We’re excited to share that last week was the one year anniversary of when Beliza the jaguar started her cancer treatment. We thought we’d use this occasion to share a little about Beliza’s history, for those of you who may not know much about her.
Beliza was born at Stone Zoo in Massachusetts and came to Mesker Park when she was a little under a year old. She arrived in 2007 in anticipation of the opening of Amazonia: Forest of Riches. It’s hard to believe that was 13 years ago!
On September 22, 2009, she gave birth to two female cubs, Maya and Rosa, after she and Cuxtal received a breeding recommendation from the Jaguar Species Survival Plan. The cubs were a big hit with our guests, and you can see why – they were adorable and brought a lot of activity to the jaguar habitat with their playfulness. But just like in the wild, jaguars under human care are solitary cats, so the cubs moved to other zoos in 2011. Maya went on to have cubs of her own, so Beliza is actually a grandma!
We temporarily introduced Beliza and Cuxtal several times in 2018 and 2019 in hopes of her having more cubs. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and when we examined her under anesthesia we found that cancer was causing her fertility issues. Despite this diagnosis, she continues to do well, even a year after starting treatment. Please join us in celebrating Beliza’s success so far and wishing her ongoing good health!
$125 will support Beliza’s cancer treatment medication for one week. A gift from you today will help us, help her. At Mesker Park Zoo, we ensure that all our animals, like Beliza, receive excellent care every day. Funds in excess to Beliza’s medication will be distributed to our annual Adopt and Animal program that provides animal care and enrichment to all of our animals.
If you feel so moved, use the link below to help us offset the cost of cancer treatment for this amazing cat: