First Record of Mating Involving a Melanistic Jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Wild: Novel Behavioural Insights Into Colour Morphs and Captive-Wild Comparisons

Luypaert, Thomas, Hawes, Joseph E., Di Ponzio, Raffaello, Peres, Carlos A. and Haugaasen, Torbjørn (2025) First Record of Mating Involving a Melanistic Jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Wild: Novel Behavioural Insights Into Colour Morphs and Captive-Wild Comparisons. Ecology and Evolution, 15 (8). pp. 1-10. ISSN 2045-7758

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Abstract

Many threatened felid species, including the jaguar (Panthera onca), have low reproductive success in captivity. This may be partially attributed to a lack of knowledge on natural history parameters like courtship and mating behaviour in wild animal populations - an essential aspect for fine-tuning ex situ breeding programs. During a series of basin-wide biodiversity inventories in the Brazilian Amazon, we captured videographic evidence of a mating event involving a melanistic jaguar. Such videographic evidence of natural jaguar mating behaviour remains rare, with prior behavioural descriptions being derived from artificial settings like zoos and wildlife parks. Our findings provide the first insights into the courtship and mating interactions between different jaguar colour morphs in the wild, and offer critical validation for behavioural data obtained from controlled environments. These insights enhance our understanding of jaguar reproductive biology and contribute valuable context for refining ex situ conservation strategies. More broadly, they highlight the role of natural history research in advancing conservation efforts for elusive species.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The full-length video documenting the observed jaguar copulation event is available as embedded rich media in the manuscript. TL and JEH. The data were stored on the resources provided by Sigma2 - the National Infrastructure for High-Performance Computing and Data Storage in Norway. The data were collected under ICMBio SISBIO licence #89944-1. This publication adheres to the authorship guidelines of the ABC Expeditions project and is publication #6 of the Amazon Biodiversity & Carbon Expeditions. We are grateful to Evanir de Almeida Damasceno, Guilherme daSilva Araujo, Juliano André Bogoni, Renann Henrique Paiva Dias da Silva and local field assistants for their efforts in data collection. We thank Pilar Louisy Maia Braga, João Araújo de Souza, Evanir Almeida Damasceno, Milton José De Paula and Jéssica dos Anjos for logistica lsupport, and ICMBio for the use of their base. We further extend our appreciation to the participants and collaborating institutions of the Amazon Biodiversity & Carbon Expeditions (abc- expeditions.com) and to the residents and manager of Serra do Pardo National Park for their invaluable support and assistance.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	big cats,camera trapping,colour polymorphism,ex situ conservation,natural history,reproductive behaviour,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,ecology,nature and landscape conservation ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2026 14:30
Last Modified:	31 Mar 2026 14:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102678
DOI:	10.1002/ece3.71776

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