Arizona Game and Fish officials are analyzing a recent trail camera photo of either a jaguar or ocelot sighted southeast of Tucson.
The photo was taken Sept. 23 and submitted by a sportsman. It includes only the tail and a small portion of a hind quarter of the animal, making positive identification more difficult, they say.
Game and Fish is consulting with outside experts about the photo to better identify the species.
Four of the last five confirmed jaguar sightings in Arizona have been reported by hunters.
Sportsmen also provided Game and Fish with two sets of trail camera photos of an ocelot in Tucson’s Huachuca Mountains last year.
Jaguars have been protected in the United States since 1997. Ocelots have been under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1982.
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