Jaguar

"Jaguar"

8"x24"x3/4" acrylic on visual edge canvas

I lucked up on a small exotic species zoo in Panama City one fall during one of my husband's business trips where I was able to tag along. I just had my Minolta 35mm and I'd already been to the beach, the pier, the shipyard... all the places you go with a camera. I only had twelve shots left, so I took all of them on the big cats. I've never been able to be so close to the cats at larger zoos. It was almost closing time, which must have been their feeding time, because they were all up and pacing close to the fences looking toward the center building.
There were two jaguars... this one and a black coloration. What impressed me most was the fact that, though not very large, these cats were extremely thick and muscular. I'd seen many images of the jaguar's lovely rosette coat but I was pleasantly surprised when this one showed me what beautiful patterning is on the underside. That contrast of black and white just POPS!