Jaguar Cubs Born at San Diego Zoo ? Baby Animal Pictures

jaguar cub images, baby jaguars, baby zoo animals, baby animal pictures, San Diego Zoo animals, endangered species, animals — Taken May 9, 2012, a jaguar cub gets a weigh-in. (Image credit: © Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.)

The San Diego Zoo recently welcomed two bundles of cuteness in the form of twin jaguar cubs born on April 27, the first jaguars born at the zoo since 1989.

One of the 12-day-old cubs recently took a turn on a zoo scale during a check-up.

Although these two young cubs may look adorable, females can grow to 70 pounds (32 kg) while males can reach 120 pounds (54 kg). Jaguars are the largest of the big cats that live in the Western Hemisphere and the third largest any cat in the world. The South American native word for jaguar, yaguara, means "animal that kills in a single bound."

Demand for the jaguar's beautiful spotted fur is one of the reasons this species is an endangered species. In addition, loss of habitat and the human-animal conflict have reduced populations of jaguars throughout their range from North America through South America.

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