Zoo’s jaguar cubs are healthy 10 pounds each, getting ready for summer debut

by | May 28, 2013

Woodland Park Zoo’s three jaguar cubs received their first comprehensive exams last week. The 3-month-old cubs each weighed about 10 pounds. They’ll make their debut at Jaguar Cove this summer.
Jaguar-cubs-resized
Photo by Jamie Delk, Woodland Park Zoo.

The trio — born in March to the zoo’s jaguar pair, 7-year-old mother Nayla and 14-year-old father Junior — have been under the watchful eye of Nayla since birth. Jaguar births are rare, and as a “near threatened” species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the jaguar triplets are a major milestone for Woodland Park Zoo’s jaguar conservation efforts.
Health updates were put on hold while first-time mother Nayla demonstrated natural motherly care and protection, so much that keepers and veterinarians couldn’t get their hands on the cubs until late last week. Zoo staff has determined the healthy triplets include two girls and one boy, all exhibiting curiously different personalities.
With steady growth and development, the keepers are beginning to introduce the cubs to enrichment items such as boxes, paper towel rolls and small balls. Nayla and the cubs also have access to an outside yard, in addition to their indoor rooms.

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