When Maya arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary at just 5 days old she was a tiny cub in a rather critical state. She weighed about 800 grams (a little less than a bag of sugar) her mother did not appear to have enough milk to feed her and Maya was showing signs of weakness and dehydration, the decision to hand rear a cub is never taken lightly. However, on this occasion it was deemed the best option for Maya and her rollercoaster journey began on day one of her arrival, this was to be documented in the BBC series Big Cats About The House. At this stage no-one knew we had a star in the making.
Giles became her carer overnight, and it was a tall task as Maya required round the clock care, being bottle fed every four hours. Giles’ experience in hand-rearing played a fundamental role in her progressing well and monitoring of her developmental milestones was critical to her making a full recovery. She formed a bond with Giles and became stronger by the day.
But at around 2 months old, observations were made that Maya was uncoordinated in her movement and appeared to have problems seeing things. Veterinary tests were not able to reveal a definite cause, and Maya’s future was suddenly uncertain. Her only hope was that she would improve with time with lots of care. Maya was taken to hydrotherapy sessions to help strengthen her hind legs and help her coordination. Climbing frames were also built in the garden so that she could practice her balance and slowly but surely Maya began to improve.
As she grew, Maya needed to learn that although humans would always look after her, she was an animal, and she could only learn this from another animal. Therefore, Maya had regular visits with a local Labrador called Duffy. Through play Maya could learn, just as she would with a sibling or her mother, what was fun and what was too far.
Most days Maya was transported to enclosures around site so that she could experience new sights and smells, as well as seeing other cats from a distance.
Gradually concerns for Maya’s health fell away as she matured into an active, inquisitive and very healthy young jaguar, fast outgrowing the ‘cub cabin’ she had grown up in, it was time to start preparing her an enclosure of her own. She would spend the day in her own enclosure and then come back to the cabin at night with the keepers until she was 6 months old, she moved into her enclosure for good and it was time that she gradually was weaned off having human visitors as she was fast becoming a grown up and independent young lady.
Maya is now a very well rounded individual, she still enjoys seeing people and we couldn’t be prouder of her. She continues to be an incredible ambassador for her species, raising tens of thousands of pounds for jaguar conservation.
