Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Female Jaguar’s Return to America Faces Trump’s Border Wall
Jaguars once lived in parts of the United States, including Arizona.
But hunters killed the last known female jaguar in the country in 1949.
In recent years, male jaguars have been seen in a Mexican wildlife reserve near the border.
Researchers recently filmed a female jaguar there and named her Adela.
This could mean jaguars might naturally return to the United States.
Jaguars usually live and hunt alone, so seeing a possible pair is important.
However, a border wall has blocked many routes animals use to move between Mexico and the United States.
The wall may make it harder for jaguars to reach their former habitat.
Male jaguars have been observed in Mexico’s Cuenca Los Ojos reserve for five years.
Researchers recently recorded Adela, the first female jaguar seen so close to the United States in nearly 70 years.
Arizona was once part of the jaguar’s natural range.
The last female jaguar in the United States was killed by a hunter in 1949.
Since 2025, the border wall has blocked three of four wildlife corridors between the United States and Mexico.
- Who
- Researchers and jaguars, including a female named Adela; the article also identifies Donald Trump’s border-wall policy as an obstacle.
- What
- A female jaguar was filmed near the United States, raising the possibility of the species returning to its former American habitat.
- When
- Male jaguars have been observed over the last five years; the female was filmed earlier this month; the wall has blocked corridors since 2025.
- Where
- The sightings occurred in the Cuenca Los Ojos wildlife reserve in Mexico, across the border from Arizona.
- Why
- The jaguar’s possible return is threatened because the border wall has blocked three of four wildlife corridors in the area.
- Female jaguar
- Researchers named the recently filmed jaguar Adela.
- Location
- Cuenca Los Ojos wildlife reserve in Mexico, across the border from Arizona.
- Recent sightings
- Male jaguars have been spotted in the reserve over the last five years.
- Historical range
- Arizona was once part of the jaguar’s natural range.
- Last U.S. female
- The last female jaguar in the United States was killed by a hunter in 1949.
- Blocked corridors
- Since 2025, the border wall has blocked three of four wildlife corridors in the area.