Zathrus~SPARTA~ Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Hello all, you may have seen the photos of the beautiful land I drove through last week. http://www.legionofspartans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/11777-short-day-adventure/ This land is in the southern end of the Santa Rita Mountains, and is the home of the only documented Jaguar living in the USA. The Jaguar living in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona has been photographed less than 30 miles from the center of downtown Tucson AZ. They held a nationwide contest to name him since he is the first to take up residence here. They have over 100 photos of him with game cameras over the last 3 years. A local middle school won the contest with the name "EL Jefe" which is spanish for "The Boss" Considering his size... he is the top of the food chain in Arizona.... so his name is appropriate I think. Jaguars are the third largest cat on the planet, with only Tigers and Lions being larger. The largest Jaguar ever encountered and documented was a large male that weighed 348 pounds (156 Kilos) so they can get very large. Most Jaguars are in the 200 pound to 300 pound range. I really like the name they chose for him as it is very fitting. He is the top of the food chain in Arizona for certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaiSan Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Some twat (or Dentist) will no doubt think he's 'the man' by shooting him with something other than a camera at some point. Until then he most definitely deserves the name (and a mate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathrus~SPARTA~ Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) oh man... I feel sorry for the poor son of a bitch that ever made the mistake of shooting a Jaguar. They became protected somewhere around 1963... one has been shot since then... by mistake and I think even though it was an error reported by the guy who shot it, the penalties were extremely severe. He was hunting Mountain lion, and was permitted to do so....but fucked up and paid the price. I think the fines are 100's of thousands of dollars and something like 20 years in jail for shooting an endangered animal here. Although this is the only documented one, there are more. There is a large breeding population now in northern Mexico within about 120 miles of Tucson. Edited November 6, 2015 by Zathrus~SPARTA~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cylawyer~SPARTA~ Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'm sure he has dipped down for a little Senorita Pussy-cat action! Don't think he isn't aware of that south of the border action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathrus~SPARTA~ Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) haha yes... it is where he is likely from originally actually. He has been here roughly 8 years as far as we know, but he is about 15 years old.... you know he is out "catin around" down south periodically They have been watching for a female in the area but so far none. The area they have been monitoring is fairly small considering the territorial range of a male Jaguar (up to 80 square kilometers) Females tend to have about half that territorial range. They remain solitary most of the time... even mating pairs remain solitary. Females will not tolerate males around once they give birth to cubs. Like Tigers, male Jaguars are prone to infanticide so females will not tolerate a male anywhere in her territory when she has cubs. The females must be really badass fighters considering the male can be twice the size of a female.... yet success of the species indicates the females successfully keep males away... I think anyone who has been married for a significant amount of time understands this since wives do seem to have the ability to create environments periodically that make us want to evacuate the area wait... did I say that out loud? oh crap hope the wife doesn't come sit down and start reading Edited November 6, 2015 by Zathrus~SPARTA~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathrus~SPARTA~ Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 The diversity of wildlife here is amazing. Partly because much of Arizona is high altitude desert (not Phoenix!) and therefore more "Arid Savannah" than desert. Much of the northern half of Arizona is above 5000 feet in altitude because your either in the White Mountains or on the Colorado Plateau. The area I live in is at 3000 feet... which is really as high as you dare live if you don't want snow often during winter. It has already snowed extensively in the mountains outside my window. They range in height from 5500 to 9200 feet in height. There is even a ski resort up on Mt. Lemmon... which I can see from my front door. Here at 2950 feet, I get maybe one or two snows per year. They usually have melted away and are nothing but a memory by midday the next day. Above 5000 feet in the mountains here they develop a decent snow pack each winter that will last all winter and into the beginning of spring. In the desert, mountain ranges are an island oasis that has plentiful water and vegetation because rapid terrain elevation changes cause moisture to precipitate out into rain or snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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