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In recent decades, the Jaguars that have been sighted in the US are as likely to be escapees or released from private owners as they are to be truly wild. We, here in the US, have a problem with stupid people releasing exotic pets .......... after all, the country with the greatest tiger population on earth is the good old USA.

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I agree 100%. A full grown adult Jaguar or any other big cat will cross into new territory only if it needs new territory for food or for breeding. The SW may have some Coues deer, Javalina, Mulies & Elk that the cats can feed on. But are jaguars so abundant below the border that they need to colonise new territory a la whitetails in the north? If the territory had females in heat, people / researchers would hear them roaring when in heat. The odd animal sighted could be an escapee / released one or one that was chased north by dogs. I will believe that the Jaguar is a naturally occurring wild animal in the US when there is research proving breeding pairs are active for a full season & cubs are around for a while.

I hope no idiot releases a pair. The cubs would starve in all probability as the adults would not have learned to hunt large pray and they will need such pray to raise cubs.

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Looks like this very thing just happened - single leopard though:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20080622/Dead.Leopard/

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