Black jaguar cub, Inka, turns 1 year old!
On 6th April 2021, we welcomed a beautiful black jaguar cub named Inka to the world. Inka was born from our resident jaguars, Keira and Neron. We are so proud of how much Inka has developed over the past year and we cannot believe that this not so little girl is 1 year old!
From being a tiny cub to now an adolescent jaguar, Inka has had an amazing transformation! Inka has gone strength to strength and has grown so much over the past year and is looking more and more like her father Neron as the days pass!
When Inka was born, we held a naming competition for our supporters to vote for her name. The competition has helped the charity to raise money to care for Inka and all the jaguars on site. It has also raised vital funds for Jaguar conservation, with £10,000, being donated to jaguar protection projects run by Namá Conservation in Costa Rica, who are continuing the work of Universidad de Costa Rica.
Keira, Inka’s mum, was born in 2017 at our sister charity Paradise Wildlife Park and came to the Sanctuary as part of the International Breeding Programme in 2019. Keira was then paired with Neron and have been the most adorable couple ever since. The beautiful cub has taken Neron’s colouration gene, appearing black, which is a characteristic only affecting 10% of the wild jaguar population; Scientists refer to this colouration as ‘melanistic’.
Curator, Briony Smith says “It feels like yesterday that I was watching Inka being born on the den cameras, holding my breath with excitement. Since then she has developed so much, growing from a tiny cub into a fearless youngster, already almost as big as her mother Keira. She is playful and investigative like her mum and has her dad’s stunning looks. We are excited to continue to watch her grow into a beautiful and independent jaguar.”
We are over the moon on how much Inka has grown over the year and she has become a fantastic ambassador for her species. All our cats represent their wild counterparts, and we are confident that Inka will continue to raise much needed awareness and funds for jaguars in central and South America. You can adopt Inka and visit her on an Adopters Afternoon and see how big she is yourself!
Please join us in wishing the inquisitive Inka a big Happy 1st Birthday!
Take part in one of our amazing animal experiences at The Big Cat Sanctuary including big cat experiences, photography experiences, safari lodges and overnight safari stays, ranger for a day experiences and our big cat afternoon tea with Paul Hollywood. You can also adopt a big cat and help the conservation efforts that support our amazing animals!