Jaguar at Fla. zoo dies after procedures

VIERA, Fla., (UPI) — A 7-year-old jaguar at the Brevard Zoo in Brevard County, Fla., died several days after falling ill during routine medical procedures, a zoo official said.

Zoo Executive Director Keith Winsten said Xinca the jaguar initially quit breathing last week after being chemically immobilized so a group of visiting researchers could obtain a sperm sample from the big cat and give the animal a compete physical and dental exam, Florida Today reported Sunday.

Zoo staff was able to get the animal to breathe on its own through cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the jaguar
never regained consciousness.

Winsten said Xinca stopped breathing again on Saturday despite 24-hour care from zoo staff and this time the animal could not be resuscitated.

“We actually thought there was a chance he’d pull through,” Winsten said of Xinca’s death in the wake of last Tuesday’s procedures. “It’s like a human. If you had a human down for that many days, there’s a lot of high risk.”

“But the last days we thought we’d see some improvement. That made the blow to the staff even more difficult.”

Florida Today said initial results of tests on the jaguar’s remains are pending.

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