Ocelot Cub Wasabi Passes Away

Ocelot cub Wasabi passed away early Saturday morning after an apparent fall from the top of the exhibit. After a close examination by the veterinary team, they believe this was an instantaneous death. While climbing high is typical behavior for ocelots and young cubs, it was surprising to us that he fell and hit his head. This is a very difficult loss for the carnivore team, and we are moving his sister, Sriracha, and mom, Genoveve, to a different exhibit while we take a close look to see if there are any changes we can implement to make things safer for young cats.

Wasabi and his sister were born on May 29 and hailed with excitement as the first ocelot births at the Houston Zoo in 20 years.