A zoo in Connecticut wants to keep a rare breed of Ocelots alive. And their female ocelot, Kuma, needs surgical support to help her produce kittens.
So the Beardsley Zoo used science and technology to carry out try to carry out a delicate artificial insemination procedure, according to WTNH, News 8.
“These are Brazilian Ocelots and there’s only about 35 of them in North American zoos, so it’s a very rare and valuable population,” Dr. Bill Swanson of the Cincinnati Zoo told News 8.
Kuma lost a hind leg as a kitten, which prevents her from breeding naturally. Swanson is an expert on artificial insemination and he has helped Kuma twice before. She gave birth to two beautiful kittens that have gone on to have kittens of their own. This time the sperm is from a male named Marcel.
Last year he died, but his sperm was frozen. Hopefully, his preserved sperm will help Kuma produce another kitten, Swanson said.
