click to enlarge Courtesy of San Antonio Zoo
In September 2016 a pair of baby jaguar cubs were born at the San Antonio Zoo for the first time since 1974.
On Tuesday, the San Antonio Zoo welcomed a two-year-old female jaguar named Frida as part of a breeding program conservationists hope will preserve the near-threatened species.
Officials hope Frida — who was transferred from the Memphis Zoo as part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' Species Survival Plan — will eventually mate with the zoo's male Jaguar named B'alam.
Only 10,000 jaguars remain in the wild, according to San Antonio Zoo officials.
Frida will be housed at the facility's South American-themed Neotropica habitat, which
recently went under $1.7 million renovation and expansion. Guests will get a good look at both Frida and B'alam via the Pantera walk, a skybridge that allows the jaguars to wander between exhibits.
Frida's arrival is the latest in a slew of good news for the San Antonio Zoo, which was recently named the
No. 4 best Zoo in the country and
No. 2 for its outstanding conservation, animal welfare and education efforts.
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