Big cats in every way, even if they are only cubs!
It’s in “Jaguars Born Free.” Here’s the online synopsis:
Three tiny orphaned jaguar cubs are discovered in a Brazilian forest. A family decide to take the place of their mother and train them to become wild again. Over two years they must learn to climb trees, swim, and hunt for their dinner. If they can be successfully released, it will give new hope to these rare animals.
You might have heard of this series. I hadn’t, but definitely will watch the whole thing.
Here are some more clips that the BBC has shared.
There’s one more, but you decide if you want to watch it. One of the cubs gets sick and no one knows why.
If you’ve shared your home with a house cat, you know how dramatic they can sometimes be with a minor bug (and then so stoic with something super serious that you might not notice it — my vet warned me about this, but fortunately it has never come up).
Well, in the following video, this jaguar cub is very sick; I cried. And they don’t tell you whether poor Siobhan makes it — it’s one of the other cubs in the release clip.
Illness is a major problem for wild cats in zoos and other sanctuaries. For example, back in the 1980s, the cheetah park south of here — #1 on my bucket list! — lost 60% of its cats in one outbreak. (Source)
So kudos to the BBC for showing us a little — just a little — of the difficulties that conservationists face every day.
More on jaguars:
Flight To Wonder 