There's a new jaguar in Jacksonville, but you won't find him on the depth chart come September.
In a joint release today, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and the Jacksonville Jaguars announced the arrival of an actual jaguar cub.
The unnamed male jaguar cub was born July 18. He shares his birthday with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
"We've always had a strong relationship with the Jaguars from when the Weavers were owners," said Amy Hernden, special events and public relations supervisor at the zoo.
She added that the zoo is in talks with current team president Mark Lamping and that they are looking forward to growing the relationship.
The team will likely play a role in the naming of the new cub.
Hernden said the zoo is working with the Jaguars to decide how to determine cub's name, whether through a contest or other options. The naming rights for new animals are typically auctioned as part of the zoo's annual fundraiser.
The cub completed his first wellness check by zoo staff on Sunday, which was also attended Jaguars center Brad Meester, his wife Jamie, and their six daughters. Meester's newest teammate weighed in at just less than seven pounds.
The cub is the 50th jaguar to be born at the zoo. The birth is notable because the cub's mother, or dam, named Zassi, is a wild-born, imported jaguar from Guyana. Zassi is establishing a new founder bloodline for the North American jaguar population. This is Zassi's second cub.
