MILWAUKEE — A new jaguar will soon be on view at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Filly is a conflict jaguar that was just transferred from the Belize Zoo.
Filly is estimated to be between 6-7 years old and was rescued in 2019 as part of the Human Jaguar Conflict Program at the Belize Zoo. The Zoo has identified her as a conflict jaguar, which are jaguars who has been reported to be preying on livestock. They are nearly always jaguars who are older, injured or sick and unable to compete successfully with healthy jaguars for food and territory”. The big cats are humanely trapped and safely transferred to the Belize Zoo.
The two zoos have had a conservation partnership going back to 1980s. The Milwaukee County Zoo’s male jaguar Frankie is the son of Pat, who arrived from the Belize Zoo in 2008 and was a conflict jaguar as well.
“We are thrilled to collaborate once again with our partners at the Belize Zoo to bring Filly to Milwaukee,” Amos Morris, Milwaukee County Zoo executive director said. “We are proud to support the conservation efforts of the Belize Zoo and their commitment to the Jaguar Species Survival Plan. By bringing Filly to Milwaukee, we are also focused on the welfare and wellbeing of our male, Frankie. This also opens additional space for the Belize Zoo to continue to act as a haven for wild jaguars in need from human animal conflict.”
Jaguars in their natural range are considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Pairing Filly with Frankie has the potential to provide the population with new genes and increase the genetic diversity of the North American jaguar population.
The zoos said the transfer process for Filly has taken 4.5 years to complete. Filly is currently in a “quarantine period” at the Animal Health Center before being moved to her habitat in Florence Mila Borchert Big Cat Country. She will be available for public view at a later date.
