This is the story of a trip to the zoo that turned into something I never imagined I would witness in my lifetime.


I walked to my favorite place in the zoo, the jaguar enclosure and immediately knew something very interesting was unfolding. Most people were just walking by, but something was happening…

The female was standing very still, and the male stood directly behind her, also very still, almost as if they were both silently telling the crowd to move along and give them space. When they finally started walking, she led the way and he followed close behind, never letting much distance form between them.

She eventually laid down on the ground, stretched out, and looked back at him while he watched her closely from a short distance away. Then she rolled onto her side and did the cutest motion with both front paws together, swiping them up and down in the air as if she were flirting with him, trying to keep his attention.

I knew immediately she was in heat.

He gave her a sideways glance, but instead of going to her, he walked over to get a drink. After he finished, he slowly walked back toward her and approached very cautiously from behind. She allowed him to sniff her for a moment, then suddenly changed her mind and moved away. There was a lot of back and forth, a few tense moments, and plenty of distractions from the noise around and above the enclosure, but eventually she led him off and away out of sight.



A large green iguana rests on a rock surface in a natural habitat setting.
A majestic leopard rests on a rocky ledge in a natural habitat setting while observing its surroundings.
A large Komodo dragon lizard walks along a rocky path in a natural habitat setting.


I quickly moved to a different viewpoint, and when they came back into sight, he had made his move and she had accepted. It was very fast, surprisingly fast, and both sweet and dangerous at the same time, which is the way of big cats.


A jaguar rests in the shade on grassy ground at a wildlife sanctuary or zoo enclosure.
A cheetah stalking through grass and shadows in a natural outdoor habitat.


She allowed him to brace the back of her head with his mouth while he balanced himself, and then just as quickly as it began, it was over.


A leopard walks through dappled sunlight in a grassy area at a wildlife sanctuary.
A leopard rests in the dappled sunlight beneath trees in a grassy area.
A serval cat walks through grass and shadows in a natural outdoor setting.


The moment he pulled away, she flew at him in pain, and he jumped back just in time to avoid her claws.

What most people don’t realize is that mating for big cats is actually painful for the female. The male has barbs that trigger ovulation during mating, which is necessary for reproduction, but it also means the moment he pulls away is when the pain hits. That’s why the male jumps back so quickly, and why the female almost always lashes out at him immediately afterward.


Two leopards interact on a grassy slope in a natural outdoor setting with sunlit patches and shadows.


It looked violent for a moment, but it was all part of a process that may someday result in small spotted cubs climbing over the same rocks.

They then both laid down on the ground facing each other, him still attentively watching her. She rolled onto her back as if scratching an itch, while he finally closed his eyes, hoping for a little rest after all the excitement.

After a few quiet moments, she opened her mouth in a low call, and he immediately stood up, walked over to the rock wall of the enclosure, marked it, and then casually lied down, now in a watchful, alert posture.

She flopped down beside him and, once again, placed her front paws together and swiped them up and down in the air, the same playful little motion as before, almost as if she were telling him everything was fine between them.


A series of images showing a cheetah stalking and chasing prey through grassland terrain.
A jaguar rests in the shade on a grassy patch near a rock wall in a natural habitat setting.
A black and white spotted dog lies in the dirt near a stone wall while casting a shadow.
A spotted leopard lounges on a dirt path in dappled sunlight near a concrete wall.
A spotted leopard rests on its side in a shaded outdoor enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary.
Two leopards resting in a shaded enclosure with rocky walls and patches of green grass on the ground.

A few moments later, I heard the male lion in the enclosure across the walkway begin guffawing loudly. I hurried over and made it just in time to capture a few frames of him.

That was when it really hit me what I had just witnessed. In the wild, he likely would have smelled another male cat marking territory and responded with a warning call of his own. Even though they were in separate enclosures, the communication was still happening. The instincts were still there.

In one zoo visit, I hadn’t just witnessed one incredible big cat interaction, but two. Animals communicating across enclosures, across walkways, through instinct and scent and sound, just as they would in the wild.

I walked away from that experience knowing I had just witnessed something I never would have imagined I’d see in my lifetime. I left educated, grateful, and exhilarated. Seeing it unfold in front of me was incredible, but having my camera with me and being able to document it and share the story with others is the most rewarding part of being a photographer. Everything I do related to photography is simply to enable me to see, to feel, and to document the moments — especially the ones most people never even realize are happening right in front of them.


A majestic male lion with a thick mane rests on the ground in a natural habitat, showing its powerful profile.
A majestic male lion with thick mane stands on dusty ground with shadows from fence bars falling across the scene.