Akabo and Yuna Welcome Their First Cub!

The cub was born on June 12 and appears healthy, strong, and full of life. Like its father, it has a beautiful black coat. Only 10 jaguar cubs were born in zoos worldwide over the past year.

The birth went smoothly, and thanks to a camera in the birthing box, keepers were able to observe the newborn from its very first moments. Yuna is proving to be a caring and attentive mother. The pair was formed in November 2023. “Male jaguars mature around the age of three, so Akabo is still a rather young father,” said keeper Sára Palová. The cub’s gender will be determined during a veterinary check-up next week.

For now, the cub stays with Yuna behind the scenes in the Jaguar Trek facility, but visitors can still catch a glimpse—starting June 21, a live feed from the birthing box will be shown daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. near the jaguar exhibit.

Zoo director Roman Horský invites everyone to follow the story both at the zoo and online. If all goes well, Yuna and her cub will step into the outdoor enclosure for the first time at the end of July.

Jaguars were first kept at Zlín Zoo in the 1960s. Before the breeding program ended in the 1990s, six black cubs were born. In 2022, jaguars returned with the opening of Jaguar Trek—Europe’s largest jaguar exhibit.