Moncton’s Magnetic Hill Zoo is celebrating the success of its jaguar breeding program.
Balky, a five-week-old cub, is the first baby jaguar to be bred in captivity in Canada in the last two years.
He is the cub of two black jaguars brought to the Magnetic Hill Zoo to kick-start a captive breeding program.
However, the spotted cat doesn’t look much like his parents.
“Only 6 per cent of jags are black,” says general manager Bruce Dougan. “He doesn’t have the…double black gene, so he came out spotted.”
Zoo officials stepped in shortly after Balky was born to ensure he remains healthy.
“We realized his mother didn’t have enough milk to feed him,” says Dougan. “So we had to take him and hand-raise him.”
However, Balky won’t be staying at the zoo for long; he is soon headed for a zoo in Elmvale, Ont.
As the zoo prepares to say goodbye to Balky, it is welcoming two new babies to the family – a pair of four-and-a-half-month-old cougar cubs.
The sisters are slowly being introduced to their surroundings, though the public won’t get to see them until the spring.
“We’re hoping to have them in our cougar enclosure, and that’s where they’re going to live for the rest of their lives,” says zoo employee Bernie Plourde.
Balky the baby jaguar is the product of only two breeding pairs of jaguars in the country, and zoo officials hope he will be the first of many cubs to come out of the breeding program.
The last jaguar to be born in captivity in Canada was Balky’s father, two years ago.
Wih files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
