Mother-of-the-Year: Lotje!

For nearly 3 years now I have been feeding and observing wild ocelots near the lodge. One of the frequent visitors is Lotje, a caring ocelot mom who surely deserves the mother-of-the-year award.

Lotje is a wild ocelot who feels right at home near the lodge. During the past 3 years she has raised 3 young ocelots successfully and I was able to witness this all. Here is a recap:

2013: when Lotje appeared in front of the cam with Katja, I was so excited and surprised at the same time. She gave me the rare opportunity to watch her first born, Katja, grow into a beautiful young adult. Katja has found her own territory and has left the area near the resort.

2014: I didn't expect to see another cub in front of the cam a year later. But it happened. Compared with Katja, Spotje was already a wild little ocelot at an early age. She didn't even wanted to share the buffet with her own mom. Nowadays Spotje is walking all by herself, trying to find her own spot in the jungle too. 

2015: Here she is accompanied by Junior. Lotje makes sure that her cubs are always safe. Every year she is teaching her offspring how to survive in the wild. The first 6 months she shows them the fine art of survival. After that they start walking independently for at least 7 months. Then it is time for them to find a place on their own. 

Lotje succeeded year after year in raising her cubs all by herself. Not a single day did she complain. She surely is the Mother-of-the-year.

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Proud parents!