Jaguar in southern Arizona named by Tohono O'odham Nation

A wild jaguar first seen crossing into southern Arizona last year has a new name chosen by the Tohono O'odham Nation.

The jaguar will now be called O:had Ñu:kudam, which means "jaguar protector" in the O'odham language.

O:had was first spotted back in 2023 on the ancestral land of the Tohono O'odham people. The Center for Biological Diversity reached out to the nation's leaders to ask if they wanted to name the jaguar.

(O:ṣhad Ñu:kudam is pronounced OH-shahd NOO-KOO-dum.)

"It's only fair that they have a say in naming jaguars that return to their traditional lands," Russ McSpadden with the Center for Biological Diversity said.

Who decided the name?

"There was a two-week period, we sent an email request for people to also vote, indicate if they were O'odham, Native American, or non-Native American. Tabulated results and that's where O:ṣhad Ñu:kudam came about," said Chairman Austin Nunez of the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

The Center for Biological Diversity says the wild jaguar is a sign that conservation efforts are working in southern Arizona.

They hope more of the animals will migrate into the state in the coming years.

"The return of jaguars to our land is a source of immense pride and profound hope. Since time immemorial, the Tohono O’odham have shared our homelands with the jaguar," Chairman Nunez said. "As O’odham we view jaguars as protectors of our people and the environment. O:ṣhad Ñu:kudam’s presence serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of nature and the importance of ongoing conservation efforts. We are committed to working to ensure a safe and thriving future for O:ṣhad and, one day hope to see the return of a breeding population of jaguars to this region."

O:ṣhad is thought to have been born somewhere in Mexico and traveled into Arizona after leaving his mother in early 2023.

You can read more about O:had Ñu:kudam by clicking here.