It’s Banks’ birthday; Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens celebrates one-year since jaguar’s birth

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There’s a lot to celebrate.

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announced on Sunday, that Banks the Jaguar is celebrating his first birthday.

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“It has been an adventure watching him grow from a cub to a big boy,” the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens said. “He has won the hearts of our community, quickly becoming a star ambassador to his species.”

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Action News Jax has followed the story of Banks, from his birth on April 7, 2023, to the week-long community submission in selecting his name.

In celebrating Banks’ first birthday, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens said its relationship with Rupununi Wildlife Research Unit is key to preserving jaguars in the wild, specifically in the country of Guiana. How to better understand the relationship between humans, jaguars, and livestock is critical in preserving the species.

RELATED: Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens welcomes Jaguar cub, Banks

“In collaboration with villages, private ranches, regional groups, government agencies, and others, they work to produce new management tactics and partnerships that benefit people and jaguars,” Jacksonville Zoo, “Considering that 46 percent of jaguar populations in the Guiana Shield remain outside of protected areas, understanding the threats that jaguars face within state, private, and indigenous lands is critical to the conservation.”

A portion of ticket sales and memberships to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens goes directly to the care and feeding of the animals, and the protection of animals and plants around the world.

Banks was the first baby jaguar cub in the last 10 years born at the zoo. Once Banks reaches adulthood, he’ll grow to be 140 pounds.

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Little Banks Banks as a cub at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. (John Reed, Autographs and Defining Moments Photography)

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