Jaguar Background and Recovery

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest cat native to North America and the third largest cat in the world. The name is from the South American Indian word "yaguara," meaning "animal that overcomes prey with a single bound."

Today, due to habitat loss, fragmentation and over-hunting only an estimated 15,000 jaguars remain in the wild and they are considered endangered throughout their entire range, from the southwestern United States to Argentina. 

Nowhere is this problem more apparent than in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands where, within one human lifetime, the unique American jaguar has been virtually eliminated from its entire U.S. range.

Long-term Jaguar Recovery Goal

Defenders' long- term goal is to return jaguars to a significant portion of their historic range by expanding the population in Mexico and preserving migratory routes into appropriate areas in the U.S.

Current Jaguar Population and Range

Nearest remaining jaguar population to the U.S.: Sonora, Mexico - - approximately 130 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border, however individual jaguars remain in the U.S. Remote cameras have documented that one of these male jaguars has been living in the remote mountains Southeastern Arizona for the past 10 years.

Population: 70-100 jaguars
Found near the confluence of the Bavispe and Aros Rivers in northern Sonora.  Fortunately, this population is within dispersal distance to suitable habitats in the United States and may be connected to other small populations in Southern Sonora.

Tragically, jaguars continue to be killed at an alarming and unsustainable rate.  Recent losses to poachers and hunters have included females and kittens, which poses a significant threat to this unique population of the world’s northernmost jaguars.

Losses such as these make it evident that the most time-sensitive need is to immediately protect this remaining source population of American jaguars from excessive killing. Defenders is working In the Field to accomplish this by monitoring jaguars through a Jaguar Guardian program and establishing the Northern Jaguar Reserve to serve as a stronghold for the population.  Defenders is also helping to build local support for conservation, minimizing predator/livestock conflicts and implementing programs which will change the local community's perception of the jaguar from a liability to an asset.