Big Cat Sanctuary posted adorable photos of the rare successfully bred black jaguar last month.
The baby leopard named Baby was born on April 6 to jaguars Keira and Neron at Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England, as part of Europe’s endangered species breeding program. He inherited black fur from his father – a rare trait in wild jaguars.
Meanwhile, leopard mother Keira has a normal coat color. He was born and raised at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire before being transferred to Big Cat Sancutary in 2019 to partner with Nero.
According to Briony Smith, curator of the sanctuary, Baby is a female jaguar. He is born with his eyes open and begins to walk after two weeks of age. Now the animal is able to run and jump and is ready to come out of the cage to explore its surroundings.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the only member of the group of big cats or felines native to the Americas, dispersed from Mexico to Argentina. Although some individuals have been observed in the southwestern United States, there is no indication that they have formed a breeding population there.
The jaguar with its impressive black coat is the result of a genetic mutation that causes the body to produce too much melanin. These genetic mutations represent only about 10% of the jaguar population in the wild.
