Miami MetroZoo jaguar dies during surgery

MIAMI, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A spokesman for Miami MetroZoo said one of its two jaguars died while undergoing surgery for a stomach problem.

Zoo spokesman Ron Magill said Palenque the jaguar died Wednesday, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

A necropsy was performed but results were pending.

Magill said the 129-pound male jaguar was kept separate from Miami MetroZoo's other jaguar, Reina, because jaguars are solitary animals that traditionally take time to adjust to one another.

"If you try to introduce two jaguars at the wrong time, one can kill the other," Magill said.

Magill told the Herald that Palenque exhibited symptoms of gastrointestinal problems as well as inconsistent eating difficulties since first arriving at the zoo in August 2007.