2009 after being injured during his capture.