Research overview: Macho B and jaguar monitoring in Arizona

Macho B was a male jaguar photographed repeatedly over many years in southern Arizona, long considered the last known wild jaguar in the United States, until his capture, collaring, and subsequent death amid controversy in 2009. This overview discusses what his long photographic record revealed about jaguar persistence and movement along the borderlands, and how the circumstances of his ill-fated collaring became a cautionary tale about capture ethics and welfare in endangered-species research. The episode prompted scrutiny of when and how rare animals should be handled for telemetry. The overview frames Macho B both as evidence of the United States as occasional jaguar habitat and as a landmark in debates over the responsibilities that accompany invasive tracking of critically rare cats.