Filly the Jaguar is Off to Milwaukee

Filly, a female jaguar from Belize, is leaving behind the lush jungles of Belize for a new life in the United States as part of a long-standing conservation effort. On Monday, the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Centre announced that Filly will be transferred to the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin.

Dr. Celso Poot, Director of the zoo, stated, “Our program has transformed from just removing the cats from the wild and keeping them at the zoo to rehabilitating them and releasing those that can be released back into the wild with GPS collars so that we can track their movement.”

Poot added that some jaguars, like Filly, can’t be released due to injuries or behaviour that would cause them to “return to be conflict cats.” These cats are then considered for breeding programs, like the Jaguar Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a global initiative to ensure the genetic diversity and sustainability of jaguars in captivity.

Filly will join another Belizean jaguar, Franky, at the Milwaukee Zoo. Franky, who is a grandson of a previous Belizean jaguar named Pat the Great Cat, is in need of a mate. “Franky and Filly will be put together, and hopefully we can get some litters from them,” Poot added.

Katie Kuhn, Assistant Curator of Large Mammals at the Milwaukee County Zoo, said that the plan for jaguars is focused on maintaining genetic diversity in the North American population. She said, “Genetic diversity is important because otherwise you get the effects of what inbreeding would look like,” such as health issues, diseases, and physical deformities.

According to Kuhn, Filly won’t be viewable to the public right away as the transition will be gradual even when meeting Franky. “She is going to be out…smooth and seamless…it will be at her pace.”