News and Stories

We are so excited to announce the arrival of a serval kitten from Nashville Zoo! The new kitten, named Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy for short!) was born on October 26, 2025. His parents are both named after important historical figures (Cleopatra and Winston Churchill), so the Nashville team wanted to continue the fun with the kitten names. Teddy’s brother, Alexander Hamilton, will stay with the Nashville Zoo’s ambassador team. Teddy and his brother are weaned and ready to separate from mom, so Teddy has come to the Cincinnati Zoo to start his life as an ambassador!

Keepers Emily (me) and Andie traveled to Nashville to meet Teddy and learn about his daily schedule and training from his keepers. The Nashville team has done a great job co-rearing the kittens with their mom Cleo, and both Xander and Teddy left their mom every morning to go do training and socialization sessions around the zoo. After spending time with his new keepers and packing up his things, we drove him to Cincinnati to start his life with the Cat Ambassador Program (CAP)!

Teddy is getting used to the sights and sounds of the CAP building. He has lots of room to climb and various places to curl up and sleep in his new house, but his favorite thing to do so far has been to go in his outdoor area and stare into the other yards. He also enjoys exploring the keeper area of our main building and playing with all his toys. His current favorite is a stuffed shrimp!

Servals are known for their incredible sense of hearing- Teddy has adorably large ears! They are also great jumpers, leaping about 5 times the length of their body straight up into the air to catch birds, which are one of their favorite food items. Servals are tall cats and their long legs are great for reaching down into burrow holes to catch rodents, which are another tasty snack for them.

For now, Teddy is spending his time getting used to his new home and new keepers. After his quarantine period, part of his training will be getting used to new indoor spaces around the zoo. Eventually, Teddy will learn to have a role in our Cheetah Encounters just like our other servals. Be sure to keep your eye on the zoo’s social media for any Teddy updates!