Felid TAG Times Aug 2016

Calendar
Felid TAG News
· Sand Cat Program Coord.
· Pallas’ Cat Studbook
· Jaguar ACM
· Felid Research Database
· NC Zoo Ocelot Exhibit
· EFBC Kittens
· Cinco de Gato
· Columbus Zoo Lions
· The Safe Spot
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Other Felid News
· Ocelot Recovery Plan
· Jaguarundi Threat
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Steering Committee Members
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Conservation Program
Coordinators
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AZA Annual Conference, San Diego, CA
· 9/8, 8-9am, AZA SAFE Cheetah
· 9/8, 10-11am, Jaguar SSP Meeting
· 9/8, 10:30-12, Cheetah SSP Meeting
· 9/8, 11-12, Tiger SSP Meeting
· 9/8, 1-3:30pm, Felid TAG Meeting
Felid TAG News
New Sand Cat Program Coordinator
Autumn Nelson has been selected as the new Sand
Cat Program Coordinator. Autumn is an Animal Care
Supervisor in the Collection Husbandry Science
Mammal Department at the San Diego Zoo Safari
Park. She is responsible for overseeing the
husbandry of various species of mammals including
small and large felids, okapi, and the neonate care
facility, as well as the management of a large keeper
staff. Autumn has over 24 years experience in animal
care, including 18 years with exotic felids, in zoos
and aquariums. She is the registry (studbook) keeper
for Chinese dholes and recently joined the Tiger SSP
Management Group.
Autumn is excited to join the Felid TAG team as the new
Sand Cat SSP Coordinator and Studbook Keeper. She looks
forward to working with the zoos with sand cats in their
collection, as well as ones who are interested in housing
them in the future. They are a charismatic species with
excellent teams of conservation researchers studying them in
situ and ex situ.
(Photo: Kathy Newton)
New Pallas’ Cat Studbook Keeper
Please welcome Scott Kayser from the Birmingham Zoo as the new Studbook
Keeper for the Pallas’ cat SSP. His email is skayser@birminghamzoo.com.
Halloween is just around the corner!
August 2016
Jaguar Animal Care Manual
The final draft of the Jaguar Animal Care Manual is complete and currently
undergoing a 30-day comment period until September 13.
Felid Research Database
Brian Ogle, Felid TAG Co-Education Advisor is working on creating a database
of felid research efforts. If you are involved in a project, please send the following information on it to him at bogle@beaconcollege.edu:
· University partner (if applicable)
· Year project was initiated
· Species
· Scope of project
· Publication details (if applicable)
1
North Carolina Zoo Opens New Ocelot Exhibit
In May, the North Carolina Zoo opened a newly constructed
ocelot exhibit that moved the zoo’s resident ocelots from an
indoor enclosure to an outdoor habitat. The new exhibit is
located adjacent to the zoo’s Deserts of the World dome and
is themed to replicate the more arid ocelot habitat found in
Arizona or Texas.
The new facility consists of sculpted rockwork and tree that
provide climbing and resting opportunities, a den with a
viewing window, exterior holding yards and interior
bedrooms. The exhibit, as well as the exterior holding yards
and interior space, can be separated so that two groups of
ocelots can be housed. Interpretive graphics at the exhibit
highlight the ocelot’s physical characteristics and discuss
ocelot related conservation efforts.
Inca and Diego, the zoo’s ocelots, are enjoying their new
habitat, especially the den. They frequently hunt and catch
native wildlife that are unfortunate enough to enter their
enclosure. Breeding between the pair has been observed
and the zoo is hopeful for kittens later this year.
(Photos: Jennifer Ireland)
Kittens at Exotic Feline Breeding Compound
The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound is happy to
announce a litter of sand cats born on February 29, 2016,
and a litter of Pallas’ cats born on March 26, 2016 at the
Feline Conservation Center. (Photos: Nancy Vandermay)
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Cinco de Gato 2016: Raising Awareness and Funds for Texas Ocelot Conservation
By Shasta Bray, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Cincinnati Cinco de Gato
The Greater Cincinnati
Chapter of the American
Association of Zoo Keepers
(GCCAAZK) held its second
annual Cinco de Gato
fundraiser on May 15 to
support Texas ocelot
conservation.
This year, the event was held at local restaurant, Ladder
19. Great food, drinks and fun were had by all. The
restaurant donated a portion of the proceeds from food and
drink sales to the cause.
Sihil, the Zoo’s ocelot ambassador who just celebrated her
16th birthday, made a special appearance. She was a star
as usual.
Nashville Cinco de Gato
The Nashville AAZK chapter
put together their own Cinco
de Gato event and t-shirt
sale this year. Local
restaurant, Taco Express,
donated a portion of their
food sales for a day to the
cause.
Through a silent auction, raffles, merchandise sales and
food and drink proceeds, GCCAAZK raised more than
$1,800 to support ocelot conservation through the Friends
of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
The event raised $1,100
from food and t-shirt sales
and donations. The Nashville
Zoo added to this balance to
bring the total amount of
funds sent to the Friends of
Laguna Atascosa National
Wildlife Refuge to $2,000.
Won’t you join us next year?
We would love to see the Cinco de Gato event continue to grow and expand to other AAZK Chapters and/or institutions.
Please consider hosting your own event in 2017! For more information, contact Shasta Bray, Ocelot SSP Education Advisor,
at Shasta.bray@cincinnatizoo.org.
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Two Litters of Lions Management at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
By Heather Sinn, Zoo Keeper, Heart of Africa & Adam Felts, Curator, Heart of Africa/Asia Quest
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium houses 1.2 lions for
breeding purposes. The male, Tomo, is 12 years old and the
females, Asali and Kazi, are 10 and 9 years old. The girls
are half-sisters, are tightly bonded and have been together
for nine years. Tomo was first introduced to the girls in 2008.
Before that, he was housed alone after he left his natal
group at 1.5 years.
The Columbus Zoo is not new to lion cubs with the most
recent prior to 2015 being born to Asali and Tomo in 2009.
In 2014, fecals were analyzed. Neither female was cycling
normally, and we were starting to lose hope of any
pregnancies. There was uncertainty that either female at this
point would successfully have any cubs. Both females had
been implanted with Deslorelin. Kazi was implanted from
October 2007 until April 2010, and Asali was implanted from
April 2010 until April 2012. It was decided in 2012 to pull
Asali off Deslorelin because Kazi was not reversing and
showed no signs of estrus.
Fortunately, in 2015, Asali had four cubs born and Kazi had
two cubs born, separated by only four days. Asali’s were
born on August 16th and Kazi’s on August 20th.
Asali
At the end of May 2015, keepers started observing
behavioral and physical changes in Asali that were
significant enough to warrant a closer look and to begin birth
preparations. This was very perplexing because there were
only a couple incidents of breeding observed, which of
course is not typical for breeding lions. There were some
indications that the male had interest and was “guarding
Asali” in April, which further warranted this investigation.
Staff implemented birth preparations while fecals were sent
out to confirm a hopeful pregnancy. The lions were
separated overnight, giving Asali access to a den. After
three days of no denning behavior and no other changes,
fecal results indicated that she was not pregnant and that we
have a fat cat (or that was what we thought).
The fecal analysis did indicate that progesterone was
elevated in June, which made us hopeful that maybe she
cycled at that point. It was decided to send out fecals for
both of our females to reassess their hormones. A week
later, results indicated that Asali may be pregnant and due in
late September, as well as the younger female, Kazi who
would be due in late August (but we would reassess fecals
in mid-August to rule out a pseudo pregnancy for Asali).
night separations and the birth watch for Kazi. After several
attempts to bring the animals in, and the lions’ refusal, the
keeper went to check to see what the issue was and found
Asali with three cubs in the grass at the bottom of the hill.
Both Tomo and Kazi were present and participating nicely.
All animals refused to shift in for the night and it was decided
to leave everyone together since Asali (the second time
mom) was doing a nice job dictating things and all adults
were content and behaving appropriately. Darkness hit and
keepers went home with no control and no way to monitor.
The following morning, staff came in to find a 4th cub was
born, and all cubs looked strong. At this point, keeper staff
was able to shift Tomo and Kazi inside. A cub watch began
on the animals out in the yard while a birth watch began with
Kazi inside the building. All of Asali’s cubs appeared healthy
and strong and were ravenous little lions. Keepers attempted several times throughout the day to coax Asali in,
but she was extremely comfortable in the yard and enjoyed
the tall grasses that she had her cubs hidden in. It was
decided not to force the issue and wait for mom to come in
on her terms, yet implement a training plan to make this
process go a little faster.
After two days of constant observations (during the daylight),
and mom doing a good job, it was decided to step back and
only check on the cubs once every few hours in hopes that
the mother would be more inclined to come in if she wasn’t
being watched. On the 11th day, keepers were at lunch and
a volunteer noticed Asali inching her way to the building.
The keeper called Asali in, and without hesitation, Asali
came in and she was secured inside away from the cubs.
Other keeper staff quickly mobilized, entered the yard and
accessed all four cubs. Wellness exams were done and they
were secured in a den box and reunited with mom. Once
they were all inside, keepers began a 24 hour watch.
All cubs appeared strong and healthy; however, one animal
was much smaller than the others. Presumably it was the
4th born. Keepers named her Nyasi because she was often
hiding in tall grasses.
Lion housing (Photo: Sheri Smith)
Two separate dens were built, preparations were made, and
the birth watch for Kazi was to begin on August 16. It was
decided to have all work done in the building for both
animals to prevent any unnecessary disruption during the
first birthing process. It was also decided that the male
would remain with both females until the birth watches would
start to make reintroductions easier.
On August 16, Asali ate breakfast as usual, but was acting
“off”. Staff was attentive, but because of the fecal assays,
chalked it up to a “bad day”. That night, keeper staff
attempted to bring the lions in for the night to begin female
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Two Litters of Lions Management at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (continued)
After the second day it was noted/confirmed that Nyasi was
only nursing a few times a day and appeared somewhat
weaker than the rest of the cubs. This was consistent with
what was being seen in the yard, but there was enough
concern that keepers and vets decided to get some blood
from her and her siblings to make sure everything was going
as it should. Antibiotics were given to be on the safe side.
Blood work indicated that Nyasi had a high white cell count
and treatment began to turn this cub around. Antibiotics and
fluids were given twice a day for the first week and then
once a day the second week. Because of the training and
relationship built with the mother, it was a very successful
turn around and all cubs began to thrive.
Kazi
In late June 2015, keepers started noticing behavioral
changes in Kazi. In the past, Asali was the dominate female
and Kazi the submissive, but during the end of June power
began to shift and Kazi started to attempt to be more
dominant. She became increasingly aggressive with Asali
and would on a daily basis exude her new found dominance
over her. Kazi continued her reign until the beginning of
August, at which point her behavior again changed into the
more loving and sweet Kazi keepers were used to.
During this time, keepers noticed physical changes with her
as well (increased appetite, stool began to lose consistency,
mammary development, weight gain, etc.). By August 17,
keepers had started a birth watch for Kazi and she was
separated from Tomo and given access to a den. Around
this time, her mood began to shift again and she was
spending more time in the den, becoming increasingly
territorial over it.
On the morning of August 20, Kazi appeared to be
contracting and in labor. She deliveried her first cub at
9:30am, the second a little after 10am, and the third around
2pm. After the dust had settled and Kazi’s first litter was out,
keepers started noticing the first cub wasn’t as strong and
was not nursing. Discussion began on whether to pull it. It
was decided to attempt a separation of Kazi from her cubs in
hopes of pulling the first cub. It was attempted to lure Kazi
out of the den, but she would not budge and became
agitated. She was acting exactly as she should, a protective
and attentive mother, and so it was decided at that point that
we did not want to jeopardize and risk Kazi rejecting her
other two cubs. The first cub was left with Kazi, and in the
very early hours of August 22, the cub had passed.
Kazi’s second and third cubs began to thrive and were
becoming very strong. On the morning of August 23, her
cubs were already trying to leave the den as she would
come out to eat her diet. Keepers then began to implement
a training process to gradually work on Kazi being separated
away from her cubs and allow keepers to eventually do a
wellness exam and start keeper/cub interactions.
Pride Introduction Summary
For our pride introductions, the hardest and most time
consuming part was our females. Keepers attempted a few
different strategies to get the females to interact and show
interest in the other’s cubs. A few things that were attempted
for howdy and intros with females and cubs were: (1) Asali
and cub howdy/intro with Kazi, (2) Kazi and cub howdy/intro
with Asali, (3) Asali and cub howdy/intro with Kazi and cubs,
and (4) all adult intro with all cub howdy (i.e. all adults were
together in pens while all cubs were together on other side
of mesh).
With all of these attempts, it was found through trial and
error that Kazi and cub howdy/intro with Asali was the most
successful due to these factors: (1) Kazi was the first time
mom who wanted nothing to do with Asali’s cubs and would
avoid or show aggression to Asali’s cubs, and (2) Asali
ended up being the mom who could spend the most time
apart from her cubs. The turning point for success was
twofold: (1) Kazi’s cubs started acting more like Asali’s,
being more loud and adventurous, always creating havoc,
and (2) Asali’s cubs learned how to speak lion and started to
understand and respect what Kazi was telling them. The
time period for female/cub howdies and intros was from
August 28 to December 15:
August 26
- Kazi’s howdy sessions with Tomo started. Keepers gave
her access and the option to go see him.
- Asali and her cubs were brought inside and put in the den/
room directly across from Kazi. One pen or buffer was put in
between each female’s den and room.
August 28
- Kazi and Asali first see each other since Kazi was brought
off exhibit on August 17. Kazi’s reaction was that of a very
protective mother.
- Howdies continued with Tomo.
August 29
- Tomo and Kazi intro went extremely well. Both were
chuffing and rubbing on each other and got to the point
where Kazi was overly playful. Intros with them started at
five minutes and gradually increased with Kazi’s comfort
level.
- Howdies began with Asali and Tomo. Asali was given
access to the downstairs and could come and go as she
pleased. Howdy lasted five minutes.
August 30
- Kazi and Asali continued howdy sessions between
‘territories’.
- Tomo and Asali were introduced. Introductions with them
started at five minutes and gradually increased with Asali’s
comfort level.
- Female howdy sessions began away from cubs and
downstairs to where they couldn’t see them. This ended up
working favorably later on and started our entire process of
how the pride would be put back together. Howdies with
them started at a few minutes and increased with their
comfort levels being away from cubs.
September 2
- Kazi and Tomo’s intro expanded into giving them yard
access.
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Two Litters of Lions Management at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (continued)
September 3
- Asali and Kazi were introduced.
October 15
- Asali, Kazi and her cubs were introduced inside.
September 8
- All adults were put together for “adult play time”. This was
done every day from this point on.
December 16
- Entire pride put together for the first time. We used the
yard for the intro because of space restrictions inside the
building.
September 14
- Female howdies with cubs ongoing with greater visibility
provided for each female to allow them more opportunity to
interact with each other, if they chose.
- Cub yard introductions. Keepers trained cubs to transfer
through the chute into the exhibit and showing them their
new ‘territory’. The goal of the keepers participating in the
introduction of the cubs was to show them their boundaries
and barriers (i.e. hot grass, moat, etc.) and to increase
keeper/lion bonds. This process continued until all cubs
presumed to know their boundaries and knew their way back
into the building.
September 29
- Both sets of mom and cubs were given access to the yard
at their designated times.
- Each set of moms and cubs were being howdied with
Tomo.
- Kazi being howdied with Asali and her cubs. Kazi showed
little interest in Asali’s cubs and neither female was as
comfortable as they were while being howdied with Tomo.
Due to these comfort levels and nature of these howdies, it
was decided to take the road less traveled and instead of
forcing the girls into an intro they were not ready for, we
decided to start cub intros with Tomo.
December 19 - January 2
- Tomo was not in the pride intro to allow females to bond
again. He was, however, still put with each group of mother
and cubs to continue their progress.
January 2
- Tomo back in with the females.
The eight lions, excluding Tomo, were never apart from
January 2 on.
January 13
- The mothers and cubs howdied with Tomo overnight.
January 16
- Tomo was allowed with his pride inside the building with no
yard access during the day.
January 19
- Tomo could be with the pride 24/7, and our pride was
officially a pride again!
Lion cubs (Photo: Sheri Smith)
October 5
- Tomo, Asali, and her four cubs were introduced inside.
October 9
- Tomo, Kazi and her two cubs were introduced inside.
- Tomo, Asali and her cubs were introduced in yard.
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The Safe Spot: A Place to Share, Address, Focus on and Examine Felid Safety
Introducing the Safe Spot
This year marked the 10th Felid TAG Husbandry Course! A
full decade of bringing together almost 350 skilled,
passionate and dedicated felid keepers from around the
country and the world to improve the well-being of the
animals in their care. Each year, the first topic we discuss is
the one we believe is of primary importance—safety.
Each year, we encourage students to develop a “Culture of
Safety” within their institutions, an atmosphere from top to
bottom where safety is the number one priority, every day.
After this year’s Advanced Husbandry Course focused on
Safety, the Felid TAG instructors recognized a real need to
share and discuss safety challenges unique to our
profession within and between facilities more regularly. We
felt strongly about promoting and developing that culture of
safety among all of us that work around felids.
Although we are scattered around the country and the
world, our profession has a surprisingly small community,
made smaller once you focus on a specific taxon, such as
felids. Many and most of us are connected at some point
either through conferences, listservs, animal shipments, or
SSPs. These connections, based on common and fervent
goals, form unique and well-established relationships often
maintained for years, even if you have never met face to
face. When an incident occurs at one of our institutions, it
causes a visceral response in many of us. Not only because
most of us likely know the individual, but because we know
deep down, we could be that individual.
Felid TAG Advanced Husbandry Course: Safety
It’s a beautiful [read as ‘cloudy/rainy/chilly’] scene in
Denver, CO as zookeepers and managers from facilities all
across the country and Australia (shout out to our Aussie
participant!) gather to break the ice. The excitement was
palpable as old friends, instructors, and classmates found
their seats for the start of the first Felid TAG Advanced
Husbandry Course, focused on Safety.
I am fairly new to the Felid TAG scene, but after
participating in the 2015 and now 2016 courses, I’ve been
bothering the course coordinators to use me in some way
to assist this awesome group of professionals. Along those
lines, I have been asked to contribute safety-related
articles to the Felid TAG Times and I am thrilled to take a
more active role in Felid TAG. I’ve fallen in love with the
crowd, the topic, and the passion that I get to share with all
of you and have finally been given the chance to take part.
We learned during the Safety course that the list of safety
topics to discuss is limitless. We will have plenty of material
to discuss with everyone in the future. So, what do I want
to talk about now? Everything! However, in an effort to not
overwhelm either you the reader (or myself, a novice
writer), I am going to start with a summary of the Safety
course I just completed, which had a very well laid class
plan. And that’s what the first step in Safety really is,
planning.
After such an incident, we are typically on heightened alert
for days, weeks or months after the event. Some facilities
will reevaluate their protocols and perhaps some will change
established procedures. We say it often and try to remind
ourselves that working with dangerous animals is inherently
dangerous. However, with the rapidly evolving role of
zoological institutions, increased responsibilities and tasks
on animal care staff make it easy to lose sight of safety
during day-to-day activities.
One way we hope to further promote a culture of safety
within our felid community is with a safety related column in
the TAG times to remind each of you, at least that often, to
examine the safety measures you have in place. Articles will
discuss safety options, topics and insight related to felid
husbandry; including safety of the staff, animals and guests.
We know there is no single fit for any one person or
institution, and we don’t presume any set of guidelines or
protocols are better than the next. The main objective of
these articles will be to inspire you to go above and beyond
to find the best fit for you and your facility. To stay vigilant
and promote safety at all times. To encourage you to
reevaluate protocols and determine best practices over and
over again! We hope to ignite safety conversations between
colleagues that result in positive action and serve as a
monthly safety reminder to readers.
Starting right here, right now and always…be safe.
- Jillian Fazio
Planning for emergencies and communication were a huge
focus of the course. Specifically, we discussed creating a
culture of safety in which to critically examining your
facilities as well as your protocols/procedures routinely and
often in order to prevent safety concerns from becoming
traumatic events. With the primary take home message
being that big cat keepers are in the line of danger more
than most and as much as we may not want to think about
it, there have been many near misses, escapes and even
fatalities. So, what are we going to do about it?
Unfortunately, this class joined together under the somber
light of the passing of Stacey Konwiser, an animal keeper
who was very active in Felid TAG and originally enrolled in
the Safety class. We all shared very openly our feelings
and emotions in an effort to create a safe environment to
learn from each other in order to foster a safer work
environment for both ourselves and our charges.
(continued on p.8)
7
The SAFE Spot (continued)
The instructors were the first to open up lines of
communication, admitting that safety isn’t about knowing an
answer or having a solution. Safety around felids is about
awareness, trust, flexibility and most importantly,
communication. We discussed emotional intelligence and
the importance of being able to identify and handle your own
emotions as well as how to deal with interpersonal
relationships at work. Most of the course attendees were
middle managers, so there was a lot of discussion about
how to use the knowledge of our front line staff to assist us
in providing information to the top line managers and
directors.
The next day included guest speakers from the Air Force
and emergency medical evacuation professions. Listening to
how they work to mitigate human error and develop risk
management assessments for their line of work may sound
dry; however, it was amazingly helpful. Sometimes in our
field just knowing that someone else can relate to our
struggle can be so nice. Without realizing it, those speakers
justified the way a lot of people in that room felt, just by
sharing their experiences and ideas.
We had a dreary visit to the zoo, but it was just lovely how
welcoming and open the Denver Zoo employees were to our
group. We all know as keepers sometimes 10 minutes can
seem to throw you off completely from your routine. Not only
was staff willing to share their time, but they encouraged us
to be critical of their spaces and our own facilities back
home. Evaluating facility safety, emergency response
preparedness and relationships with local police were all
topics covered, which of course sparked what felt like hours
of conversation among the students and instructors.
The final day wrapped up even more topics of safety,
including preparing for medical procedures, capture and
transport. By the end, it seemed both instructors and
students didn’t want to leave. There is so much more to talk
about, more to get into and think about. So, here we are.
Hopefully, we can provide some topics to help open
discussions at your facilities. We hope everyone is excited to
see this SAFE article each month and discuss concepts with
their own staff. We will revisit ideas we bring up in an effort
to remind everyone that while planning is a very important
step, so is follow up and revision.
- Hannah Fullmer
Other Felid News
Service Announces Availability of the Recovery Plan for the
Ocelot, First Revision
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing the
availability of the final recovery plan, first revision for
endangered ocelot. The plan was developed by the
Bi-national Ocelot Recovery Team, which is comprised of
experts from both the United States and Mexico, and it
updates the original1990 recovery plan to reflect current
species information as well as address the changed social
and economic landscapes in Texas, Arizona, and northern
Mexico.
The ocelot is an elusive wildcat. Its range includes Texas,
Arizona, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Fewer than 100 ocelots exist in the U.S. and are found
primarily in south Texas at Lower Rio Grande Valley
National Wildlife Refuge; Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife
Refuge north of Brownsville; and on at least two private
ranches several miles to the north. Ocelots have also been
seen in Arizona. The ocelot is listed as endangered
throughout its range. The ocelot is listed as endangered by
the State of Texas and is protected from hunting and live
collection in Arizona where it is listed as a species of
“special concern.”
The primary known threats to the ocelot are habitat
conversion, fragmentation, and loss associated with
agriculture and urbanization, resource extraction, and, to
some extent, border security activities. As a result of habitat
loss and fragmentation, mortality from collisions with
vehicles represents a significant threat to ocelots as they
travel across the
landscape. In
addition, the loss of
genetic diversity
due to the small
size and isolation of
the ocelot
populations in
Texas is negatively
impacting the
species.
(Photo: USFWS)
The major focus of the updated final Recovery Plan for the
Ocelot, First Revision, is on two U.S.-Mexico management
units: the Texas/Tamaulipas Management Unit (TTMU) and
the Arizona/Sonora Management Unit (ASMU). Establishing
management units is a useful tool for species occurring
across wide ranges with multiple populations, varying
ecological pressures, and/or different threats in different
parts of their range. This plan helps focus efforts to
conserve and recover ocelot populations in the northern
limits of the species’ range, and establishes specific
recovery criteria and actions that will conserve viable ocelot
populations in the borderlands.
Recovery plans are guidance and do not obligate the
Service or potential partners to undertake the work
described in them. However, partnerships are critical for
timely implementation of actions required for recovery. The
objective of an agency recovery plan is to provide a
framework for the recovery of a species so that protection
under the Endangered Species Act is no longer necessary.
A recovery plan includes scientific information about the
species and provides criteria and actions necessary to be
able to reclassify the species to threatened status or
remove it from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Recovery plans help guide
our efforts by describing actions we consider necessary for
the species’ conservation, and by estimating time and costs
for implementing needed recovery measures.
The recovery plan is available at: http://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/
profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A084.
8
Jaguarundi Under Threat
A recent study published in the journal Mammal Review
suggests that the jaguarundi may be more threatened than
originally thought. According to the authors’ meta-analysis of
jaguarundi studies, they believe the population of jagurundis
may be over-estimated. Further study on the cat’s ecology in a
variety of area is warranted to determine the true status of the
species.
Giordano, A. J. (2016). Ecology and status of the jaguarundi
Puma yagouaroundi: a synthesis of existing knowledge.
Mammal Review, 46(1), 30-43.
(Photo: Lynn Chan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/
lynnylchan/15657293392)
Felid TAG Steering Committee Members
Ann Meyer
akonopik@auduboninstitute.org
Ashleigh Lutz
AshleighL@sfzoo.org
Cheryl Morris
cherylm@omahazoo.com
Cindy Kreider
ckreider@eriezoo.org
Craig Saffoe
saffoec@si.edu
Dan Dembiec
dembiecd@jacksonvillezoo.org
Don Goff
dgoff@beardsleyzoo.org
Dusty Lombardi
dusty.lombardi@columbuszoo.org
Gary Noble
gary.noble@disney.com
Hollie Colahan
hcolahan@denverzoo.org
Karen Goodrowe
karen.goodrowe@pdza.org
Stacey Johnson
sjohnson@sandiegozoo.org
Steve Bircher
bircher@stlzoo.org
Tara Harris
tara.harris@state.mn.us
Jay Tetzloff
jtetzloff@cityblm.org
Conservation Program Coordinators
Cindy Kreider
ckreider@eriezoo.org
Barb Palmer
bpalmer@denverzoo.org
Rebecca Stites
stitesr@si.edu
Amanda Ista
amandaista@hotmail.com
Kristen Clark
clarkk@si.edu
Adrienne Crosier
CrosierA@si.edu
Bonnie Breitbeil
sbbreit@gmail.com
Jessica Kinzer
jkinzer@riverbanks.org
Stacey Johnson
sjohnson@sandiegozoo.org
Ann Meyer
akonopik@auduboninstitute.org
Hollie Colahan
hcolahan@denverzoo.org
Bill Swanson
bill.swanson@cincinnatizoo.org
Ashleigh Lutz
AshleighL@sfzoo.org
Michelle Schireman
pumacoug@aol.com
Autumn Nelson
anelson@sandiegozoo.org
Dan Dembiec
dembiecd@jacksonvillezoo.org
Jay Tetzloff
jtetzloff@cityblm.org
Tara Harris
Tara.Harris@state.mn.us
Amur leopard Yellow SSP
Black-footed cat Yellow SSP
Bobcat Yellow SSP
Canada lynx Yellow SSP
Caracal Yellow SSP
Cheetah Yellow SSP
Clouded leopard Yellow SSP
Fishing cat Yellow SSP
Jaguar Green SSP
Jaguarundi Phase-in
Lion Green SSP
Ocelot Yellow SSP
Pallas’ cat Red Program
Puma Yellow SSP
Sand cat Red Program
Serval Yellow SSP
Snow leopard Yellow SSP
Tiger Green SSP
Submissions
Felid TAG Times is edited by Shasta Bray, Felid TAG Education Advisor. Please send comments, suggestions, and
submissions to Shasta.bray@cincinnatizoo.org. Submission deadline for the November issue is October 1.
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