The Debate Over Reintroducing Jaguars to North America

Taken from JRE #1914 w/Steve Rinella:
open.spotify.com/episode/5gmv...

[@JMW_JMW_JMW]

This country will not be whole again until Jaguars are walking down Fifth Avenue, I've been screaming this at people for years now.

[@DailyCorvid]

And when are they going to consider letting you back out?

[@xavierlehew6746]

@@DailyCorvid We keep telling the city dont let the Jaguar guy out but they just wont listen

[@jimkirk4357]

Lol. That's hilarious. Thank you for that.😂

[@SuperTed.]

What a jag off

[@kasiecastleberry]

Haaaaa

[@stephengallagher2209]

As a North-American jaguar in recovery, I just try to take one day at a time.

[@Dontbustthecrust]

Work the steps brother.

[@JDOPost]

California…send this man his money!!

[@rsm2580]

Keep your head up king!

[@elperronimo]

When I went to the monkey temple in Cusco Peru I saw a Jaguar skull shimmering in the rock. The shaman said my spirit is a Jaguar. The gods- they chose me, and I didn't even graduate from fuckin high school

[@johns1625]

As a Wal-Mart bag, kkksshhhshskskhsh. Hssshshskkshkhshksh. Kksshskshkksshhh.

[@mbuckholz]

I used to work at a golf course in Southern Tucson in the Sonoran desert, I have 100% seen a Jaguar early in the morning climbing the fence line. It was awesome

[@ChrisRJ]

Too much peyote the night before

[@austinturer7372]

There’s definitely jags down there

[@Ted-Lares]

@@ChrisRJ animals migrate and try finding new territories just like humans. Just cause we removed lots of their natural habitats doesn’t mean 1-2 can’t sometimes make it back. Nature always finds a way

[@chadwells7562]

@@ChrisRJThat area is known to have jaguars

[@TopTierTrophy]

Alot of jaguars are in mexico

[@ryan370]

Such a small thing that I love about these podcasts is that Joe isn't afraid to ask simple questions when he doesn't know things. Where most people would nod their head to look smart, Joe says "where's the platte river" so that he fully understands the story

[@gtpflug2987]

Yea, and the other guy kind of had an idea. Its actually in Nebraska.

[@thokim84]

The jaguars of America went down around the same time as the California grizzly. When they industrialized the Colorado River basin, there was no continuous habitat anymore from the border to the interior of the Colorado plateau. Jaguars used to roam Zion and the Grand Canyon 100-130 years ago.

[@puapucuve6643]

Jaguars were extirpated by ranchers and poachers. Jaguars would still be thriving had the US been more tolerant. Additionally, the border wall made matters worse.

[@dariog36th]

@@puapucuve6643jaguars are a fascinating animal. Unlike other apex predators they do not go after easy prey. Ranchers in Brazil were killing them left and right fearful that they would attack their cattle but stopped once they saw that a Jaguar would rather hunt a caiman in the water than go after a cattle. Also where there’s cattle there’s people and Jaguars try to avoid human interaction. They reintroduced the Jaguar to Argentina and Ranchers were also fearful but the Jaguar is thriving and cattle ranchers have nothing to worry about. I think same would happen in the US.

[@birdman007]

Someone just found a Jaguar near the southern border in Arizona

[@Geezuse]

@@birdman007 just saw this on youtube

[@maskcollector6949]

@@dariog36th I'd feel much safer around Jaguars than Mountain Lions.

[@stephenthomas7298]

Jaguars are the only feline that have webbed feet, adapted for swimming and hunting in the water. Badass cats

[@DaHoneyBadger]

Do Jaguars have fully webbed paws? Because I read and saw that fishing cats also have partially webbed paws

[@candancejohnston]

Tigers technically do too

[@H3nzWatermess]

Alot of cats do, jaguars are just more popular, there's some small but lethal wild cats with webbed feet out there, you can search fishing cat and there's another I'm forgetting right now but it's in the same family so should be easy enough to find info about if you really wanted to know

[@-.__.447]

Tigers have webbed paws

[@ericelander9936]

When I was a kid in the sixties, teenager in seventies, my family had a World Book Encyclopedia from 1942. Think it was my maternal grandmother's. The section on WWII was still in doubt. Anyway, I was fascinated by jaguars and still remember reading the entry about them. It stated that their range in the US was as far north as my state of Arkansas. I spent many days in the woods of our farm looking for one.

[@Jboogie314]

Good thing you didn’t find one lol

[@PaleAleMan24]

I'm SouthernAZ and a local guy has caugh on trail cameras, a Jaguar and Ocelot, in the mountains just south of tucson.

[@vitorbastos123]

I follow that guy's insta. He's awesome!

[@achd5083]

I remember the story of one Jaguar that was in southern Arizona. Full grown male they'd been tracking and keeping an eye on and was believed to be the only Jaguar in Arizona at the time until one day he disappeared. Took a couple months but Mexican wildlife control/study (whatever they call themselves) eventually found him. He'd left the mountains in southern Arizona and hopped the border so he could impregnate every female jaguar he could find in Mexico. Last I'd read he still hasn't returned to the U.S.

[@DailyCorvid]

Your making this Jaguar sound like fucking Johnny Cash.

[@Dcll8451]

Player ass jaguar

[@TheTurdFerguson22]

Nice

[@AtibaVV]

Last Jaguar in America dipped to smash spicy latina jaguars, gotit.

[@DailyCorvid]

@@AtibaVV Can you blame em? Ahh those spicy latina jaguarsa they're the best type of pussy to unleash upon unsuspecting couples making their homes. Lol to the sound of porn music :D

[@LilLou97]

Imagine you just casually walk to the corner store in Houston, and the second you walk out there’s a big ass Jaguar waiting for you.

[@emani2704]

Jaguar don't see human as prey. In India and Africa people just pass by from their side and they do nothing.

[@JaydenDimaio]

@@emani2704 there's no jaguars in India or Africa.

[@Dontbustthecrust]

I've seen bear and mountain lion in Colorado like that. Just chilling outside a 7-11.

[@fluteloop6737]

Sounds racist

[@synchro-dentally1965]

More likely it will be a Tiger

[@Just1Spark]

When people fear nature, they dont need to invent reasons to get offended. 'Going to get the mail' just got alot more productive, for all of society.

[@Josue-qb7cq]

I've always thought of pumas being more specialized in living in alpine regions (except for the florida panther), and jaguars specialized in tropical/subtropical climates with lots of warm water, but it seems like these jaguars in question are able to live in arid mountainous environments as well. I would've thought jaguars would thrive in the swamps and woods along the gulf of mexico.

[@sauron6977]

Dude, during Pleistocene Jaguars lived even in Europe. They can adapt to different environments

[@timothyvanhoeck233]

Nah, Jaguars used to be far more widespread across the Americas, about as much if not more so than the Puma.

[@timothyvanhoeck233]

​@@sauron6977 You're thinking of Leopards. Jaguars and their extinct relatives are exclusively new world cats.

[@BasePuma4007]

Pumas/cougers just need forests and a lack of human development because they require large ranges to get enough calories. In Canada and the US, those regions where there are both forests and a low human population density just happen to be in mountainous regions.

[@Dell-ol6hb]

@@sauron6977 there was never Jaguars in Europe, you’re thinking of Leopards or Lions, both of which did in fact live in Europe not too long ago. Along with Hyenas too

[@daveelitz2492]

They are starting to win some games

[@jackdenihan5333]

😂

[@sazimi101]

Thank god uncle finger bang isn’t there anymore

[@PlumbingGroyper]

Wait until they hear about Lions

[@PlumbingGroyper]

Shit, Bengals might be taking over the world

[@Garcia19Delta]

Hell the panthers may have a chance 😂

[@WiLDCATZ]

The habitat in Northern Mexico across the entire US southern border has largely the same climate. 150-200 years ago there were stable populations of Jaguars, Ocelots, Pumas and Bobcats from Arizona to as far east as northern Louisiana. The last Jaguar in Texas was shot in the 1940s. There's an excellent PBS documentary that recently came out about the small Ocelot population clinging on in Southern Texas in 2/3 separate populations on private ranches separated by suburbs and towns. They went down to Mexico and virtually identical habitat where the aforementioned 4 species still live side by side as they have for millions of years. As cool as Jaguars would be to reintroduce in rural, badlands or swampy areas of the border regions, the wildcats we do have like the Ocelot or West Texas Pumas should be saved from extinction. I think it's the ultimate human hubris and arrogance to think we need to "manage" wildlife in totally desolate uninhabited places. They still use horrible rusty steel paw traps in remote west Texas to "hunt" Pumas. And they often sit there for days or weeks in the trap suffering and die of exposure or predation. There was a great documentary that also came out this year called "Deep in the heart of Texas" that highlighted that. Very interesting stuff.

[@clifford_2zero7]

The steel traps disgust me. I come from a family of hunters and outdoorsmen and i totally have no issues with responsible hunting. My grandfather has a large trophy room full of mounts from hunts. I grew up on a lot of local venison, moose, fish etc but the whole bear trap thing i always had an issue with. That's just cruelty and a bitch move on the hunter. We have enough advantages as is. Anyways, I agree. We should do our best to preserve what is there and endangered though it does sound cool i dont think anyone should do this

[@LucasJackson_37]

Sooo quick question, if wildlife doesn't need to be managed..then why would you have to reintroduce them anywhere ever? Asking for a friend

[@Mr.Saltwater]

@@LucasJackson_37 we killed most of the Buffaloes 🐃 manage that?

[@WiLDCATZ]

​@@clifford_2zero7 Completely agree. Responsible hunting of game as you pointed out is perfectly fine in my book. And managing species in dense human populated areas I can understand. Just not out in the complete wilderness 10s if not 100s of miles away from a major population center. And yep, let's focus on what's here rather than what isn't.

[@WiLDCATZ]

@@LucasJackson_37 I didn't say wildlife shouldn't be managed at all without any exceptions. Read it again.

[@fngcell2041]

Honestly reintroducing the jaguar would help a lot towards the boar problem the southern states have been having introducing a predator like that for population control could be a good thing since the boars are wiping out entire farms of crops

[@angrypredator2704]

That’s just about crazy enough to work

[@malcolmkeith816]

Until they start eating live stock

[@Dcll8451]

@@malcolmkeith816there’s so much boar I doubt them eating livestock would be a problem.

[@Atkrdu]

I think wolves would be a better idea: the hogs could swarm & jaguars could get stealthy & eat someone’s kid (jumping fences, hiding in culverts or under cars, etc…).

[@rockhoya10]

That’s a good point. And bears. Texas doesn’t haven’t bears correct?

[@deanfirnatine7814]

The Platte river is in Nebraska, that is Northern Plains and yes we have found skeletal remains in Nevada, Utah, California and Colorado, they were NOT confined to just South Texas and Arizona where they now wander back and forth into Mexico. Jaguars fill a niche similar to cougars so having them is not a different impact than cougars. I grew up in wolf country on a ranch and we had a large elk population, people cite a situation like Yellowstone where the elk population was WAY over its natural state so it crashed to a sustainable level after wolves came back, the elk were so numerous they were destroying stream side vegetation harming fish populations.

[@MattLovesVinyl]

Welp, they've tried to reintroduce Jaguars for almost 30 years in Jacksonville, FL, but after some early success it's mostly been an abysmal failure.

[@nunya_bizniz]

I was looking for this comment

[@TRPERA]

Lol… this that comment …🤣

[@standartenfuhrerhanslanda343]

Lol😂

[@MrStuDubb]

My favorite North American Jaguar is of the Fred Taylor genus.

[@patrickstrahm05]

🐐

[@lizsoto82]

We need Jaguars in Chicago! Spice things up a lil🤔

[@N0RZC]

But Ohio has more than enough already

[@wat4036]

@@N0RZC i think you're talking about cougars. 😂

[@Ericrawnsley]

Nah you already have bears.

[@michaeltabanao9014]

You already have a Mayor.....could be part cougar , part possum ....nobody knows what that thing is

[@michaelholt8590]

Here in East Tennessee we could use some more predators. The deer population is about out of control. Hell I've seen herds of them in the middle of town.

[@dark12ain]

Honestly would love to visit east Tennessee, from Memphis

[@michaelholt8590]

@@dark12ain You're more than welcome to visit this end of the state some time. The mountains are great. Altitude affects attitude.

[@themotions5967]

Ideally, we would introduce red wolves back into the Appalachian region as well as go for more progress that boost Bob cat populations.

[@michaelholt8590]

@@themotions5967 Yes the red wolves would help.

[@thecutieandpandafam1650]

Same here in West Virginia we could really use the cougar tbh cuz the deer here are making Ton of car crashes and the coyote here don’t have a predator other than a black bear but it never happens

[@astinmartin4359]

I learn so much from this show it’s crazy 😅

[@Esch_atton]

I'm just imagining for that these are 2 aliens discussing weather or not to start allowing small groups of humans to populate exoplanets.

[@DailyCorvid]

Unless you find some planets here on Earth, they are ALL Exo!

[@Esch_atton]

@@DailyCorvid exoplanets means a planet outside our solar system

[@antipro85]

whether*

[@shanebraaten9553]

sir, you're not supposed to drink the bong water!

[@CozySophie]

@@DailyCorvid no

[@amsz6326]

Omg the jaguar debate....you can tell how excited Joe is

[@Ezekial2517]

These are the conversations when he is earning that lucrative contract he signed.

[@JGunit]

@@Ezekial2517 Did you notice you're not speaking English?

[@nickbeltz8602]

​@@JGunit who

[@jlove8445]

@@JGunit did you notice you translate English into Vietnamese?

[@jamalbrown9501]

Look up “Joe Rogan asks Elon Musk HARD Questions about Cobalt Mining for TESLA Batteries!” thank me later 🙏

[@jimb.942]

I remember working near the southern border near Douglas, Arizona when they had pictures of jaguars coming back into the US in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

[@sailor-dan2353]

We have plenty of them popping back up in Jacksonville this year.

[@Spencer3712]

I imagine they could thrive easily in central and southern Texas due to the great influx of wild hogs in those areas. They would help to be somewhat of a population control for the hogs without any fear of them becoming desperate enough to go after livestock.

[@_lowpoke700]

I too am magine.

[@yeahbee8237]

Stuff like that rarely if ever works. Doesnt work here in Sweden with both pigs and wolves on the rise.

[@dolphin069]

@@_lowpoke700 bobs and magine?

[@Spencer3712]

@@yeahbee8237 That’s interesting. I wonder where it went wrong. Are the wolves too far north in the cold to overlap with the pigs?

[@tracy2762]

florida still is trying to bring back the fl cougar. we have everything including monkeys.and bald eagles are abundant...just missing wolves..

[@izomac4947]

I live in Tucson and there have been a couple of Jaguar sightings. Truly awesome

[@minimalopes39]

This was actually episode #1912 , awesome stuff,I love the whole premises.

[@thespencemeyer]

The Platte River is in Nebraska with the North Platte tributary running 310 miles across Nebraska. The mouth of the Platte starts at the Missouri River. Our joke was it’s a foot deep and a mile wide, as it was dammed up for irrigation that some places you could walk across. But I’d imagine the sight of this river to the Coronado expedition must have been an awesome sight!

[@RedYoshiGo]

Ill support this as soon as they release a bunch of grizzlies in La

[@AKlover]

The problem with "Recovery" is the tendency towards "Shoot, Shovel, and STFU!" The moment the introduced Jaguars or Grizzlies or whatever start taking pets or livestock they are going to start getting discreetly "Disappeared" AGAIN. Louisiana has black bears, black bears make A habit of avoiding people here which is why you can spend a lot of time in the woods in Louisiana and never see one.

[@misaelfraga8196]

Grizzlies area native to LA. Only black bears. Jaguars are native to Southern Texas & Arizna region. They were just killed off by ranchers. Just like Bison were almost killed off during the late 1800's.

[@Jacob-qr8pl]

Steve: "Jaguar Recovery" Texas Hogs: "You say what now?"

[@grandmasterb607]

We have two here in the Appalachian Mountains in NC. Seen them and heard them for the past 20 years now

[@cchavezjr7]

I'm from Arizona and never heard any kind of discussion as to whether it was native range or not. It was always considered as a fact.

[@joelbelenfant5068]

I’m Eastern Tsalagi, which is a Tribe from North Carolina. My Tribe has stories of Jaguars living around them. Apparently they were a lot of them spread throughout the South Eastern United States.

[@yasuynnuf1947]

I believe you and your tribe more than any animal conservation organization

[@andycockrum1212]

That’s fascinating! Is there anywhere we can go to look into your tribes stories and hear them?

[@NobleVagabond2552]

There are still a select few down in Jacksonville I believe. No one had seen any in a couple years since Tom Brady scared them away. Heard they might be making a run here tho

[@SassyUnicorn86]

Yes! I've heard about jaguars being in the mountains AND some one told Me they saw a black panther in Florida

[@Sigmanovar]

They'res already reports saying they saw them as far south as Florida

[@nordicson2835]

Always learn such cool stuff on his shows.

[@native2000wilson-um1ty]

One was caught on a trail cam in Arizona in December

[@FredyVega117]

I am using a translator so I hope it is understood, the jaguar is already in Mexico so technically it is already present in North America

[@Burntsparky]

I was born in Durango MX. My dad has stories about jaguars in and he was born in 73. Seems to me like a prime example people should have horses and torches. Most stories I’ve hear involve being saved by a campfire or their horse.

[@OneaeBlack]

Less is more, simpler the better, mo money mo problems, keep it simple, moderation is key, so many similar messages about life can't be brushed aside, we really gotta be cautious, lots of small problems could snowball, the optimal way you see in nature every day.

[@OneaeBlack]

So yo go listen up! It's nice we're surrounded by human creations, artistic examples could even be in the intricate details in a construction screw, or the lay out of public parks. The thing is though, earth sustains us, not a paper paint picture drawing of earth. Especially because that paper most likely had to tear down an area of habitat for earth and all her living beings.

[@puapucuve6643]

My grandfather in Honduras, who was born in 1928, told me that when he would go hunting for deer, jaguars kept to themselves. He said that once in a while, he could hear them growl early in the morning.

[@michaelglenn7172]

I know there have been documented Jaguars in Texas and Arizona. One in Arizona ended up dying sadly because of the tracking collar placed on him by the DNR. It is similar to the cougar population in the Dakotas, where males end up in MN, WI, IA and IL, but they cannot establish a long term territory since no females exist in these areas.

[@brians7901]

One of them made it all the way to Connecticut where it was hit by a car. Just like you said a lone male that just kept going

[@xavierlehew6746]

Im curious how did the tracking device lead to the animals death? Thanks for sharing.

[@brians7901]

@@xavierlehew6746 the stress of capture combined with improperly dosed tranquilizers caused kidney failure apparently

[@xavierlehew6746]

@@brians7901 Much appreciated.

[@IamKelt]

@@brians7901 el jefe was very old. I do not doubt the sedatives and stress could have caused him trouble.

[@Seven_Leaf]

I remember a documentary on two young tigers well over a decade ago. The guy was trying to (re?)introduce a couple of tigers to Africa. Long story short, the tigers ended up chasing an African parker ranger (or whatever) on horseback. While it was somewhat funny, as they were more playful than serious, since they had regular food sources. It was terrifying for the person being chased, and the humans in the area need to think that some of them will have bad and even fatal encounters when predators get reintroduced.

[@22espec]

Actually, he was trying to make them able to survive in the wild since they were raised in private zoo, and they used a piece of land in private hunting farm in South Africa and after they were able to hunt on their own, they wanted to reintroduce them to India. At the end of it the were happy to see them being able to hunt a deer on their own but they still wanted to make them afraid of humans

[@jimcameron9848]

At the age of 5 my parents abandoned me in the Sonora desert. A kind Jaguar adopted me as her own cub. I had an amazing childhood. I remember my Jaguar mom scratching my back to help me sleep. Growing tall and very strong in my teen year off her rich milk I can attest to their focused predation and nurturing ways.

[@ezioauditore7887]

Did you swing across the trees in tighty whiteys, too?

[@matchdust7049]

Im pretty sure that didnt happen

[@untitled6391]

@@matchdust7049 it did happen. I was the Jaguar mom.

[@markfuckerturd5165]

This mf better be joking bc nobody is buying that bs

[@triassicpark947]

Oh how wonderful is that, reunited! Good for you two im so happy for you

[@YummyNukes]

More big cats near the southern border sounds like a fantastic idea.

[@8arrows]

And we need more moose, wolves, and bear at the Northern Border. Canooks take our jobs too. I don’t see their kids being detained at the Northern border. It’s just prejudiced to exclude the brown people from the Southern Border. Have you counted how many undocumented Ukrainians, and Russians live in Florida today? Spain built missions, (example the Alamo, it belonged to the Mexicans whites invaded the Alamo first) and they owned Texas. Long before the Germans came here to settle. Lately I see a lot more Indian, Nepalese, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos moving to Texas. They just fly in.

[@rickjones5399]

Sounds good to an airhead. They won't do anything to migrating people. All you'll have is a larger subset of wild cats crossing other US states.

[@osomnm431]

@@HammerLeaf even of those people are killers and drug dealers ??

[@osomnm431]

@@HammerLeaf people who will risk their children’s life instead of entering how they’re supposed to?

[@YummyNukes]

@Melting Pot you're right, we ought to extend the range of polar bears to the northern border, the great white shark population around florida and figure out a way to create dragons and have them patrol the skies as well.

[@JetHeartland]

Platte River shout out! About a mile from my front stop here in Northeast Missouri

[@jiujitsuismyoutlet]

There’s legends out here in the Missouri Ozarks about black Panther being here at one time. We saw a mountain lion out here on our gravel road… in southern Missouri where they’re typically not thought of being. I think it’s very possible for lots of these cats to exist. We should give them back their home as best we can :)

[@alejandrohart]

Theres Jaguars & mountain lions in Argentina too!

[@cspdx11]

I went to a park on the Argentina/Brazil border and they had a warning sign to be careful of both Jaguars and Pumas

[@virginianative847]

I love this! Great old school JRE topic hahaha

[@blakepowers1555]

I got the Rogan hard man, love the work

[@bcperry1973]

Would love to see what jags would do with the wild hogs in Texas

[@VibeWithLuna]

What about peoples pets 😭😭

[@masonharkness6437]

@@VibeWithLuna with an abundant food source like wild pigs, jags wouldn’t likely risk their life for some 40lb dog or scrawny house cat unless it was starving

[@emani2704]

Jaguar don't see human as prey. They likes to stay far from human habitat. In India and Africa people just pass by from their side and they do nothing.

[@michaeltabanao9014]

Unintended consequences 🤔....like Hawaiian Mongoose and Rat 🐀 🙄. Be beneficial for awhile, then the slower cattle, pets, chickens 🐔 and easier prey will be taken down. Then it will be like a South Park Episode, against the Cats 🐈

[@andycockrum1212]

@@emani2704 jaguars only live in the Americas. If it’s africa and india, they’re leopards. They look similar, but are a seperate species

[@2devious724]

Steve's one of my favorite guests.

[@Last_Chance.]

Naturally

[@chitoes1707]

Good topic. They should put some Jaguars out in Florida with collars on.

[@therivergiveth]

One of the best things to come from JRE is Steve and his Org's popularity. He's a godsend for the outdoor community. Without meateater, we'd be left with the trash private land/high fence hunter culture that was prevalent in the late 90's-00's.

[@Truth-Sikher]

I hate this guys voice

[@MisterCee41510]

0:09 - perhaps the greatest 5 second pause of all time.....

[@thomasgardner1734]

Their has been 8 different sighting of Jaguars in Southern Az in the last 10 years. They are already here in southern AZ.

[@thomasgardner1734]

And by eight different sightings, I mean 8 different Jaguars.

[@ttrob93]

Already have them in parts of South and Central Texas.

[@Energine1]

One day we found 8 of our sheep dead in the field with punture wounds on the neck... It turns out that a panther was using them to train her cubs! Smart kitty

[@benfalter6245]

My dad swears he saw one a little north of Tucson Arizona close to the tortilla mountains a number of years back, I never believed him but now that I’ve looked into it definitely seems plausible

[@yellowgamer7153]

i love when jre does animals and wild conservation

[@alfredo1mty]

Jaguars are actively living in the north part of Mexico just 2 hours away from Texas. Not much like they used to be but they are still here 🐆

[@Last_Chance.]

Been wondering when Steve was coming back on. I was just listening to some of his older episodes earlier

[@DManLewis1]

You summoned him man.

[@Last_Chance.]

@@aszassiin go away beta boy

[@Last_Chance.]

@@DManLewis1 lol he thinks he's really doing something hiding in his mom's basement

[@celter.45acp98]

We have a few here in Southern AZ

[@chrismyers2047]

Jaguars once ranged as far east as Alabama and as far north as Pennsylvania. I've seen two skulls recovered from a cave in Northern Alabama. I don't recommend trying to reestablish them throughout their former range. Probably not much better than reestablishing T Rex if we could.

[@Narutass43]

I think that's something of a poor comparison considering a T-rex likely couldn't sustain itself anywhere in the modern world based on need for food alone. Between feral hogs and large cervid populations, a jaguar could thrive in several ecosystems across the US.

[@brians7901]

They've kinda reintroduced themselves to a minimal degree. Last I knew there were resident jaguars in southern Arizona

[@sadnovi2]

As you travel through the Texas Hill Country south on HWY 16, if you stop in Goldwaithe and go inside the gas station next to the grocery store you will see walls of old pictures. One of those pics is of a jaguar killed in the early 1900’s. I’m going on memory here about the date of the pic, maybe someone from Goldwaithe knows better, but those cats were around in Texas back in the day.

[@kentevans4218]

That's absolutely right.... I was raised on a ranch outside of San Saba, TX. There were many sightings of a jaguar on the San Saba River. This was in the 80's

[@dustingrannis410]

I live in southern Arizona, whetstone to be exact. We have two jaguars in the mountains here. Scary shit

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Bring the big kitty back.

[@colemanmohler1196]

Speaking of big cats a few years back I was heading home at night and turned a corner, all I saw was the back half of a large black cat walking into the woods. It stood around 3-4ft tall, was very muscular, and had a massive thick tail! I stopped dead in the road wondering if I had just seen a black panther in Logan, Ohio! Long story short I talked to a couple people around the area and the house 100ft from where I saw the cat, the guy who lived there swore a few years back he saw a large black cat out in his field.

[@discojelly]

I have heard! There are reports of them from Ohio down into Missouri and Kentucky. They ARE here.. Black Jaguars.

[@TheGenius2015]

Are you sure its not a black mountain lion? Similar to the panther jaguar distinction.

[@terryhiggins5077]

@@TheGenius2015 Do cougars even have the gene the for that mutation? I've never heard of an all black one, tho I do suppose it's possible.

[@terryhiggins5077]

@Coleman Monler I grew up not to far away on the other side of New Straitsville and have heard stories of big cats in the area and into Wayne National Forest.

[@canadianmmaguy7511]

The government says the black cats, grass men and dogmen are not real. You are doing too much thinking and not enough working. The government would never lie to us

[@waavbro]

this title was amazing enough

[@BitcoinMaxy34]

They are already in southern Arizona.

[@TonTon.2142]

Rinella is one of my favorite guests. Joe needs to have him back more often.

[@AntiVaganza]

Maybe just allow him a night's sleep before he turns up;)

[@redomega24]

Yes

[@markscott4881]

Around 2005 I led an adventure ride through the southern Sierra mountains (near Johnsondale). Me and another rider turned a corner and saw a black mountain lion on steroids. I remember thinking how odd to see a black cougar but Googled it at home and found that jaguars have been known to be in the S/W. This would have been about 50 miles N/E of Bakersfield. So jaguars are already in central California.

[@femiolukannijr664]

we have jaguars here in Fresno, CA?

[@IceSick88]

In Florida and Texas. I am super down!

[@gypsyscometotown]

There’s a cougar/Mt lion problem in Oklahoma. I dealt with them 3 times on my little farm, my neighbor shot one on his front porch and the wildlife people denied the existed until more people got game cams and they couldn’t deny it anymore. It doesn’t make any sense to re-introduce them

[@danielkinn782]

Where I live there are a couple Mexican Jaguars. I have seen video clips of them and a buddy saw one while hunting. A beautiful animal.

[@michaeltabanao9014]

Its awesome when they roar in spanish

[@zlatkojerkovic9456]

@@michaeltabanao9014 do they roll their R's properly ?

[@kingheart9555]

🤣

[@Michael-dn2yn]

@@zlatkojerkovic9456 You mean a Jaguarrrrr?

[@charleshunter2041]

25 years ago the Tyler zoo had 2 jaguars from west Texas. One was beige with dots, the other was black with faint black dots. I've seen a large, muscular one near lake Lewisville. 20 miles north of Dallas , TX a couple of years ago. It was over 4 ft from front shoulder to butt and must have weighed way over 100 lbs. And a couple of decades ago a smaller, black one that was either a young jaguar or one of the black panthers many people have seen for over 50 years, yet they don't officially exist. Also saw an ocelot in that area. They may all be descendants from some captive facility. Because there is a very large variety of wildcats around here.

[@ShutoStriker]

Wow. I grew up in DFW most my life. Had heard of the Ocelot's still out there thought to be extinct if I'm remembering correctly. Didn't know Jaguars or Panthers were more than just an oddball incident. Just thought Mountain Lions / Cougars would be the only big cat. Only Jaguar I saw was at the Ft. Worth Zoo lol stalking the fence line like an agitated killing machine.

[@kevinschwart1028]

Hersay bvll crap. Just stop, dude!

[@lewismckenzie236]

We have an unknown population of large cats in the UK which is all but confirmed. They're believed to have been pets/escaped from zoos or circuses when they still used animals. Totally out of place here.

[@philhardwick100]

Amazing animal but people aren’t going to want to have them around their kids

[@philhardwick100]

Amazing animal but people aren’t going to want to have them around their kids

[@adamkittok]

Every Nebraskan everywhere yelling at you rn Steve. Platte river is in Nebraska and Colorado.

[@duanefarmers8990]

I am a former ranger at the Apalachicola national Forest in Florida jaguars are here and have been here I myself was stalked by one while doing a tree survey had to do a mad Sprint to my truck because the sun was setting. I have had sightings multiple occasions and I got a really close look at one with binoculars and you could see the spots showing through the black fur

[@charlieecho7253]

I was a border patrol agent in the boot heel of New Mexico and I have seen two of these cats at different times. Both instances during the day time. Both in the peloncillo mountain range in the Coronado national forest. Neither of them was very large. I don’t think the ranchers would be ok with reintroducing these cats but honestly the entire environment on the border is being destroyed by garbage and intrusion from illegal alien smuggling anyway. I don’t think there will many ranchers left out there in the coming years.

[@cosmokramer1035]

Damn maybe reintroducing these could help curb the illegal immigration I hate to say lol

[@samt7977]

@@cosmokramer1035 lol I was thinking that, but afraid to say it XD

[@samt7977]

literally was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone else thought that too

[@danawhitesneckfat1706]

@@cosmokramer1035 those bean people would just shoot them. They have no respect for life

[@AstrixCloud]

Fuck the ranches, give animals back their turf.

[@quandt4847]

The Platte River runs through entire state of Nebraska from Wyoming to Plattsmouth, NE where it flows into the Missouri River along the Iowa/ Missouri Border.

[@ryry4363]

Thank you!

[@craigerskine3609]

There was one caught on trail cam in southern Arizona last month, December 2023.

[@josephbaechle953]

The platte river runs thru the heart of Nebraska. The Columbus Nebraska area is actually documented in a 1500s Spanish expedition.

[@dirty46]

I live in SE Arizona within minutes from the border. They have started to see Jaguar, 2 males and a female confirmed, in the Huachuca mountains. These animals have been seen on trail cams, as well as by ring door cameras.

[@BigpapamoneymanMVPtypebeat]

How does joe just drop “that’s how el jefe gets in” and not add context at all 😂

[@RobertELee420]

if you know, you know.

[@thaddeusgiles4024]

El jefe is a Jaguar that’s been spotted it’s on KZbin

[@BigpapamoneymanMVPtypebeat]

@@thaddeusgiles4024 thank you lol

[@dyllgood]

1:10 Since I grew up near the Platte River I just want to give a quick correction. The majority of the Platte River is actually located in the State of Nebraska but begins in Colorado and Wyoming. It flows from the Rocky Mountaints for over 1,050 miles east and ends, connecting to the Missouri River on the border of Iowa and Nebraska.

[@scamtoons]

I'm on the Platte River its right in my backyard in Nebraska. We had a 500 year flood a couple years ago it was nuts.

[@jacktrout5807]

10500 miles huh? I think the continental us is like 2600 miles wides so 10500 miles east of the rockies would put you on a different continent like India? 🤷‍♀️

[@dyllgood]

@@jacktrout5807 Thanks, didn't see the extra 0 in there. Should've been 1,050

[@distorteddingo9230]

Even without Jaguars, we have enough cougars prowling the streets for young men.

[@coyotemoonc3258]

Jaguars the southern smaller subspecies we know today ranged into LA. But up until 10,000 years ago there was a larger Pleictocene subspecies that ranged North America all the way North from Beringia.

[@SassyUnicorn86]

I've heard stories of black panthers being in Florida (way back.) And other big cats in the Appalachian mountains

[@aaronhill7197]

There Is black panthers in Florida I’ve seen one first hand ✋🏻

[@Energine1]

I live and work in the jungle. We have several large and small cat breeds around but its the bugs, the scorpions, and the snakes we encounter constantly that are the real hidden dangers. Thousands of vampire bats can and reliably will ruin your nap if you sleep unprotected. Its just not even close.

[@johnmaurer3097]

As a Floridian I can relate. Gators, snakes, and sharks aren’t your worst problem. They’re dumb and lazy. The insects are what finds you every single time. They are super aggressive and omnipresent

[@DailyCorvid]

We are talking about 8 ft long cats pinching you off the street. And you come in with BUGS? *Ever heard of catnip* ? Lol. I would sooner take on every bug in New York at once, than a single Jaguar on a dark night.

[@James-uk4xi]

@@DailyCorvid Up in maine, not being able to take a walk in the woods without being covered head to toe in ticks, with mosquitos and black flies constantly trying to kamakazi into my eyeballs, give me a clean death by jaguar over a crippled life from lyme disease

[@DailyCorvid]

@@James-uk4xi Yeah try living in the marshlands of England mate, trust me a few ticks doesn't even wobble the dial. Use scent oils, bugs cannot bear it they won't hang about where that scent is. I like mixing them up, so if you 100% want bugs to avoid going near you - use lavender or catnip and mint oils. They react to that the way you would react to finding a large dollop of dogpoop on your porch. Move away quickly! :)

[@Energine1]

@@James-uk4xi exactly 😆

[@Dustinpool87]

One was spotted in Arizona on cam not long ago

[@Randomyoutubecommenter]

Release them in Florida to keep the pythons and alligators in check

[@Gibbypastrami]

Lmao they don't hunt gators if they've got other small game to go after, same with pythons most likely, we can take care of the pythons if they keep paying hunters well

[@thealternative9580]

Release them at the border…

[@Randomyoutubecommenter]

@@thealternative9580 lol!

[@WiLDCATZ]

@@Gibbypastrami The Jags in the Amazon take down and eat massive Caiman which are basically a Brazilian alligator. They go after those just as much as small game like capybaras. There's not much deer around there in heavily swampy areas. A Jaguar in the Florida everglades would annihilate the invasive snakes and definitely take down some gators. The FL Panther population lives furthest west in forested pine areas where there is a lot of game for them to eat like Deer.

[@Randomyoutubecommenter]

@@Gibbypastrami yup what wildcatz said, they actually prefer to hunt capybaras and caiman, they even hunt anacondas which get much larger than pythons so pythons would be easy work for them. As for the gators, although the Brazilian caiman can get quite large, the gators in Florida are overall quite a bit larger when it comes to full grown size, however I don’t know if that will matter much as Jaguars go for the killing blow by pouncing from behind and biting into the skulls of their prey, besides they would hunt smaller ones and leave the bigger ones for hunters to take care of

[@CantTellYou]

1:57 😂 Joe doing his best Owen Wilson impression throughout this clip oh wowww

[@bradenjones4228]

My dad said he saw a ocelot big cat type thing in west Texas in the 80’s

[@ColemanJRimer]

I'm downstairs with my headphones on and making coffee and I hear, "I don't think he knows". Spilt coffee everywhere.

[@PantonePapi]

When Steve was born he cut his own umbilical cord and cooked it slow in a smoker for 8 hours

[@chaosdweller]

I like it when Latinas say papi haha.

[@sums3080]

Would rather listen to stories about jaguars instead of griner ones 🏀

[@brenthood2337]

Jacksonville has about 80 of them right now but will cut it down to I think 52 within a couple of weeks.

[@truesoulghost2777]

Actually in Tennessee you would be surprised because people over the years have taken them as pets and then let them go into the mountains when they got too big or couldn’t handle them anymore. I lived in Gatlinburg and heard my cat freaking out and I ran outside and my cat was frozen stiff looking in one direction. I looked in the direction and there wasn’t anything there except a tree. Then as I looked up in the tree there was a full grown Black Panther and it was watching me and climbed headfirst down the tree and walked up about fifteen feet from me and just stared in my eyes. I’m not joking at all. Swear to God. I stood still and we stared at each other for a little bit and it slowly turned around and walked away. It didn’t act aggressively or anything but I can’t say what it would have done if I tried to turn my back and run away either. I went to school the next day and told everyone and no one believed me. I’m sure lots that see this won’t believe it either but think about how many rich people live up there in the mountains who would have had these kinds of animals over the years. To be honest that was my favorite animal always so coming face to face with one was actually something really special to me. Such a beautiful thing to see like that. My cat had no idea what to think though lol

[@Bitchslapper316]

Unlike leopards and even cougars there are only a few recorded attacks on humans from Jaguars. For whatever reasons they don't attack humans often.

[@Anakin_Skywalker01]

there is also trail cam evidence of Jaguars living in the US including Tennessee

[@Twofrogsonecup]

I love how many ppl have mentioned Belize on Joe's show, it's where my dad was born and grew up and it's my favorite place on earth, it's paradise, good beer good food beautiful women, beautiful oceans private islands, rain forests and incredible wildlife

[@Ashley_Schaeffer]

Jaguars used to roam the Sonoran desert freely... They still do, they can be very elusive...

[@John_Redcorn_]

This makes me want to pull a Jeremy Clarkson and buy a Jaguar and drive around saying ‘Its a Jaaaaag’

[@canadianmmaguy7511]

Durrrrrrrr

[@uscfootball4life3]

Indigenous Tribes like the Apache and Zuni have Jaguar dances that have survived where they wear Jaguar pelts that have been passed down for well over 100 years

[@rokit430]

Look up the Matsès tribe known as the Jaguar People of the Amazon. Very interesting how they want to Live like Jags🐆

[@bluepill8]

I live in southern Arizona there is plenty of Montana and deserts for it to be possible I love the idea #520

[@lunacron]

Jaguars? We already have cougars in America, isn't that enough.

[@lunacron]

@@Ivantheterrible495 Just letting you know, they shadowbanned your comment, because you used the O word, you can see it because it's your comment and I can see it in my notifications, but nobody else. Which is ridiculous, how are you supposed to refer to someone who weighs significantly more than average.

[@AstrixCloud]

Nope! Humans aren't that important lol. We keep taking animals off the map all you're gonna have left is a zoo.

[@babysealsareyummy]

All these limp wrist city creatures pooping their pants makes me want to bring Jags back even more 😂

[@Desert_Dweller]

Az game and fish have been tracking 2 male jaguars in southern AZ for a couple of years. One may have died recently