According to a blog post written by Rebecca Whitham, the jaguar cubs at Woodland Park Zoo have made their debut to visitors – and in the rain. The three-month-old jaguar triplets (brother Kuwan and sisters Inka and Arizona) had their first practice session outside on July 27th. As she wrote, when the jaguars’ den door opened, “Out came the cubs for the first time, bouncing out with less of a predatory slinking and more of an enthusiastic tromping.”
While the three cubs scampered about, learning to use their claws and muscles, mom Nayla frequently climbed to the topmost point in their public environment to keep an eye on her rambunctious cubs.
Meanwhile, Woodland Park Zoo Keepers were stationed at different viewpoints and used walkie-talkies to call out observations and updates. After the first exploration by the cubs, the Keepers regrouped to figure out what adjustments might need to be made for the future safety and comfort of the cubs – and their mother.
More information – and observations – can be found in the blog post by Whitham, with many more amazing photos by Ryan Hawk.
Also view an Instagram video, created by Caileigh Robertson for the Zoo, of the trio at play.
For those who want to support the conservation efforts of the Woodland Park Zoo for the jaguars, and other wildlife, become a Jaguar ZooParent! The ZooParent adoption program helps with care of the animals at the Zoo, and sends $5 directly to field conservation projects in the wild.