Photo courtesy of Dane Jorgensen
Khan was born on July 18, 2013 and arrived at the Birmingham Zoo on February 8, 2017.
Khan, the 11-year-old jaguar at the Birmingham Zoo, arrived in Birmingham in 2017 from the Jacksonville Zoo and quickly became a favorite. Named for the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Khan recently moved to Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, another AZA accredited zoological facility, as part of the Species Survival Plan.
Khan was born on July 18, 2013 and arrived at the Birmingham Zoo on Feb. 8, 2017. With his departure, renovations will be made to the jaguar habitat in preparation for another jaguar arriving later this summer.
WHY KHAN’S MOVE HELPS PROTECT HIS SPECIES
AZA-accredited zoos collaborate to protect endangered species like jaguars. The Species Survival Plan helps zoos manage populations through careful breeding and transfer recommendations. They consider genetics, health, personality, space and age to decide which animals should move or pair up to keep the species healthy and strong. You can think of it as a very thoughtful version of JaguarMatch.com. Khan is in the prime of his life and genetically will help expand the jaguar population through his offspring. Jaguars are native to South America and are the third largest cat in the world. There are around 173,000 jaguars left in the world today with most of these big cats being found in the Amazon rainforest.
“These decisions are never made lightly and it is hard for our teams, too,” said Chris Pfefferkorn, President and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo. “But moving animals like Khan helps protect his species, gives him a future with a family of his own, and ensures we are doing everything possible to keep wildlife thriving for generations to come.”
In the wild, jaguars can live up to 12 to 15 years. With the expertise of animal care professionals in AZA facilities, they can live up to 20 years or longer. Jaguars are a “Near Threatened” species with a decreasing population. They are under threat from growing demand for their skin/fur, teeth, and claws.
“Our mission is inspiring passion to conserve the natural world and Khan definitely continues to help us do that,” said Pfefferkorn.
WHAT’S NEXT
Now that Khan has arrived at Brevard Zoo, renovations will begin on the habitat in the Primate/South America Building. This refurbishment should take less than a month and will include reactivating the waterfall plus other improvements. Jaguars are excellent swimmers. Once complete, a jaguar from another AZA facility will arrive in the enhanced space.
