Panthera onca arizonensis (Arizona Jaguar)

[sebbe67]

Panthera onca arizonensis

This subspecies of Jaguar was thought to have become extinct a long time ago but there has been unconfirmed reports of jaguars from the area all since it become extinct. It was not until 1999 when a camera set up on the Arizona-Mexican border managed to caught a jaguar on tape. The subspecies are thought to be left in southeast Arizona small parts of northern Mexico and perheps also in southwest Texas. In 2001 a survey in the area started to found out more about this subpspecies. Another 3 animals has been seen since 2001. The population cant be very big today less than 30 animals are thought to be left. And if it are going to have a small chans to survive they must be full protected.

www.greenapple.com/~jorp/amzanim/usajaguar.jpg

here is the picture taken in 1999 of this rediscovered jaguar subspecies

[Melly]

Thanks for posting this. It would be great if this species really have survived. By the way i have found similar article:

For the second time in history, a jaguar has been photographed in southern Arizona using a remote surveillance camera (see the picture at .

The surveillance camera used to monitor potential jaguar travel corridors on the Arizona-Mexico border took the photograph on Aug. 7. Such surveillance cameras have been used since May 1997. Wildlife officials say the location where the photograph was taken will not be released in an effort to protect the cat. The first Arizona jaguar photograph using a surveillance camera was taken in December 2001.

“This photograph is incredibly exciting,” says Arizona Game and Fish biologist Bill Van Pelt, who specializes in big cats. “Because of the patterns of spots on the animal, we believe it is the same jaguar photographed in December 2001. We will continue to monitor the area and try to determine if the animal has established a territory or is a transient.”

Arizonans can help biologists as they continue to study the presence of jaguars. If you see a jaguar, you should try to do several things:

· Observe nearby landmarks so biologists can find the location in which you saw the cat.

· Note characteristics of the animal’s coloration, size, posture and behavior.

· If possible, take a photograph or video of the jaguar and the area.

· Collect hair and scat samples for analysis. Make a tracing of the track if you can do so without destroying it.

· Report the sighting to Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists at [phone].

More than 60 documented jaguar sightings have occurred in Arizona since 1900. The closest known population of jaguars is 135 miles south, in Mexico’s Sierra Madres.

Jaguars were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1997. Unlawfully killing a jaguar could result in state and federal fines of up to $100,000 and up to one year in prison.

The Jaguar Conservation Team and Work Group, an organization of landowners, ranchers, citizen groups, scientists and state and federal agency representatives, was created in 1997 to guide jaguar conservation efforts in Arizona and New Mexico. The group supports jaguar conservation through voluntary participation by public and private partners.

“This group has been instrumental in efforts to conserve the jaguar, which will ultimately assist in the recovery process,” says Sarah Rinkevich, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.

Source: www.az13.com/news/index.php?pageNum_Recordset5=13&totalRows_Recordset5=223&thread=47

[Melly]

Here is another interesting page and a better photograph about the Arizona Jaguar.

www.gf.state.az.us/pdfs/w_c/jaguar/jaguar_brochure.pdf

[Peter]

Indeed very thank you for posting. I've been searching for more info on this subspecies for a long time! Could not find any!

[sebbe67]

www.azgfd.com/artman/publish/article_195.shtml


here is a page with many nice pictures on the Arizona Jaguar.

[Peter]

I'm actually curious if the Arizona Jaguar is still recognised as a valid subspecies! As the Jaguar has been revised.

I hope to know next week more, when I will read the following article:
Larson, S.E., 1997. Taxonomic Re-evaluation of the Jaguar. Zoo Biology 16:107-120.

Some info from: The Spring, 2000 issue of Cat News - page 23.:
And What About the Jaguar?
Morphological studies of the jaguar (Panthera onca) by Shawn Larson (Larson 1997) led to the recommendation that the captive jaguars be treated as a single taxon (one species with no subspecies) until data became available to support significant differences between jaguar populations. Eight subspecies are currently recognized, compared with 16 listed earlier.

Larson declared: “Taxonomic differences between jaguar populations are not significant, given skull morphology variables, discriminant analysis and the available specimens in US museums”.

He said that local jaguar populations tended to be highly variable, with many groups throughout the species range showing similar amounts of variation. There was evidence of clinal variation, with the greatest differences between two jaguar groups being found between an extreme northern population and an extreme southern population.

Larson measured 11 skull characteristics on 170 specimens from US natural history museums. Relationships between the eight recognized subspcies were examined using Multigroup Discriminant Analysis and univariate statistics.

“Discriminant analyses of these skulls’ characteristics does not indicate distinct groups, supporting the null hypothesis”, he declared.

Jaguar range extends now from the southern USA to northern Argentina.

[Peter]

I've read this article:
Larson, S.E., 1997. Taxonomic Re-evaluation of the Jaguar. Zoo Biology 16:107-120.

Arizona Jaguar
Panthera onca arizonensis (Goldman, 1938)

The type specimen of this subspecies was collected in Navajo County, Arizona, in 1924. Nelson and Goldman (1933) described the distribution of this subspecies as the mountainous parts of eastern Arizona north to the Grand Canyon, the southern half of western New Mexico, northeastern Sonora, and, formerly, southeastern California.

The original description of this subspecies was based on a few skulls. It was described as the largest of the northern jaguars, with a skull that has flatter, more depressed nasals than other jaguar populations.

Sixteen subspecies of jaguar were originally described by Nelson and Goldman (1933) on the basis of skull morphology. Pocock (1939) re-evaluated the taxa, using similar skull morphology criteria, and disregarded eight of Nelson and Goldman’s original 16. Larson (1997) re-examined these eight recognised subspecies. Eleven skull characters used historically to define jaguar subspecies were measured on 170 specimens in U.S. natural history museums. The analysis of these skull characteristics did not indicate distinct groups, supporting the hypothesis that the jaguar is one species without subspecies. This would suggest that the Arizona Jaguar, Panthera onca arizonensis, is an invalid subspecies.

Museum specimens of the Arizona Jaguar:
United States Natural Museum (USNM):
225613, Helveta, Arizona
231961, Greaterville, Arizona
247337, Nogales, Arizona
289015, Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona

[Peter]

If someone else want to read it, I can scan it! And than e-mail it to you.

An analysis, published in 2001, of mtDNA differences and microsatellite location in somatic DNA reveals very weak differences. The paper suggests the need for a revision of its taxonomy at the subspecies level (Eizirik, et al., 2001). For the purposes of captive management and public education, the Jaguar Species Survival Plan considers Panthera onca a single species without subspecific designation.

Source: www.jaguarssp.org/Animal%20Mgmt/JAGUAR%20HUSBANDRY%20MANUAL.pdf

And here the article from 2001 by Eizirik, etc. : www.procarnivoros.org.br/pdfs/oncaMolEcol.pdf

[Melanie]

A new article about Jaguars in Arizona

Experts to collar jaguar
Tracking plan spurs outcry from enviros
By Tony Davis
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.01.2006
advertisementLORDSBURG, N.M — One specimen of America's most elusive big cat species may soon wear a collar around its neck.
A team of government scientists voted unanimously here last week to recommend capturing and radio-collaring one of a handful of jaguars known to live in the United States, to learn more about its behavior.
Since game agencies in Arizona and New Mexico must approve the trapping, it probably will be late this year before it occurs, Arizona Game and Fish officials said Friday.
A prime purpose for radio-collaring would be to follow a jaguar's movements, along river corridors or through mountain ranges, to help authorities learn which areas most need protection in the name of the species.
A new report on jaguar conservation from the two states' Game and Fish departments recommends the conservation of key jaguar habitat, particularly lands linking northern Mexico with southwestern U.S. states. But authorities say that little is known about precisely which habitats the animal uses.
The report doesn't spell out how this land would be conserved. One key point on most Jaguar Conservation Team members' minds last week was to make sure that any measures carried out to fortify the U.S.-Mexican border against illegal immigration don't block cross-border jaguar movements.
Many team members said in interviews that they oppose the idea of a fence straddling the border as some congressmen have proposed, although the team hasn't taken a stand on the fence.
But the capture of a jaguar will clearly be controversial.
Three environmental groups — which aren't represented on the conservation team — have protested the idea. The Sky Island Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity contend that the stress of capture is risky for the animal.
Two jaguars died in 2002 and 2003 after being captured in Sonora for radio-collaring — two of the three research-based jaguar captures ever made in Sonora.
The most recent death stemmed from overstress, overheating and probably an overdose of the tranquilizer used to subdue the animal. These problems were all caused by improper capture techniques and equipment and by inexperienced personnel, said Emil McCain. He was a technician in that event and is now lead biologist for the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project, a team of private researchers operating out of Amado, south of Tucson.
But jaguars have been captured and studied successfully by dozens of researchers through their range in Mexico and Central and South America, McCain said. Researchers know how to avoid a repeat of the two Sonoran deaths, he said.
"If you are going to provide a sound future for the jaguar, you've got to know its needs, and that's completely unknown today" in the Southwest, McCain said. "Radio telemetry has been the best tool in the wildlife-research community for the past 35 years."
But environmentalists remain nervous.
There may be at most a small number of jaguars in the United States, Michael Robinson, carnivore conservation coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity, said at Friday's meeting. "Jaguars are much more likely than other animals to fight back. The risks are greater than to mountain lions or black bears.''
He questioned whether the team's stated goal — "healthy jaguar conservation" — was specific enough to justify the risks of capture.
What does one animal tell you about the potential for recovery of the jaguar species, added Sergio Avila, wildlife biologist for the Sky Island Alliance: "Nothing. You cannot generalize from that to what all jaguars will do."
Supporters of the idea on the conservation team, however, say that they must start somewhere with an animal this rare in the United States. Four jaguars have been confirmed seen or photographed in the United States in recent years. If this effort works, authorities may capture more animals in the future, supporters said.
"What do you learn from studying nothing? You start with baby steps, and see what you learn," said Terry Johnson, an Arizona Game and Fish official who chairs the Jaguar Conservation Team. "You need enough information to be able to manage wisely. If the information proves not to warrant that kind of cost of investment or it proves inappropriate for some other reasons, you stop.''
As is now planned, the capture effort would use U.S. Wildlife Services and its dogs to find the jaguar, but once the animal is caught, a biologist experienced in jaguar handling would then tranquilize and immobilize the animal, McCain said.
On StarNet: How much is our government spending on endangered and threatened species? Check our searchable database at azstarnet.com/wildlife

[Melanie]

Jaguar sighted this year during N.M. hunt trip
By Tony Davis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.01.2006
advertisementLORDSBURG, N.M. — At first, when the mountain lion hunters in the hills of Southwest New Mexico saw that one of their dogs had its throat cut, they thought the attacker was a javelina, protecting its young.
Instead, it turned out to be a jaguar, the third recent confirmed in-person sighting of the big cat in the Southwestern United States.
This one occurred in the "Boot Heel" country of the Animas Mountains about 15 miles east of the Arizona border and a mile and a half north of the Mexican border.
The man who spotted and photographed this jaguar on Feb. 20 was Warner Glenn, a Douglas-area rancher and lion hunter who made the first recent confirmed U.S. jaguar sighting in March 1996.
Glenn saw the jaguar under a tree at the bottom of a hillside while chasing one of his dogs. The dog had gotten away from the rancher's lion-hunting party of seven people, including his daughter Kelly Kimbro.
"It took me five minutes to ride down there, to get down the mountain," Glenn recalled last week in an interview. "It was pretty rough. I got to the bottom where the dogs were baying the jaguar, who was backed up under a cedar tree. At that point, I told them on the radio to get down there and help me. He had bitten three of the dogs."
The animal then ran toward others in the hunting party, and then toward Glenn, before leaving "in kind of a long trot" toward the higher part of the mountains.
Before the cat ran away, Glenn photographed him, looking smooth and sleek on a rock on or near a bluff.
The jaguar weighed about 175 to 200 pounds and looked "very healthy," Glenn said at Thursday's Jaguar Conservation Team meeting in Lordsburg. "There's not a blemish on him anywhere."
As for the dogs, all are now fine, with none having been bitten any deeper than into their flesh and hide. None sustained any broken bones. "I had a little veterinary bill but other than that they were fine," Glenn said.
Glenn's March 1996 confirmed U.S. jaguar sighting was in the Peloncillo Mountains at the Arizona-New Mexico border. Six months later, fellow lion hunter Jack Childs and his party treed, photographed and videotaped another adult male jaguar in the Baboquivari Mountains southwest of Tucson. In addition, a fourth adult male jaguar was photographed in Arizona with a remote sensing camera, first in December 2001 about 4.5 miles north of the Mexican border and again in August 2003, 3.75 miles north of there..
Common in the Southwest until the beginning of the 20th century, the jaguar has ranged south through Mexico and Central America to as far south as Argentina. But a recent survey determined that the animal now occupies only 46 percent of its former range, and it was deemed virtually extirpated in the United States by the mid-1900s.
Evidence exists of only three reports of breeding jaguars in Arizona, the last in about 1910. The jaguar declined sharply in this country through most of the 20th century due to predator-control activities to protect livestock and to human settlement in general, according to a new report from the Arizona and New Mexico Game and Fish Departments. A minimum of 64 jaguars were killed in Arizona after 1900, the report said. The most recent killing came in 1986.

www.azstarnet.com/altsn/snredesign/relatedarticles/127035

[another specialist]

Arizona Jaguar
Panthera onca arizonensis

Jaguar




www.co.pima.az.us/cmo/sdcp/sdcp2/fsheets/Jaguar.jpg

Pantera onca arizonensis


The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest cat native to the Western Hemisphere. It is characterized by yellowish-brown fur with dark rosette markings. The lower region of the tail is ringed in black and the tips of the ears have black edges. Jaguars are powerfully built, with large heads and strong limbs. The weight of an adult male averages around 120­200 pounds, while the females weigh slightly less.


Habitat:
The jaguar's habitat varies from wet lowland habitats on its center range to arid habitats along its northern range.

Range:
The jaguar can be a far ranging animal, traveling distances up to 500 miles. They may become sedentary depending on availability of food. The jaguar is territorial and marks its boundaries with scents. The home range of the jaguar is between 10 and 40 square kilometers.1 In North America, the historic range of the jaguar included Arizona up to the Grand Canyon and the mountains south of it, southwest New Mexico, and southeast California. The current range is considered by many to include Mexico, Central America, and as far south as Argentina in South America.2

Reproduction:
Jaguars breed year round with about a 100-day gestation period. A litter of one to four cubs is usually produced, with the average being two cubs. Cubs remain with their mother for two years. A female jaguar matures at three years, a male at four years of age.

Diet:
The jaguar's diet includes up to eighty-five species. Some prey species include the javelina, deer, turtle, birds, fish, and livestock. On the U.S. and Mexico borderlands, javelina and deer are presumed to be the jaguar's primary food source.

Status:
On July 22, 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted endangered status to the jaguar throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The jaguar is now listed endangered in the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. In the United States, illegal shooting is the greatest threat to the jaguar.2

Jaguars and Pima County:
In Arizona, there have been at least 64 jaguars killed since 1900. Within the past twenty years, several confirmed sightings have occurred in Pima County. In 1988, a jaguar was observed in Altar Valley and in the Baboquivari Mountains March of 1996, a jaguar was spotted and confirmed with video and photographs. In 2001, a young male jaguar was documented by a motion activated camera south of Tucson, near the Mexican border. Unconfirmed sightings have been reported in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Southeastern Pima County has been included as potential habitat for the jaguar (as designated by the Jaguar Conservation Committee).3 Possible habitat sites have been identified as south of I-10, and includes mountain ranges in southeast Arizona and as far west as the Baboquivari Mountains. The Rincon Mountains have also been included for several reasons: 1) the historic presence of jaguars, 2) the funnel effect created by the Rincons, Santa Rita, and Empire mountains, 3) the connecting corridor to the Empire Mountains (currently used by other big predators).4

In order to thrive or even persist in Arizona, the jaguar needs to be protected from death by shooting or traps. An adequate food base and movement corridors connected to source populations in Mexico are needed.

www.co.pima.az.us/cmo/sdcp/sdcp2/fsheets/jaguar.html

[another specialist]

The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas. Historically the cats ranged from the Southwestern parts of the United States to Northern Argentina. In California the last jaguar was killed in the 1860’s. In Arizona the last jaguar was seen in the late 1980’s. In New Mexico a jaguar was seen in 1998. It is thought the cat is a transit animal that ranged out of Mexico. They now believe that the population base for these cats coming to the United States is located about 130 miles South of the Mexican border. The jaguar is disappearing from countries in Central America due to human encroachment. Although some countries like Belize have set up National Parks for the jaguar. The largest densities of jaguars are thought to be in areas of Brazil. The Amazon seems to have the highest populations. Other areas such as the Pantanal in Western Brazil and the Chaco region of Northern Paraguay are thought to have high densities of jaguars.

www.cathaven.com/education/cat_facts_jaguars.htm

[another specialist]

1997: In the United States, a primary threat to this species is illegal shooting. A minimum of 64 jaguars were killed in Arizona since 1900. The most recent individual killed in Arizona was in 1986. Loss and modification of the jaguar's habitat are likely to have contributed to its decline. While only a few individuals are known to survive in the United States (Arizona and New Mexico), the presence of the species in the United States is believed to be dependent on the status of the jaguar in northern Mexico. Documented observations are as recent as 1996. Critical habitat was found to not be prudent and therefore is not being designated (Federal Register, 1997) *38*.

www.fw.vt.edu/fishex/nmex_main/species/050315.htm

[Melanie]

rediscovered and perhaps not valid anymore

extinctanimals.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=generalra&action=display&thread=1107381243

[another specialist]

Thanks for info but were they confirmed as being of this race or just captive animals released?
As we known this causes a big problem especially in the USA people releasing their unwanted exotic pets and causing unconfirmed sighting and odd pics here and there but without any specimens to be tested on can't confirm the true identity.

Also read other thread has any more been found out if it is invalid or not? has it been confirmed yet has it?

Also the articles mentioned do say that they believe that its the same animal photographed previously - so has anymore than just that single one been found. If not and it belongs to this subspecies it's still effectively extinct as it has no mate and can't reproduce..
A bit like lonesome george on the galopagos islands - effectively extinct....

[another specialist]

Plus if it's been confirmed as found shouldn't it be removed from the main list of extinct animals on the main site?

[Peter]

It is not yet confirmed yet! However, latest research show that were none valid jaguar subspecies or at least not many. Don't know exactly by head. Jaguars in zoos for example should from now all be seen as one species, without subspecies. What's the case with the Arizona Jaguar is not yet clear to me.

[another specialist]

So at present until further notice it's should be classed as valid and extinct until confirmed officially.....

[Melanie]

Well i think the confirmation would be a little difficult. The individuals which where seen in the past years in Arizona came from the Mexican border. And as far as i know there are no preserved specimens of Felis onca arizonensis available.

[lenny]

This is just another VERY bad example, which show how they so called "scientists" just lump several subspecies into one, this is very stupid and dangerous.

What I mean is, the Jaguar lives from South North America south to Argentina, its to me impossible that there is not a single subspecies, and what is dangerous with this is that subspecies that are rare today are going extinct without even have a chans to get protected before its to late, because if the jaguar are are single subspecies, its not longer endangered, the species is not in danger of becoming extinct, it has far to big range for that, if the jaguar would be a single subspecies, there is over 60000 left in the world, even more in zoos, they are regulary introduced, this is what is dangerous when you just lump several subspecies into one, I dont think that it is right.