Jaguars once roamed parts of California, lived in much of Arizona, and were reported north to Colorado, and east to the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian Mountains.................. Thomas Jefferson included the species among the fauna of western Virginia.................. Well into the last century, Jaguars persisted in the Southwest, including Texas. .............The Jaguar (Felis onca) inhabited the Palm Springs region of California up until about 1860................ Jaguars (often called "tigers") were reported as far north as Monterey and San Francisco in the 1820s................From Rick Lanman's Wikipedia entry on "Jags"---------"The only recorded description of an active jaguar den with breeding adults and kittens in the U.S. was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860"............... "In 1843, Rufus Sage, an explorer and experienced observer recorded Jaguar present on the headwaters of the North Platte River 30–50 miles north of Long's Peak in Colorado".............. "Cabot's 1544 map has a drawing of a Jaguar ranging over the Pennsylvania and Ohio valleys".............. "Historically, the Jaguar was recorded in far eastern Texas, and the northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico"............... "However, since the 1940s,(isolated sightings) the jaguar has been limited to the southern parts of these states"............. "Although less reliable than zoological records, native American artefacts with possible jaguar motifs range from the Pacific Northwest to Pennsylvania and Florida.

How Recently did  the Jaguar  (Panthera onca)  Roam Eastern  North America? by mark gelbart(CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE MARK'S NAME TO READ FULL ARTICLE) WIKIPEDIA ENTRY BY RICK LANMAN The only cat native to North America that roars, the jaguar was first observed and recorded in the United States by Thomas Jefferson in 1799. Jefferson's zoological report included jaguar in the fauna of the Ohio River  Valley portion of West Virginia. There are multiple zoological reports of jaguar in California, two as far north as Monterey in 1814 (Langsdorff) and 1826 (Beechey). The coastal Diegueño (Kumeyaay people) of San Diego and Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs had words for jaguar and the cats persisted there until about 1860. The only recorded description of an active jaguar den  with breeding adults and kittens in the U.S. was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860. In 1843, Rufus Sage, an explorer and experienced observer recorded jaguar present on the headwaters of the North Platte River 30–50 miles north of Long's Peak inColorado. Cabot's 1544 map has a drawing of jaguar ranging over the Pennsylvania and Ohio valleys.  Historically, the jaguar was recorded in far eastern Texas, and the northern parts of Arizona and New  Mexico. However, since the 1940s, the jaguar has been limited to the southern parts of these states. Although less reliable than zoological records, native American artefacts with possible jaguar motifs range  from the Pacific Northwestto Pennsylvania and Florida. Jaguars were rapidly eliminated by Anglo-Americans  in the United States, along with most other large predators. The last female jaguar in the United States was shot by a hunter in Arizona's White Mountains in 1963. In 1969, Arizona outlawed most jaguar hunting, but with no females known to be at large, there was  little hope the population could rebound. During the next 25 years, only two jaguars were documented in the United States, both killed: a large male shot in 1971 near the Santa Cruz River by two teenage duck hunters,  and another male cornered by hounds in the Dos  Cabezas Mountains in 1986. Then in 1996, Warner  Glenn, a rancher and hunting guide from Douglas,  Arizona, came across a jaguar in the Peloncillo  Mountains and became a jaguar researcher, placing webcams which recorded four more Arizona jaguars.