She is chubby, healthy, very active and has her first baby teeth emerging. At 35 days old, the leopard born in the Bela Vista Biological Refuge (RBV) of Itaipu Binational He is doing well and now weighs 4,772 kilos.
The female jaguar cub (Panthera onca) underwent her third weighing this Friday, 03rd. In the first, on January 10th, she weighed 2,6 kilos. On Monday, on the 17th, she weighed 2,97 kilos. Since her last weigh-in, her weight has gone up 1,8 kilograms.
As the baby's development is occurring in accordance with the species' management protocols, it is estimated that the RBV's newest pop star can be seen by the public from April onwards. It will be put on display in the jaguar enclosure, located on the tourist circuit. Nena, the mother, who has been in the enclosure's maternity ward since before her birth, on December 28, will also return to space.
The baby jaguar will only go to the exhibition area when it has good coordination and can swim. Before that, the risk of drowning is great, as the feline enclosure houses a lake that is one and a half meters deep.
“When the two are placed at the location, Valente, the father, who is there at the moment, will be picked up. The mother has maternal instinct and takes care of the baby, but the father fights for territory with the child and can kill it”, explains veterinarian Wanderlei de Moraes, from Itaipu's Protected Areas Division. The animal exhibition will always take place in turns – either mother and daughter, or the father.
After the leopard is familiar with the space and is already known to the public, Itaipu will launch a competition to name it. The rules will be announced at that time. The expectation is that in a year and a half the youngest member of the feline family will be ready for reproduction. But the idea is to forward it to another institution that wishes to reproduce the species before then.
Playback
Nena and Valente should still have a long period of mating. At three years of age, the female is fully fertile and will be able to reproduce until she is ten. Due to the couple's disposition and history, it is possible to bet that in the next meeting, which could take place between six months and a year and a half, a new pregnancy will occur.
Unprecedented birth
This was the first successful case of jaguar reproduction in the RBV in 14 years of attempts. The birth occurred three months after the couple approached each other. The female black jaguar, Nena, three years old, was donated to the RBV by the Scientific Breeding Institute Onça-Pintada Institute, in Goiás. She arrived in August 2016 and in September she already had contact with Valente, nine years old, a former resident of the place . The puppy is melanic like its mother, that is, it has black pigmentation depending on the amount of melanin.
History
The Bela Vista Biological Refuge is located in an area of 1.908 hectares, on the Brazilian margin of the Itaipu plant, in Foz do Iguaçu (PR). The space today brings together the greatest diversity of regional flora and fauna species, many of which are threatened with extinction. The Itaipu herd has more than 380 animals.
The place is open to visitors. Residents of Foz do Iguaçu, the municipalities bordering Lake Itaipu and the three borders region do not pay to visit the attraction.
More than a tourist attraction, the Itaipu Biological Refuge is an important research and project development center, which welcomes experts from all over the world.
Visits
The Bela Vista Biological Refuge is part of the Itaipu tourist complex. Visits can be made from Tuesday to Sunday, at six times: 8:30 am, 9:30 am, 10:30 am, 13:30 pm, 14:30 pm and 15:30 pm. The duration of the tour is approximately two and a half hours. More information and reservations can be obtained online or by calling (45) 3529-2892.
(Advisory)
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