Baby Brazilian Ocelot

[Hedorah99]

Through the miracle of modern science, we now have a baby Brazilian Ocelot at the zoo. His mother was artificially inseminated in august from fresh semen collected from our male. Previous pairings were bad, real bad. The male pretty much just wants to kill her. On top of that he has a low sperm count. The baby was born on Halloween, but we have kept it a secret until we were certain it would live. Its a beautiful baby boy and represents only the third time AI has worked with this species.

And some video:

[YOUTUBE]7eR5TkDGcDE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[arachyd]

That baby is way too cute

 

[halfwaynowhere]

aw, a big scary hissy baby! lol... So precious.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

wow thats great, very cute

just out of curiousity how does one go about getting a job working with animals at a zoo? do you need a special degree for that?

 

[Hedorah99]

I should make a "How to get a Job in a Zoo Tutorial"...

Basically, most zoos look for any degree in biology or animal related sciences. But, it is nearly impossible to just be hired at a zoo with no experience. It is actually A LOT tougher than anyone thinks and the turnover rate at larger zoos can be very high. The average at one place in particular is 6 months. The best way to see if you even want to do this for a living and get experience at the same time is to volunteer or do an internship. This way you can gauge if you feel like spending hours chipping away at frozen feces in the winter, doing a two hour ethogram on an animal that is asleep, constantly telling people they cannot feed the animals, and spending hours cleaning an enclosure only to have the animals defile it within seconds of being let back in. If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[Lucara]

I looked into a zoology degree =*(. It requires either calculus or statistics and I'm happy if I can count to ten using my fingers =(. Internships are hard to get into in Fla as well. =( Sea World has one but its very very hard to get accepted for it.

 

[calum]

Awwwww, beautiful little guy. he has quite a wee attitude already.


I would love to work in a zoo, looding after the inverts.

 

[dtknow]

I should make a "How to get a Job in a Zoo Tutorial"...

Basically, most zoos look for any degree in biology or animal related sciences. But, it is nearly impossible to just be hired at a zoo with no experience. It is actually A LOT tougher than anyone thinks and the turnover rate at larger zoos can be very high. The average at one place in particular is 6 months. The best way to see if you even want to do this for a living and get experience at the same time is to volunteer or do an internship. This way you can gauge if you feel like spending hours chipping away at frozen feces in the winter, doing a two hour ethogram on an animal that is asleep, constantly telling people they cannot feed the animals, and spending hours cleaning an enclosure only to have the animals defile it within seconds of being let back in. If you have any other questions let me know.

Basically sums up what I've heard. Also, considering that you need a degree the pay is pretty low and sometimes zoo curators etc. are at odds with the keepers.

 

[Neuroticax]

I'd be pissed off if someone was poking at my butt, too! ;P

Too adorable. Such an attitude for a little kitteh.

 

[arachyd]

"spending hours cleaning an enclosure only to have the animals defile it within seconds of being let back in"
Actually it reminds me of when my kids were toddlers.

 

[crpy]

Hedorah, that is just awesome man:clap: We birthed several clouded leopards at my zoo, I love cats man, great photo.

 

[bigdog999]

nice cat, I'll have to check out your zoo this spring.

 

[davidbarber1]

Impressive statistics, and a gorgeous end result. Post more pics as the cat matures.

David

 

[Hedorah99]

Hedorah, that is just awesome man:clap: We birthed several clouded leopards at my zoo, I love cats man, great photo.

Were they AI'ed or naturally mated. The only clouded leopard I have ever worked with sent me to the hospital and he was such a darling. By that I mean he killed three females before they kicked him out of the breeding program.

 

[Thrasher]

its true, its pretty hard to get hired by Zoos...Having worked as a Graphic design intern in the Oregon Zoo, which is supported by metro portland....I was pretty much there for amost 1 whole year interning before they offered me a job there as a freelance illustrtor. The zoo keepers there work reallly hard, and many of them were there for 2 years interning b4 getting hired....You need to love what you do in there, or you would be wasting your time....

 

[desertdweller]

Thanks for sharing the footage. Cats have such passion and certainly know who they are as this wee one does!

I used to hate zoos but realize now they are gene pools of the future for when humans finally realize they are actually responsible for the Earth and all her critters. Keep up the good work! :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[LeilaNami]

Many zoos will take an Animal Science degree in exchange for one year of experience. I worked at Dallas Zoo as a temp employee for their String Ray Bay exhibit. I'm currently working my way back into employment haha. I've been trying to get rehired for a permanent position. Even with 6 months experience it's STILL hard to get a job there :wall: There are some jobs that do not require degrees but it will greatly increase your chances of getting hired. Like they said, do an internship or volunteer work so they get to know you. How did I get my job? I had connections with a current employee. How did she get her job? Volunteer work. There ya go.

 

[hairmetalspider]

What a beautiful animal. It's a small, but needed, relief to know there are ways to possible repopulate endangered (and not) species.

Also, I like how it snaps and they drop him. Lovely.

 

[kitty_b]

Aww, what an adorable boy! SQUEE!

Has your zoo had any communications with CREW at the Cincinnati Zoo? I know Dr. Swanson is very involved in the breeding of exotic small cats. He actually flew down to NCSU and aided in the artificial insemination of our Pallas' cats. I'm sure they would love to hear about this, not only for the successful birth but also for the data regarding your technique.

 

[Hedorah99]

Aww, what an adorable boy! SQUEE!

Has your zoo had any communications with CREW at the Cincinnati Zoo? I know Dr. Swanson is very involved in the breeding of exotic small cats. He actually flew down to NCSU and aided in the artificial insemination of our Pallas' cats. I'm sure they would love to hear about this, not only for the successful birth but also for the data regarding your technique.

That kitten is Dr. Swanson's handiwork.