Day 718: June 27th, 2021. Jaguars, the biggest wild cat found in the Americas, is typically thought of as a jungle cat - often found in Central and South American rainforests. But historically, they could also be found in the southern-reaches of the United States. Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, even Colorado, Louisiana, and California were home to them at one point. Their habitat has undoubtedly changed/diminished as colonists expanded west, but they can still be found in the states. . Jaguars found in northern Mexico and the southern United States aren't as jungle-y as their southern brothers and sisters, but they are elusive because they keep to themselves in arid mountainous areas. For decades, it was believed that settlers had eradicated the big cats (in order to protect their livestock) north of the border, but in 1996, the first photographs of a live jaguar in the United States emerged. Since, there have been multiple jaguar sightings in Arizona and New Mexico, largely pointing to a re-establishing population. It's hard to say just how many jaguars live in the United States, but some models predict that up to 150 big cats could be living in the Southwest. . Today, of the 20 million acres of potential jaguar habitat, the U.S. Forest Service manages 68 percent, and another 13 percent are managed by Native American tribes. It's a big swath of area, but it doesn't mean the jaguars are worry-free. Urbanization, desertification, and the creation of a border wall or other barriers could be detrimental to an American population of jaguars. Depending on the amount of jaguars actually living in the United States already, the population could be self-sustaining - but geographic isolation is never good news for the long-term survival of a species. . . Read more about jaguars in the United States: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lets-rebuild-the-u-s-jaguar-population-mdash-yes-jaguars/ ...Or read about them here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/jaguar-near-arizona-border-wall-mexico . Graphic shows a jaguar. The factoid reads: "The United States could be home to up to 150 jaguars, a potentially self-sustaining population." . . #jaguar #northamericanjaguar #northamericananimals #bigcats #arizonajaguar #mexicojaguar #southwestanimals #southwestunitedstates #animalconservation #conservation #animalfacts #animalart #pixelplanet #pixelplanettoday #pixelart #planetfacts