"Miracle" Ocelot Kitten Born at Cameron Park Zoo

An Ocelot kitten born at the Cameron Park Zoo is being called a “miracle baby” because it was born to a mother who was beyond the known breeding age for Ocelots. 

The kitten, a male named Aztec, is the first infant born to Cameron Park Zoo Ocelots Maya and Gustavo. Maya is 14 years old, an age which is considered somewhat past the prime age for successfully producing offspring. Ocelots reach sexual maturity at two to two-and-a-half years of age and their life expectancy is seven to ten years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. 

Photo Credit:  Cameron Park Zoo

In November 2012, a team of veterinary specialists from the Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Wildlife (CREW) performed a reproductive assessment on Maya. Even though she was past her breeding prime, Maya was still cycling and the assessment showed that there could be a slight chance of a successful pregnancy.  The team, along with Cameron Park Zoo veterinarian Terry Hurst, collected semen from Gustavo and performed an artificial insemination procedure on Maya. Unfortunately the procedure was not successful, and the assumption was that because of her age and the condition of her ovaries, Maya would not be able to become pregnant. 

On May 31, 2013 Maya was not feeling well and was left in her night house.  Later that morning, zoo staff members were surprised and excited to find a baby Ocelot had just been born!  Maya was given a nest box and hay for bedding her infant and then left alone with her baby to allow time to bond.  Apparently, Gustavo and Maya decided to have their baby “the old fashioned way” and Maya has proven to be an attentive mother.  Aztec has not made his public debut in the exhibit, but zoo officlas hope to announce that very soon. 

Ocelots are native to much of South America and Mexico.  They are expert hunters, and are fiercely territorial.  They are listed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Announcing "ZooBorns CATS!": The Newest Edition in the ZooBorns Library!

From the guys who brought you the smash hit ZooBorns: The Newest, Cutest Animals from the World's Zoos and Aquariums, which DiscoverMagazine.com called “hands down the cutest books ever to grace my shelf” comes ZooBorns CATS! The Newest, Cutest Kittens and Cubs from the World's Zoos featuring adorable pictures of newborn felines from accredited zoos and conservation programs around the world. ZooBorns: Cats! is the largest and most complete collection of kittens of different feline species ever published! Every sale of ZooBorns Cats! supports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund. With the official release on November 1st, you can pre-order ZooBorns CATS! now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Look out for exclusive giveaways and excerpts on our Facebook page in the coming weeks! 

North Carolina Zoo Welcomes Healthy Ocelot Twins

On April 12th, The North Carolina Zoo welcomed two Ocelot cubs. The cubs underwent their first examination last Friday. The female now weighs 880 grams; the male now weighs 910 grams. This was the third litter for the mother, who has given birth to six cubs in total, all from the same father. A female Ocelot will mature to about 20 lbs. and an adult male can reach as much as 35 lbs. Ocelots are typically born with blue eyes, which eventually turn brown. Their fur patterns are unique like human fingerprints. The Zoo will likely keep the cubs for about a year and then transfer them to another facility determined by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' breeding management program.

Photo credits: North Carolina Zoo

Ocelot Kitten Hates the Dentist

A healthy, active ocelot kitten received a clean bill of health during an examination administered by the Woodland Park Zoo's animal health staff. The kitten was born at the Zoo on January 15 and currently weighs nearly 3½ pounds. The 8-week-old kitten, named Evita, remains off public view in a birthing den with her mom,10-year-old Bella. Just as in the wild, Woodland Park's mother ocelots cares for her kitten young alone.  The kitten will continue to undergo a series of exams for the next couple of months to ensure she’s achieving acceptable weight gains and other important benchmarks. Don't miss the outstanding video below.

Via a closed-circuit cam, staff is monitoring Evita’s growth, progress and the maternal care Bella is providing. “Evita is exceeding all of our expectations and spending more and more time out of the den playing and climbing. She’s very playful and has a feisty temperament,” noted Myers. “Our keepers introduce a variety of enrichment toys to help stimulate natural behavior, but her favorite enrichment toy seems to be her mom, and that’s a good thing too.”

Photo and video credits: Ryan Hawk / Woodland Park Zoo. Read more below the fold.

A Second Miracle at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

The Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Lindner Center for Conservation & Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) are excited to announce the birth of the world’s first endangered cat produced by Oviductal Artificial Insemination (AI)!  Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s veterinarian and a handful of other Zoo animal care specialists conducted their first physical examination of the Brazilian Ocelot kitten today, six weeks after its January 22 birth, and determined it’s a girl, weighing in at three pounds. This AI kitten is the second born to the mother, Kuma, who previously gave birth in 2008 to a healthy kitten conceived using the traditional AI method.  Kuma is the first Ocelot to have multiple pregnancies and kittens produced by AI. 

Photo credits: 1st photo by Chris Eastland / 2nd - 6th photos by Shannon Calvert

Endangered Spots Arrive at Woodland Park Zoo!

A set of new spots and striping has appeared at the Woodland Park Zoo with the birth of an Ocelot! A single kitten, seen here at 3 weeks old, was born on January 15 to 10-year-old mother Bella and 15-year-old father Brazil. At this early stage, keepers want to minimize disturbance and physical contact outside of quick health check-ups to give the new family time to naturally bond. So for now, the mother and kitten are off public view in a dark birthing den and keepers are monitoring their progress via infrared camera. Read the full story at the Zoo's blog!

Photos by Jamie Delk/Woodland Park Zoo. Video produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Nap Time for Little Ocelot

Who can forget the playful ocelot baby we ran last November from Litchfield Park, Arizona's Wildlife World Zoo?  Now the zoo has another baby Ocelot, born just two weeks ago. The kitten, photographed here at just 10 days old, is snug as a bug in in its crib. We'll continue to watch the kitten's progress, but in the meantime, sorry we woke you little guy!

 

Photo Credits: Nicki Miller

Curious Kitten at Wildlife World Zoo

ZooBorns readers are no strangers to adorable ocelot kittens, but this interaction with Litchfield, Arizona's Wildlife World Zoo's new ocelot kitten was too cute to pass up. Thanks to vileoxidation for the great pics.

The chase continues below the fold...

"Miracle Kitten" Born at the Beardsley Zoo

For only the third time in history, an ocelot kitten has been born via artificial insemination technology. Born at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT, this little boy was dubbed the "miracle kitten" because of the long odds of success for this procedure, which has not been performed successfully for over a decade.

As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium's Species Survival Plan, this little ocelot will join the small population of Brazilian ocelots at zoos in the United States that may one day help to rebuild the wild population.

We here at ZooBorns would like to point out that if the Woodland Park Zoo's baby ocelot kittens didn't convince you that these are the cutest baby kitties in the world, Miracle Kitten pretty much seals the deal for the feline kitten title.

 

 

 

 

Photos by: Shannon Calvert

Incidentally, I (Andrew) grew up just a couple of miles from the Beardsley Zoo and it remains one of my all time favorites. If you don't happen to live in Connecticut, plan a stop over next time you're cruising between NYC and New Haven, or Boston, or Maine, or Canada. Definitely worth the trip.

Baby Ocelots at the Woodland Park Zoo - Round 2

Another ridiculously cute video of the ocelot kittens at the Woodland Park Zoo. Follow their progress on the Zoo's blog.

(If the video doesn't work right away, try refreshing the page)