I always get excited when there is a new baby born at Ellen Trout Zoo. This time it's an endangered Jaguar cub named Balam. He is super cute, and cuddly....for now! Take a look at some of these exclusive candid shots from the zoo.

My love for the Ellen Trout Zoo is well known. I just like most of you have many fond memories of going there with friends and family over the years. The Ellen Trout Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of an endangered Jaguar, as the result of a cooperative breeding program – the Species Survival Plan. The cub was born last Thursday, August 20th, 2015. He weighed in at 1.6 pounds, now weighing in at 2 pounds. This young male Jaguar's name - Balam is the the Mayan word for jaguar.

Ellen Trout Zoo
Ellen Trout Zoo
loading...

The proud first time parents are 8 year old Seraphina and 3 year old Kabah. Unfortunately, the cub was not being nursed or well-tended by the mother, and some health concerns arose. Zoo staff found it necessary to intervene, as the cub became cold and weak hours after its birth. The cub was removed from the mother, and given medical and husbandry care. It quickly rebounded, and now is doing very well under the careful attention of the animal care staff. While being hand-reared, the cub is not on public display and it remains in visual contact with one or the other of its parents in the indoor enclosure.

Ellen Trout Zoo
Ellen Trout Zoo
loading...

Prior to the birth of Balam, the last Jaguar cubs born at the Ellen Trout Zoo were in 1996 when there was a litter of three.

More From K-Fox 95.5