Living Desert announces opportunity to name baby jaguar
Officials with The Living Desert announced the birth of its first baby of 2017; a jaguar cub born on January 26 to mother, Magia, and father, Memo. And you have an opportunity to name the baby jaguar at a live auction taking place at the zoo in March.
Guests and donors at the 24th Annual Zoobilee Gala Cheetah Nights, taking place Saturday, March 4, will have the opportunity to bid on the naming of the jaguar cub during the live auction portion of the event.
This is Magia’s second litter. She birthed twin boys, Rico and Tesoro, on April 27, 2014.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for the Living Desert’s supporters to name this adorable jaguar cub,” said President/CEO Allen Monroe. “The naming rights are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we look forward to seeing who comes in as the most generous bidder.”
The Zoobilee festivities will include animal encounters, unique silent and live auction items, with the program emceed by CBS Local 2’s Brooke Beare.
Tickets for The Living Desert’s Zoobilee Gala are $500 for premier seating and $300 for preferred seating, with table and host sponsorship available, organizers said in a release. Attendees are encouraged to dress Safari chic.
More information and to purchase tickets
February 8, Living Desert announces birth of baby jaguar cub
According to the Living Desert, animal care and veterinary staff performed the first well-baby exam to assess the jaguar cub’s sex, weight and development on Thursday. A comprehensive medical exam including vaccinations will be scheduled in the upcoming weeks.
“The jaguar cub’s well-baby exam confirmed the cub is healthy and developing at the expected rate, weighing in at 2.180 kilograms (4.806 pounds),” said Dr. Kevin Leiske, Veterinarian at The Living Desert. “Mom and cub are bonding well, and we will continue to monitor both for their continued progress.”
“Magia has proven to be a great mother. We continue to be cautiously optimistic through the first couple of
weeks of development and look forward to the public being able to see the cub and Magia online now and on
exhibit in the coming months,” said RoxAnna Breitigan, Director of Animal Programs. “Memo and Magia were
brought together by a recommendation of the Species Survival Plan, an international cooperative conservation
program, and this birth will help contribute to the future of the species.”
Guests are encouraged to visit the park or join online. Attendees at the zoo’s upcoming Zoobilee Gala, to be held on Saturday, March 4, will have the opportunity to name the cub as part of the live auction, with all proceeds benefiting The Living Desert’s education and conservation programs.
Magia and her new cub won’t be on exhibit for a couple of months, but visitors will see Memo on exhibit and receive cub updates during the daily 9:30 a.m. jaguar keeper chat.
Check out the live Jag Cam to see Magia with her cub
The Living Desert is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about upcoming events and activities, visit livingdesert.org or call (760) 346-5694.
Zoo officials said jaguars are the largest native cat to the Americas, and the only “roaring” cat in North America. Their present range extends from the Southwestern United States and Mexico into Central and South America. Currently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as Near Threatened, their main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation of wild areas along with human persecution. Identified by their rosette style spots, jaguars are a solitary animal weighing between 100 to 250 pounds. The gestation period for jaguars lasts between 90-110 days, with the cubs staying with mom for up to two years.
