Goodbye Sofia, our beloved Jaguar

This baby-faced girl arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary from Chester Zoo, just before her 15th birthday. She moved here when she was retired from the breeding programme and came to live out her sunset years with us, and what a 6 years it has been.

As soon as she was let out into the enclosure, Sofia’s confidence shone through as she explored without a care in the world. Not phased by having a brand new home, a new neighbour in Athena and a new set of keepers, this lady took it all in her stride. She was keeping a little secret from us though. A very polite jaguar at first, coming into the den without a peep when she was called, always behaving impeccably, as she settled, we began to see her strength shine through. Sofia was beginning to make it quite clear to keepers who ruled the roost and exactly where we were in the pecking order. A truly incredible, sassy and fantastically intelligent lady. And just like that, she had won our hearts.

Sofia settled very happily into life at the Sanctuary. She could always be seen spending her days lounging in the sun in the long grass, or, our personal favourite, resting on her high logs with front and back legs stretched out, hanging either side, chin resting down, eyes sleepy and calm. Such a comical sight for a relatively serious jaguar.

Her favourite enrichments often involved being treated to a hessian sack with various herbs and spices. Not only did the smells always elicit a huge response of blissful head rubbing but the hessian sack allowed her something she could carry around like a trophy and keep with her wherever she wanted. A possession she was very proud of.

Always keen to meet guests if they were offering her treats, she would gladly meet people at the mesh. After taking a chicken drumstick from a guest, Sofia always, unfailingly lay on the floor with the snack adorably clasped between both front paws so she could pick at it daintily. A world away from most of the other cats who gulp it down as fast as they can. This always received adoration from the crowd as her sweet little quirk won everyone over.

In training sessions, Sofia showed her incredible intelligence. She was trained to reverse up to the mesh, allow her tail to be brought through and shaved and for blood to be drawn. An amazing display of trust between her and her primary trainers Emily and Mikey. Her focus on the food and the keepers while blood was being drawn allowed us to monitor her health in her advancing years and allowed us to do so without administering anaesthetics if we didn’t need to.

We could see from these blood results that, unsurprisingly for an elderly cat, Sofia’s kidneys were deteriorating. This information allowed us to put her on medication to help support her, but we would only be able to slow this deterioration, not reverse it. At the grand age of 20 Sofia was clearly beginning to slow down, becoming less active and beginning to show signs that she no longer felt as well as she once had. In an ethical review between the team here and our vet, Dr Nic Masters, it was decided that it was time to let our old lady go.

Anyone who knows Sofia will remember her as a sassy, confident and fiercely intelligent jaguar and an absolute queen until the end. A perfect addition to our cat family, she will be sorely missed by us all.

Thank you,

Briony and the keeping team