Males and females meet in the wild only to mate. The male leaves as soon as mating is over, and the female brings up the young on her own. She gives birth to one to four cubs, which are blind at birth and weight only 25-32 ounces. The cubs begin exploring the world outside the den at about two weeks, when their eyes have opened. They begin hunting with their mother at the age of six months. They remain with her for the first two years before leaving to find a territory of their own in which to hunt. A jaguar is sexually mature at three years of age.