Why was Macho B collared instead of just releasing him, especially given his advanced age?
A. Once the jaguar was in the snare, biologists had to tranquilize the animal in order to release him. Since the animal was tranquilized, biologists took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about this little-studied species by fitting him with a tracking collar. When the jaguar was first captured, biologists were not able to identify him and were unaware that the cat was Macho B, an older male that had been known to use the borderlands of Arizona. It was only later that experts identified the cat as Macho B through photos of his unique spots (one on the left side and one on the right). Every jaguar has one or more spots that are as distinctive as fingerprints on a human.
