First baby jaguar born at Florida zoo in a decade — and mom can’t get enough cuddles

A new jaguar cub at a Florida zoo is the first to be born there in 10 years.

The baby was born at the Jacksonville Zoo on April 7 to “first-time mother and father, Babette and Harry,” the zoo said in a Facebook post on June 8.

The cub and its mom are spending “ample quality time behind-the-scenes” in a private enclosure, according to the zoo.

Video shared by the zoo shows the mom cleaning her baby with her tongue as the cub rolls around playfully paws at her face.

Jaguar mothers sometimes reject their young, so zoo staff said they were happy to see Babette “instinctively” looking after her cub, according to a news release from the zoo.

“We are ecstatic that Babette is doing an excellent job taking care of her cub who is active and healthy,” David Hagan, chief life sciences officer for the zoo, said in a statement. “This is an exciting time, and we are thrilled for the community to join us in celebration.”

The cub will not be on public display until it’s a little older, the zoo said.

The cub has not yet been named, and its gender is yet to be determined, according to the release.

A male named Khan was the last jaguar to be born at the zoo, according to the release. He was born in July 2013.

Jaguars are big cats found in the rainforest and tropical wetlands of South and Central America, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They can also be found in deserts and grasslands, according to the Jacksonville Zoo.

About 173,000 jaguars exist in the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Their status is “near threatened,” and their population is declining.

The cats are the third largest in the world after lions and tigers, according to the Jacksonville Zoo. Males can grow to weigh between 125 and 250 pounds, and females can weigh between 100 and 200 pounds.

Unlike many other cats, jaguars “actually enjoy swimming and catching fish,” the release says. They have yellow or orange coats with dark spots, and each jaguar has a unique spot pattern similar to a fingerprint.

Visitors to the Jacksonville Zoo will be able to watch the new cub grow via a livestream viewable in the “Lost Temple herp house,” according to the Facebook post.

“It is important for first-time moms to be able to bond with their cubs without outside disturbance,” Sheryl Staaden, curator of mammals for the zoo, said in a statement. “The cub reached an important milestone by opening its eyes to reveal a beautiful blue-gray color.”

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