He is getting old and often limps. When he jumped down from this platform he looked at all sides before letting himself fall slowly over to lessen the impact, but then sat holding one front paw in the air for a minute before walking away.
He is getting old and often limps. When he jumped down from this platform he looked at all sides before letting himself fall slowly over to lessen the impact, but then sat holding one front paw in the air for a minute before walking away.
I currently don't have access to my master list but I believe he and Zambucca are roughly 10 - 12 years old. I will double check later. I would not be surprised though if they did not have longer lives because they were inbred. Having parents who were littermates might lead to genetic defects which could plague them as they age. They are great animals but I wish the zoo had rejected getting them and worked towards genetically valuable animals. But maybe the exhibit is undersized for breeding and a non breeding pair was the only option.
Like most wild cats, an adult jaguar normally has yellow eyes. This one (as far as I can tell from this one photo) appears to have either gray or blue eyes. If true, this is extremely unusual and may explain why Cypher's brother finds the face unusual. Although it does look different in another way. It seems unusually rounded and cub like for an older adult, but that may or may not mean anything.
I noticed his eyes were always different from the other big cats, even his sisters. They're actually a brownish colour. Here are two of my brother's shots showing them off a bit more.
K now that I'm back home and have full access to my records. Luca and Zambucca were born in June 2004 making them 11 years old. Good job me. Smack in the middle of my guess.
