Janine farmer

ZOO VIEWS: A New Arrival: Welcoming Our Baby Ocelot

By Janine Farmer, Animal Keeper, and Carlee Redmon, Animal Keeper and Institutional Representative for Ocelots

SURPRISE!

If you have been following along with our ocelots, you know we have been trying to breed our pair, Rio and Mateo. They had an eventful summer, but things seemed to really calm down by the fall, and neither cat was showing interest in spending time with one another, except for one brief period in November. Cat partnerships are tricky, and their interests naturally wax and wane in cycles that are not easy to predict. It’s up to us to watch their behaviors carefully, and give them what they need to set them up for success. 

As Rio’s trainers, we weigh her weekly and work diligently to train her for future behaviors such as ultrasounds and x-rays. We spend a lot of time with Rio, so when something changes, it’s obvious. At the very beginning of January, we noticed a jump in Rio’s weight; about half a kilogram. Two days later, while training an “up” behavior, we observed mammary development that had not been obvious before. The timing of both of these things lined up suspiciously with her last pairing with Mateo in mid-November. Ocelot gestation is about 79-85 days; a relatively short period of time.

This is where all of Rio’s training became incredibly valuable. Previously we had worked on training her to receive ultrasounds, but we quickly learned that Rio’s temperament did not align with that behavior. She’s shy, and did not appreciate being touched. When training wild animals, it’s incredibly important to go with what they give you so that everyone can succeed. We made the decision to pivot to x-rays, which were a lot less invasive. Rio had already been trained to get into what is called a squeeze crate, so adding on to that behavior was a lot easier for her. A few days after noticing these changes, we were able to obtain x-rays on Rio that just barely showed a bun in the oven!

KICK INTO HIGH GEAR

Once our vets confirmed what we hoped we were seeing, we sent all the information to our contacts in the Ocelot Species Survival Plan (SSP). Aside from excitement and congratulations, the response we received lit a fire under us. “She could be as little as a week from birth.” Excitement over, now it was time to go down our very long to-do list. Thankfully the majority of it had been done long before we even introduced Rio and Mateo and just needed to be moved into place; zookeepers are nothing if not proactive.

We were incredibly grateful to receive a sizable grant from the Ocelot SAFE program in order to set us up as well as possible to breed. This included installing remote camera systems in the entire building, building a custom “den box” with a camera, and many “baby proofing” modifications to their bedroom areas. But aside from all of these things, we turned Rio’s living area into a real “maternal suite” in two days. Curtains, sound machines, the works. Once she gave birth, we needed to be “ghosts” in the building. Her comfort, especially as a first time mother, was our priority. 

With all of that done, now it was time to wait. There are two common ways we were told to track pregnancy in an ocelot. Weight and “vibes.” We took daily pictures of her stomach to track progress, weighed every week, and looked out for any changes in her behavior. As far as we knew, if she refused food, that meant to expect labor within a day. One week turned into two, then three, as Rio continued to act like she would on any other day.

OH BABY!

Rio has always been a cat who has done what she wants when she wants. She continued that when she gave birth on February 1st with no changes in her behavior the previous day. That morning, keepers immediately noticed on the den cameras that Rio was unusually restless. She went into labor around 8am, and while initially exciting it was quickly apparent she was giving birth in breach: meaning the kitten was coming tail instead of head first. For anyone adept at reading xrays, when we confirmed the pregnancy it was clear the kitten wasn’t in position, and we had been waiting for it to flip when we retook xrays again two weeks later. Amazingly, Rio took about fifteen minutes to successfully give birth, and the kitten was seen moving quickly after. This is particularly impressive because it’s not uncommon at all for breach births to require surgical intervention, and we did not have any prior knowledge of this successfully being done in ocelots.

Once Rio had given birth, we immediately put the building on “quiet protocol,” which for all intents and purposes was a lockdown of the area. Essential staff only, minimal activity, the works. Cats are flighty and easily disturbed with their young, and Rio was also a first time mom. We had to make sure that Rio felt secure in her den space, as it’s not uncommon for a mother to abandon her kitten if she feels unsafe. The first few days in particular are the most delicate for mother and kitten. During that time, keepers monitored the cameras 24 hours a day, taking late night shifts to ensure we were seeing proper maternal signs such as nursing, grooming, and an overall calm demeanor.

MANY, MANY MILESTONES

Ocelots are solitary, nocturnal cats who prefer to spend their time in underbrush and are rarely observed. They almost always give birth to a single kitten, meaning they put a lot of time and energy into making sure that kitten survives. That involves hiding it away until it’s old enough to start learning how to be an ocelot. For us, “hands off” truly meant hands off. We watched cameras, but we physically did not lay eyes on the kitten until it left the den box for the first time over a month later. That didn’t mean we weren’t carefully watching for various milestones, like the first time it opened its eyes, or the first time we saw it play. 

In letting them set their own pace, this also meant that we needed to be careful and decisive when it came time for the kitten’s first exam at 8 weeks. It was quickly apparent to her trainers that Rio would not leave her kitten…but kitten happily left mom to explore. After much planning and a whole lot of anxiety, we found the opportunity to separate the kitten from mom and were able to perform the exam.  The kitten was healthy, brave, and a girl!  This is incredibly exciting for us and the Ocelot SSP as a whole, as females are needed much more than males currently to maintain balance in the managed population.

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE BABY!

With this life event, a lot of relationship rebuilding had to occur, as Rio is very protective of her kitten and is exhausted from raising it.  During the next few months, we will begin reintroducing Rio and her kitten to outdoor spaces as the kitten gets old enough to safely climb. That said, it’s important to remember how new all this is for both of them. Rio will do what Rio wants, and as the mother she gets full and final say of where she and her kitten go. If you come to the zoo in the next few months, stop by Trail of the Jaguar and have a look! You might be lucky, but if not, keepers will have no shortage of cute content to share with everyone on our social media.

ZOO VIEWS: What’s a Carcass Feed?

By Janine Farmer, Animal Keeper

If you’ve ever visited Trail of the Jaguar and seen one of our big cats gnawing on a deer leg or an eagle tearing into a fish, you might have wondered—what exactly is a carcass feed?

THE BASICS

Technically, every carnivore that eats fish, rodents, or chicks is carcass fed. In the simplest terms, it means feeding an animal food that still resembles its original form—something that still “looks like” what it once was.

At Elmwood Park Zoo, our carnivore diets come in a few different forms: some are processed (like the ground meats many of our animals receive), and others arrive frozen in bulk (like rats for snakes or birds of prey). In the wild, these same animals would naturally catch and eat whole prey: snakes swallow rodents, eagles dive for fish, and jaguars hunt larger mammals.

Here in the Zoo, most of our animals were born in human care and never had to hunt. So it’s our job to make sure feeding time still gives them the mental and physical challenge they’d experience in the wild.

Finding Inspiration in the Trail of the Jaguar

When I first started working in the Trail of the Jaguar three and a half years ago, I took a special interest in improving enrichment and nutrition for our cats. Every animal here has a carefully designed diet that meets their nutritional needs—but in our field, there’s always room for growth and creativity. Sometimes, the right opportunity comes along and pushes us to evolve.

For us, that opportunity came through new relationships with local hunters and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Deer season in Montgomery County is very productive, and while hunters often take the prime cuts for themselves, there’s usually not much use for tails, bones, or organ meat.

We began to receive deer bone donations on a regular basis, and as those increased, we realized we could completely rethink how we feed our carnivores.

Breaking Down the “Why”

Before making any big changes, we asked ourselves the important question: Why?

Why change their diets, and why feed them such recognizable parts—like deer legs, tails, or spines—right in front of guests? There’s often a stigma around the word “carcass,” even though it’s one of the most natural things for these animals.

When people hear “carcass feed,” it might sound harsh—but when you reframe it as natural feeding or whole-prey feeding, it makes perfect sense. It’s about giving animals the chance to be animals.

The Wild Connection

Take a jaguar, for example. In the wild, they use incredible strength to bring down prey, then rely on the strongest bite force of any cat to crunch through bones, hide, and muscle. That action helps to clean their teeth and strengthen their jaws, and they receive natural fiber and nutrients from fur, hooves, and connective tissue.

We can’t fully replicate the thrill of the hunt, but we can get close. For smaller cats like Mateo the ocelot, I might hang a whole deer tail high on a climbing structure or hide it inside a puzzle feeder. Watching him work to retrieve it, plucking every bit of hair before reaching the bone underneath, is watching him be a wild cat.

For our jaguars, we get a little more inventive. Twice a week, they receive deer bones—usually from the hock to the hoof. We’ll sometimes hide one inside a large bucket and hang it from their climbing structure. Zean, our male jaguar, then has to problem-solve, climb, jump, and wrestle to get it down. By the end, he’s worked out both physically and mentally—and that’s a huge win for his overall well-being.

The Monthly Feast

We also introduced monthly carcass feeds, where our jaguars get an entire deer leg—shoulder to hoof—instead of their usual meal. These are what we call gorge feeds: one big feast followed by a smaller meal the next day.

That mimics how big cats naturally eat in the wild—feast, rest, repeat. Watching Inka, our female jaguar, drag her meal to a quiet spot to guard it and enjoy it over time is as natural as it gets. She’s using her instincts, her muscles, and her mind—all at once. We can see recognizable changes in their behavior when they receive these feeds, such as more time grooming and resting when normally they might be patrolling.

More Than Just Cats

These benefits go beyond the big cats. Our commissary team helps prepare similar feeds for our birds of prey. If you’re lucky, you might spot our red-tailed hawk and turkey vulture, Hunter and Stan, enjoying a deer head, or our bald and golden eagles tackling a rib cage.

It might look intense, but it’s deeply enriching for them—and it’s a powerful educational moment for guests, too.

Why It Matters

At the end of the day, carcass feeds help our animals live their best, most natural lives. They get to think, move, and eat the way nature intended.

And for our visitors, seeing these behaviors up close builds appreciation for the incredible animals we care for and their wild instincts. The closer we can bring the wild to our Zoo, the stronger the connection we can create between people and the natural world.

Our goal is to foster a connection and appreciation for the animals in our care, and what better way than to watch a wide array of natural behaviors?