PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and
Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently received a
photograph of a jaguar taken by a Fort Huachuca trail camera in the Huachuca
Mountains. Fort Huachuca is a U.S. Army installation near Sierra Vista in
southeastern Arizona.
“Preliminary indications are
that the cat is a male jaguar and, potentially, an individual not previously
seen in Arizona,” said Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, regional director for the Southwest
Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We are working with the Arizona
Game and Fish Department to determine if this sighting represents a new
individual jaguar.”
“While this is exciting news, we
are examining photographic evidence to determine if we’re seeing a new cat here,
or if this is an animal that has been seen in Arizona before,” said Jim deVos,
assistant director of the department’s Wildlife Management Division. “We look
forward to partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and thoroughly
vetting the evidence.”
AZGFD, USFWS and Fort Huachuca
personnel will notify the public when the final determination is
made.
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