The existence of the jaglion is, for me, an example of human arrogance and self-indulgence. This exotic big cat hybrid should not exist. If you watch the video (it cannot be embedded on this page) you will hear a zookeeper speaking inanely to a captive jaglion. The whole thing depresses me personally. The enclosure looks ridiculously small and uncomfortable. There’s nothing pleasant about it but people are fascinated with exotic cats and the jaglion is certainly that being a lion/jaguar hybrid.
Update — Below the large picture is another, also supposedly Jahzara. I have added this later. This picture is more authentic in my view. The cat looks more like an lion/jaguar hybrid looking at the face and the markings are different. This is a different cat. This is the genuine article in my opinion.
The jaglion is a cross breed of a male jaguar and a female lion. I confess to say that until today I had not heard of them perhaps partly because I dislike this sort of breeding; creating exotic wild cats to titillate the viewing public.
They are very rare and there are two, perhaps the only two in the world in Ontario at Canada’s Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary (update: there may be more than two but not many more).
Their names are Jahzara and Tsunami. The picture on this page of Jahzara shows us that she is a melanistic Jaguar hybrid. I don’t know but I presume that the male Jaguar father was melanistic and the female lion was an ordinary coloured lion. His appearance is of a jaguar. I don’t see any lion in him as it happens.
Sarah Hartwell is able to add some details. She mentions the two jaglions at Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. They were born on April 9, 2006. They were the result of an accidental mating which means they were not deliberately bred although the parents were not neutered and they lived together.
We are told from my source (but I have now have doubts) that the cat that you see in the picture on this page is the result of a mating between a black male Jaguar, Diablo (as I had guessed) and a lioness whose name was/is Lola. The couple were inseparable because they had been hand-raised together. When separated they became anxious and depressed.
Sarah tells us that female big cat hybrids are frequently fertile. In which case, Jahzara, could in theory be bred back to purebred lions to introduce the gene for melanism (a gene that makes the coat become black or very dark) into the lion species.
Associated: Hybrid cats.
Why not read a blog post on new cat breeds to see some unique domestic cats!
The Jaglions were not intentionally bred for “human entertainment”. Bear Creek does excellent work rehabilitating and re-releasing injured or sick animals into the wild…CHECK YOUR FACTS!
Yes, they don’t occur naturally.
are jaglions man made
Mary, thanks for visiting and commenting. Would you like to reconsider your request? I am happy to make a small payment or publicise in a positive way your website and organisation. That would be far more positive than removing the photo. If I remove the photos I will be upset slightly. Also photos of Jahzara are all over Pinterest. They are everywhere (search on Pinterest for ‘jaglion’). What are you going to do about those? And what about all the other sites and Google Images? They are all over Google Images as well? These pictures are on very many of websites. Copyright on the internet is dead. Pinterest and Google have seen to that. Would you like to reconsider?
Hi Michael,
This is Mary, owner of Bear Creek Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary Inc.
We often search the internet for photos used from our website that are copyright. The photos you have of Jahzara are copyright. Please remove them from your blogs.
As for their story, it is on our website. They were not intentionally bred for either publicity or profit. We never publicized their arrival but did put them on our website. We have had many offers for profit but have chosen not to do so. They are both very healthy and have been spayed and neutered to not procreate. So if you have questions that cannot be answered from their story on our website, please feel free to ask.
But again, please do remove the photos from your blog. Thank you. Mary
Thanks a lot for your input.