On March 24th, Beauval Zoo in France welcomed three new rare Jaguar cubs. One of the cubs is a spotted Jaguar while the other two are, like their mother, melanistic Jaguars, often referred to as a black panthers. This variation in color is a genetic trait that is found in approximately six percent of the wild population. The exact mechanisms of the inheritance of the variation are still not understood.
As the cubs remain with their mother in their den, this is the only photo of the trio so far. Stay tuned for more once these rare cats begin to venture out of their den and explore their habitat.