Jaguar Sculpture

Me working on my sculpture of a jaguar in the Fort Worth Zoo.

 Last Sunday I went to go sculpt in the Fort Worth Zoo with my friend John Davis. He worked on the mountain lion and I started a jaguar sculpture. The weather was a bit cool but I like that because the animals tend to be up and more active and there are not that many people there.

The female jaguar.

 The zoo has two jaguars a male and female. Only one is out at a time, as the female is still too young to breed. (My photos are of the female,) I think she is around three years years old. Their enclosure is in the Texas exhibit. We no longer have jaguars in the wild in Texas but at one time they lived in south Texas

Another photo of the female jaguar.

I have really learned a lot about the anatomy of jaguars and mountain lions. Mountain lions have small heads, long, thick tails and powerful hind quarters. Jaguars have larger heads, shorter tails, and longer bodies. 

My sculpture in clay, of the male jaguar.

I went back briefly to the zoo again yesterday and today the male was out today and I'm really basing my sculpture on him. Of course I have lots of work to do, especially on the legs and feet before I am ready to have it cast in bronze, but I am having a lot of fun working on it.