Beauval bids farewell to Laetitia, its female black-coated jaguar

A few months after Miguel’s death, ZooParc de Beauval has lost another iconic figure from its history. Laetitia, a female jaguar with a black coat, passed away on Thursday 20 August at the age of 20. Having arrived at Beauval in September 2006, she left a lasting impression on our staff and millions of visitors with her distinctive coat, her strong-willed nature and her familiar presence in the Big Cat Woodlands.

Her passing leaves a great void today amongst those who have cared for her and spent time with her over the years. But the memories of Laetitia, her character and her story with Miguel will long remain associated with the jaguars of Beauval. These precious memories will continue to stay with those who knew this iconic pair.

Through their presence over nearly 20 years, Laetitia and Miguel also helped raise public awareness of jaguar conservation and, more broadly, the preservation of biodiversity.

Nearly 20 years of history at the Bois des Fauves in ZooParc de Beauval

Born on 6 September 2005 at Berlin Zoo in Germany, Laetitia arrived at ZooParc de Beauval on 27 September 2006, a few weeks after her first birthday.

She then settled into the Bois des Fauves. With her dark coat, characteristic of melanism, Laetitia was instantly recognisable. Beneath this almost black coat, the jaguar’s typical rosettes remained visible depending on the light.

Over the years, she became a familiar presence to both the keepers and regular visitors to the Bois des Fauves. She was a female jaguar who could be recognised at a glance and whose personality left no one indifferent.

With her dark coat, characteristic of melanism, Laetitia was immediately recognisable

A personality the keepers won’t forget

“Laetitia is a bit temperamental. She’s got a mind of her own, she grumbles a lot and she tries to make it clear to us when she doesn’t feel like it,” Maëlle, an animal keeper in the Big Cats section, told us.

This strong character didn’t stop Laetitia from being calm and cooperative when she wanted to be. It is also this personality – well known to the teams who looked after her – that makes her absence feel so special today.

Laetitia and Miguel, parents of eight cubs born at Beauval

Laetitia’s story at Beauval is inextricably linked to that of Miguel, who arrived a few months before her in 2006. Together, the two jaguars spent more than 19 years and sired eight cubs between 2008 and 2014, who went on to join various zoos across Europe and elsewhere in the world. Among their offspring is Sangha, born at Beauval in 2013. She herself gave birth in 2017 to Taima, the granddaughter of Laetitia and Miguel, who joined Beauval in July 2026.

In their daily lives, their relationship was characterised by little, well-established routines. “They were a bit like cats and dogs,” recalls Maëlle. “Laetitia tended to want to stay inside the building. Miguel, on the other hand, would go out for his little morning walk and then come back to fetch her so she could join him outside. And when she stayed inside for too long, he’d come and tease her a bit to get her to get up and come out.”

It was a scene the keepers had observed for many years and one that perfectly illustrates how this pair, with their very different personalities, got on together.

Miguel passed away on 5 April 2026, aged 20. Despite their nearly two decades of living together, the carers did not observe any particular change in Laetitia’s behaviour or habits following Miguel’s death. Whilst it is impossible to know exactly how she might have felt, one small habit had definitely disappeared from her daily routine: Miguel was no longer there to come and fetch her when she preferred to stay in her enclosure. A simple gesture, observed over the years by the carers, which in itself sums up part of this pair’s remarkable story.

A state of health closely monitored

At nearly 21 years old, Laetitia had reached an advanced age and her health was being closely monitored by the animal care and veterinary teams. For many years, she had been experiencing difficulties with her left front paw in particular, which had been the subject of several examinations.

Due to her advanced age, an enclosure located behind the scenes had also been set up for Laetitia, to provide her with a space suited to her age and mobility difficulties.

More recently, several changes had alarmed the keepers: Laetitia was eating less and regularly leaving part of her feed uneaten, whilst drinking more. Her behaviour had also changed: whilst she used to return to her enclosure every evening, she had started to remain out in the open for several days without wanting to go back in.

In light of these various signs, she was anaesthetised on 15 August so that thorough examinations could be carried out. Lumps were then discovered and biopsies sent for analysis, as the vets suspected they might be tumours. As her condition continued to deteriorate, further examinations were scheduled for the morning of Thursday 20 August to assess the extent of these lumps. Sadly, Laetitia passed away at the very start of this second anaesthesia, before the further tests could be carried out. Right up to the end, the teams remained fully committed to supporting her and ensuring her well-being.

Laetitia’s story lives on through her descendants

Taima: a family story that lives on

A few weeks before her death, Laetitia had also met Taima, her granddaughter, who arrived at Beauval on 22 July 2026.

The two females had not yet been brought into direct contact, but they could already see and sense each other through the bars separating their enclosures. The interactions observed were positive. In particular, when Laetitia approached, Taima would adopt a posture that the keepers interpreted as a positive sign in their initial exchanges.

An ambassador for her species

Throughout her life at Beauval, Laetitia also served as an ambassador for her species. The jaguar is the largest feline on the American continent and the third-largest feline in the world. Classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is primarily affected by habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as conflicts with humans.

The species is also part of an EAZA ex situ breeding programme, in which ZooParc de Beauval participates. Through Laetitia, Miguel and their offspring, Beauval has for many years been contributing to the conservation of this population in zoos and to raising public awareness of the threats facing the species in its natural habitat.

This commitment also continues in the field through Beauval Nature, which supports the Pró-Carnívoros Institute and the Iguaçu Jaguars project in Brazil and Argentina. This programme aims, in particular, to gain a better understanding of and carry out a census of jaguars, to track their movements, and also to promote coexistence between big cats and local communities by implementing measures to limit predation on domestic animals.

With her almost entirely black coat, Laetitia also helped visitors discover a distinctive feature of the jaguar: melanism. This phenomenon, linked to high levels of melanin production, gives some individuals a much darker colouring. However, it does not cause the species’ characteristic markings to disappear: depending on the light, the jaguar’s rosettes remained visible beneath Laetitia’s black coat.

The end of a chapter for the jaguars at Beauval, but not the end of their story

Her black coat, her strong personality and her partnership with Miguel left a lasting impression on both the staff and the visitors. When Maëlle was asked what the public would remember most about Laetitia, two things immediately sprang to mind: ‘her temperament’ and ‘her partnership with Miguel’. Laetitia’s passing, just a few months after Miguel’s, thus brings to a close a chapter spanning nearly twenty years at the Bois des Fauves.

But the story they wrote at Beauval lives on through their descendants. Among them are Sangha, born here in 2013, and now Taima, their granddaughter. A new generation is now carrying on a story that began at Beauval nearly twenty years ago.