The English word Alabama is derived from the Chontal Maya word Alibaamu, which means “Principal Place of the Jaguar.” Unfortunately, Academicians in the State of Alabama have not figured that out.
Explorer John Lawson stated that Jaguars wee fairly common along the Lower Alabama River until the French at Fort Toulouse in present-day Wetumka, AL began selling large numbers of muskets to Natives living near the fort. In the same section of his book, Lawson stated that a large lion predominated east of the Chattahoochee River in present-day Georgia. Both large cats went extent at about the same time.
The Americas Revealed 