San Diego Zoo, California - There was a good game of chase happening this morning at the San Diego Zoo's jaguar exhibit. Nindiri, a 3-year-old female jaguar followed Guapo, a 5-year-old male, all around their shared habitat at the Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey exhibit. The breeding pair were introduced through protective fencing earlier this month.
After several successful interactions and lab results showing the female has started her breeding cycle, keepers allowed the pair to share the exhibit.
"This is the first time Nindiri, our female jaguar, has ever been with a male, so she's a little bit confused about what she's supposed to do - but she's learning and we did see two breeding sessions in the past couple of days," said Kim Bacon, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. "She is relentless and not letting him alone. Wherever he is, she's got to be, too."
While jaguars are typically solitary animals, this pair spends most of their time together while sharing the exhibit.
"When he gets up to move around she'll get up and follow him. Sometimes she'll nip at his feet or paw-swat at this tail," Bacon said, "he'll turn around and try to put her in her place and she'll roll over on her back, as if to say 'look how cute I am.'''
The pair will be separated today, at the end of Nindiri's cycle, and keepers will alternate the days each cat is on exhibit. If Nindiri isn't pregnant, they will begin sharing the exhibit again in late June. The gestation period for a jaguar is approximately three months and they have litters that range from 1 to 4 cubs. Jaguars are an endangered species primarily due to hunting them for their skins and loss of habitat in their native territories of North, Central and South America.
The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats. The organization focuses on conservation and research work around the globe, educates millions of individuals a year about wildlife and maintains accredited horticultural, animal, library and photo collections. The Zoo also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park (historically referred to as the Wild Animal Park), which includes a 900-acre native species reserve, and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.
After several successful interactions and lab results showing the female has started her breeding cycle, keepers allowed the pair to share the exhibit.
"This is the first time Nindiri, our female jaguar, has ever been with a male, so she's a little bit confused about what she's supposed to do - but she's learning and we did see two breeding sessions in the past couple of days," said Kim Bacon, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. "She is relentless and not letting him alone. Wherever he is, she's got to be, too."
While jaguars are typically solitary animals, this pair spends most of their time together while sharing the exhibit.
"When he gets up to move around she'll get up and follow him. Sometimes she'll nip at his feet or paw-swat at this tail," Bacon said, "he'll turn around and try to put her in her place and she'll roll over on her back, as if to say 'look how cute I am.'''
The pair will be separated today, at the end of Nindiri's cycle, and keepers will alternate the days each cat is on exhibit. If Nindiri isn't pregnant, they will begin sharing the exhibit again in late June. The gestation period for a jaguar is approximately three months and they have litters that range from 1 to 4 cubs. Jaguars are an endangered species primarily due to hunting them for their skins and loss of habitat in their native territories of North, Central and South America.
