Pollyanna Jaguar – and her Family!
We are so delighted to be able to share these incredible new photographs of the wild jaguar Pollyanna – with her beautiful healthy family!
Pollyanna jaguar was named in tribute to Pollyanna in 2018. The Jaguar Identification Project is building a cohesive database on individual jaguars in the northern Pantanal region On 30th July that year – the date which would have been Pollyanna’s 76th birthday – the internationally acclaimed American wildlife photographer Mark Thomas observed and photographed a young female, who had never been seen before by the Jaguar ID project. He was given the opportunity to name the jaguar, and with approval from the head of the project, chose to name her in tribute to Pollyanna, saying “Pollyanna devoted so much to wildlife around this planet, it is only fitting that this beautiful cat bears her name.” The spot pattern on the body and especially the face of a jaguar is comparable to a human fingerprint – no one pattern is the same. This makes it quite easy to identify individuals
We were incredibly relieved when Pollyanna was seen alive and well following the horrendous wildfires which devastated the region a couple of years ago – but she wasn’t spotted during the 2017 season. It is now clear that there was a wonderful reason for this – she was caring for two young cubs! This summer she has brought her now almost fully grown youngsters back into the area to hunt alongside the waterways which traverse the Pantanal.
Jaguars typically have two cubs at one time (though they can have up to four). The cubs are born completely helpless and blind. They remain with their mother for two years as they grow and learn to hunt and take care of themselves. Pollyanna is pictured above with her son, who has been named Tango. Pollyanna is in the foreground of the picture, with Tango behind – already bigger than his Mum! Below are both siblings – Tango and his sister Madelena – with Pollyanna keeping a watchful eye on them in the background. “It is both heart warming and so exciting to see these images of Pollyanna with her family” Anna-Louise commented “We are so proud of Pollyanna jaguar successfully raising two strong healthy youngsters. I know how thrilled Pollyanna would be to know that the jaguar which bears her name is thriving so well”.