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.