Latin America
Related: About this forumJaguars Could Return to the US Southwest, But Only If They Have Pathways to Move North
APRIL 21, 2022
BY GANESH MARIN JOHN KOPROWSKI
Jaguars are the only species of big cat found on the American continent. They range as far south as Argentina, and once roamed as far north as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. Today the northernmost breeding population is in the northwest Mexican state of Sonora, just south of the border with Arizona.
In the Americas, the jaguar has long been an icon and symbol of power and connection to the spiritual world in mythology, philosophies, culture and art. Jaguars are apex predators with diverse diets that include more than 85 different prey species. This gives them a specific but prominent role in each ecosystem where they are found.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies jaguars as near threatened, with total population estimates ranging between 64,000 and 173,000. But evidence shows that local populations across the continent are decreasing at alarming rates. Jaguars total range has shrunk by more than half in the past 70 years, mainly because of hunting and habitat loss.
We dubbed the second jaguar Valerio. Lately, he has been spotted more frequently than El Bonito in the Cajon Bonito stream area.
More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/21/jaguars-could-return-to-the-us-southwest-but-only-if-they-have-pathways-to-move-north/
Valerio, a second jaguar in the US-Mexico borderlands
Apr 19, 2022
Botany
(70,516 posts)n/t
2naSalit
(86,646 posts)Clearest image of a jaguar I have ever seen from a trail-cam.
Beautiful!
Maine Abu El Banat
(3,479 posts)For their safety, not mine.
Karma13612
(4,552 posts)As we speak. Theres a glint in his eye, and his teeth are especially shiny, just waiting for the big day.
Traildogbob
(8,748 posts)And think of the guns in the southwest and love for shootin up lives. We tried to reintroduce a gone Red wolf species in WNC. They got killed by idiots thinking the big bad wolf would eat their kids and Little Red Riding Hood.
Dont get me wrong, there IS a Fox species I would love to see go extinct. Its a rabid, killing machine and has distinctive red markings on it head.
In nature the color RED is a warning sign. Seems to be a prominent color of danger and idiocracy in humans.
Karma13612
(4,552 posts)Wonder how many tins of Friskies that beauty would consume in a day!!
All kidding aside, thanks for sharing!
3Hotdogs
(12,390 posts)Montain Lions?
drmeow
(5,019 posts)are technically not always classified as "big cats." A very strict taxonomy only considers Panthera to be big cats (tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard). Cheetahs and cougars are non-pantherine large cats.
Mountain Lions (cougars) have been reported in New Jersey in the past few years. One report in the Pine Barrens and another in Morris County, northern N.J.
IronLionZion
(45,450 posts)and we have mountain lions too if lynx and bobcat are not "big cats".
flamingdem
(39,313 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)Published 3:49 AM ET, Mon April 25, 2022
12 images with information at link:
https://us.cnn.com/2022/04/25/americas/gallery/jaguars-belize-maya-forest-corridor-scn-c2e-spc-intl/index.html