Baby Ocelot Born At Elmwood Park Zoo In Norristown: SEE PHOTOS

NORRISTOWN, PA — Elmwood Park Zoo's family has grown by one after a very special new member was welcomed into the world.

The yet-unnamed baby ocelot was born on Feb. 1, the zoo announced on Tuesday. Zookeepers and conservationists describe the birth as a "major conservation and animal care milestone."

Ocelots are critically endangered in the United States, with only a small handful of individuals left in west Texas, according to the Nature Conservancy. While their numbers are stronger in central and South America, they face significant habitat loss and disruption and low genetic diversity.

Related: Rio, New Ocelot, Arrives At Elmwood Park Zoo

The kitten, a little girl, was born as part of zoo's Species Survival Plan after what was described as a "carefully managed" breeding process.

She's the child of the zoo's two resident ocelots, Rio and Mateo.

The breeding process was not easy, and after an active summer, the zoo said that the pair seemed to be uninterested in spending much time with each other by last fall.

"Cat partnerships are tricky, and their interests naturally wax and wane in cycles that are not easy to predict," the zoo said. "It’s up to us to watch their behaviors carefully and give them what they need to set them up for success."

Zookeepers said that Rio, the mother, delivered the kitten naturally, even though the it was an uncommon and high-risk breech birth.

The zoo said they left the mother and kitten alone for the first several weeks to support the kitten's growth. Veterinary experts conducted their first exam of the kitten last week, confirming she was a female. That's good news for the zoo as they hope to continue to expand the in-captivity ocelot population.

The fact that Rio is a female is immensely helpful to conservationists, who need more females to balance and grow the ocelot population.

The name of the kitten will be determined in the coming days, the zoo added.

The ocelots live in the Trail of the Jaguar exhibit at Elmwood, adjacent to the barn. While Rio and the baby will be slowly reintroduced to public spaces in the coming weeks and months as the kitten gets old enough to climb, they're also likely to be out of sight for some time, too.

"The mother she gets full and final say of where she and her kitten go," the zoo said.