"A lone male roves the Arizona mountains, and a female has been spotted just across the border in Mexico. The sightings raise hopes for the species, despite serious threats."
"Movement triggers a trail camera in a wildlife preserve in northern Sonora, Mexico, two miles south of the border with the United States. It captures two adult jaguars winding through oak thickets and tall grasses. The cats look relaxed, softly vocalizing to each other.
It’s remarkable to see any jaguars in these borderlands. But to observe two together is unheard-of, said Ganesh Marín, a researcher with the environmental group Borderlands Restoration Network. Even more jaw-dropping is that one of the big cats looks to be a female. “When I saw it, I was excited,” Dr. Marín said of watching the video in 2023. “I thought, This is fantastic.”
No native female jaguars have been seen in the United States, or anywhere particularly close, for over 70 years. So Dr. Marín waited for more evidence before he went public. He collected several more sightings of the cat, which he and his adviser named Adela. Then, this year, a camera-trap video surfaced that gave a clear view of another jaguar’s rear end, proving, according to Dr. Marín and other cat experts, that the individual in question is a female.
“It’s a game changer,” said Eamon Harrity, a researcher with Sky Island Alliance, a conservation science group.
Including Adela, five or six jaguars have been recorded at the wildlife preserve, Cuenca Los Ojos, since 2020, suggesting that the jaguar is closer than previously thought to re-establishing a population on the doorstep of the United States. “It totally deflates the narrative that female jaguars are over 100 miles to the south,” Mr. Harrity said. “They could be a day away from the U.S., or already here.” At the same time, the only known jaguar in the United States, a male named Cinco, has been roaming throughout southern Arizona. He has everything he needs — except a mate."
Douglas Main reports for the New York Times with photographs by Celia Talbot Tobin August 17, 2026.
