Kid Territory: Critters: Black Jaguar

Even though Orson's coat looks solid black, if you look closely you'll see his black spots.

Orson has a pretty mellow temper, for a jaguar, that is!

Can you find the meatball before Orson does?


Zoo name: Orson
Species: Brazilian jaguar
Location: San Diego Zoo's Cat Canyon

His story

Call him big. Call him black. Call him beautiful, and you'd be right. Just don't call him a panther, because there's no such thing! Orson is a jaguar, and one of the most admired cats at the San Diego Zoo.

Jaguars fascinate almost everyone, especially when they are black in color instead of the more common golden yellow. Black jaguars are often called panthers. But that name is not correct. Perhaps this happened because many of the large cats, including jaguars, have Panthera as part of their scientific name. (The jaguar's scientific name is Panthera onca.) Look closely at Orson's beautiful dark coat, and you'll see he's still got black spots. He's just black on black!

People often ask if the black coat color means that he's more aggressive, but the keepers say Orson is pretty easy going for a jaguar. Of course, this doesn't mean that they work with him inside his enclosure. Instead, there is always some kind of a barrier between Orson and his keepers. He, like most of the Zoo's animals, rotates in and out of his enclosure so the keepers can feed him and clean up after him.

Jaguar games

Orson eats ground beef, rabbit carcasses, and big bones. A real treat for everyone is when the keepers do a meatball hunt. They divide Orson's meat into handfuls, and hide the meatballs all over the enclosure. This way, Orson gets to hunt for his food. Huge crowds draw around the jaguar enclosure, watching Orson as he launches his 160-pound (73-kilogram) body into the air, leaping onto high rocks, branches, or even a log that dangles on a chain from the top of the enclosure. It's entertaining for the guests and part of what we call "enrichment."

Since jaguars are native to rain forests, we built a waterfall, stream, and small pool into the jaguar enclosure. The pool is too tiny for Orson to dive into, but he does stick his face in the water to retrieve live goldfish the keepers place there. He's also great at the meatball hunts, so maybe you'll be lucky on your next visit, and join the admiring spectators!

Where you can see him

The San Diego Zoo's Cat Canyon, up on the elevated catwalk, across from the Hunte Amphitheater.

More

Animal Bytes: Jaguar, Tropical Rain Forest, Spot the Cat Coats
Animal-themed Recipes: Jaguar Jello
Job Profiles: Taking Care of Animals
Do You Know?: What is Enrichment?
San Diego Zoo: Hunte Amphitheater