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Chapter 12. Other Considerations
12.1 Surplus Animals
All SSP animals held by institutions should be reported to the SSP Program Leaders. The SSP
Program Leader should be responsible for making the decision as to whether or not specific animals are
to be included in the managed population (e.g., over-represented animals or animals beyond
reproductive
age). Those animals not included in the managed population should be considered surplus to the
managed population, but records still must be maintained on them to the same degree as those in the
managed population. The North American Regional Jaguar Studbook attempts to maintain a database of
jaguars managed throughout the United States and Canada. However, it is known that a large number of
jaguars are kept in private hands. While data are collected and included on a
fair number of these
animals, it is not possible to know the whereabouts or origins of every jaguar in the region. Participation in
the studbook and the AZA Jaguar SSP is increasing in Mexico but it is nearly certain that more managed
jaguars exist there than anywhere else in North America. The primary goal of the studbook is to stay
current with data regarding jaguars which may have an impact on the AZA Jaguar SSP population and
continue to collect the remainder as contacts are established and maintained (S. Johnson, personal
communication, 2014).
The studbook is updated every three years and, presently, the AZA Jaguar SSP Breeding and
Transfer Plan is published every other year.
Since the AZA Jaguar SSP’s inception in the mid-1990s, its goal has been to develop a sustainable
population of known genetic diversity. However, at that time, either the pedigrees of jaguars in AZA
institutions could not easily or reliably traced back more than a few generations or the animals were very
closely related. The determination was made by the SSP Coordinator and management group to divide
the population into two groups. The first group is termed “pedigreed” to form the basis of a sustainable
breeding program. It consists only of animals whose ancestry could be documented back to wild origins
or, at least, could be verified as unrelated to any others in the pedigreed group. The second group is
made up
of all other animals, never bred and managed to extinction as the individual animals lived out
their otherwise normal lives.
This management strategy continues to be employed. As the pedigreed population grows through
recommended breeding and importing unrelated animals, it is replacing the non-pedigreed group as those
animals age out of the overall population (AZA Jaguar SSP Management Group and Advisors, personal
communication, 2014).
12.2 Additional Information
As noted throughout this manual, detailed knowledge of the jaguar as a
species is still somewhat
sparse, especially when compared with lions, tigers and leopards. Although some generalizations
regarding the genus
Panthera are appropriate, they must be made carefully and weighed against
empirical evidence. Observations of individual animals and taking local circumstances into account are
often as valuable as anything else.
Scientific literature regarding jaguar management, ecology, and conservation is published with
increasing regularity. Institutions managing jaguars are advised to stay abreast of developments and to
participate actively in building the body of published work for this species in zoos and in the wild. Refer to
Appendix O for a brief list of suggested additional reading. A more detailed, formal, bibliography of jaguar
research and
natural history, through 1999, is available from the AZA Jaguar SSP Coordinator upon
request.
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Acknowledgements
The AZA Jaguar Species Survival Plan
®
and North American Regional studbook owe their existence to
the innovative planning and dedicated work of Mike Fouraker, Greta McMillan, and Bob Wiese.
Joseph Barber patiently and constructively helped shape the context and content of this Manual during
the initial Standardized Guidelines development process.
Thank you to the institutional directors, researchers, collaborators, families, and friends who offered us
time, resources, and encouragement to tackle what has become an epic project.
In 1997, the first new founder in more than two decades came into
the AZA Jaguar SSP population,
marking an improbable early step in the program’s growth toward sustainability. Today, 46 AZA
institutions manage 97 jaguars, 80 percent of which have completely traceable pedigrees. Their
dedication took a population once slated for phase-out and made it a Green SSP.
Muchacho, ~1994-2014
The one who proved it could be done
Stacey Johnson
AZA Jaguar SSP Coordinator
October 2014
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Panthera onca)
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References
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Allen, M., Oftedal, O., Earle, K., Seidensticker, J., & Vilarin, L. (1995). Do maintenance energy
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