TUCSON, Ariz. — A rare, endangered animal that was recently born at the Desert Museum has now been named.
Over the weekend, the Desert Museum tweeted out this cute cubs new name, Ida Zigglebaum.
A family won the honor of naming Ida, and chose to honor a family member who spent WWII jokingly using that name as she worked in Europe for the Red Cross.
Have you been curious what the new ocelot babies name is? Meet Ida Zigglebaum! The family who won the the honor of naming the baby ocelot at the Gala chose the name in memory of a family member who jokingly used the name when she worked with the Red Cross in Europe during WWII.🥰 pic.twitter.com/PgeMZp6FF5
— Desert Museum (@desertmuseum) June 14, 2019
In March, the museum welcomed the birth of an ocelot kitten, who was born to the museum's resident female ocelot.
"Ocelots (Felis pardalis) are among Arizona’s rarest mammals. These medium-sized, short-haired cats are one of the 25 endangered animal and plant species that are represented in the Museum’s collection. Long term survival of a thriving and healthy ocelot population in the Sonoran Desert faces serious odds," the museum said in a press release Thursday.
The birth is a result of a collaboration between the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife and El Paso Zoo.
Two litters of ocelots in total were been born between the three establishments, following artificial insemination (AI) with frozen semen. The museum says it has been more than 24 years since the last ocelot born following AI.
