ASHEBORO, N.C. (NCN News) – The last remaining ocelot at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro has died.
The zoo announced on social media Tuesday (March 10) the passing of its remaining ocelot, Inca. The post said that at her advanced age of 21 years old, her dedicated care team had been carefully monitoring her health and quality of life for some time. The typical life expectancy for an ocelot in the wild is 7-12 years, increasing slightly to 15-20 years under human care.
Inca began displaying more noticeable signs of decline after losing her long-time mate, Diego, in July 2025. Inca and Diego first met in 2006 at the San Francisco Zoo (where Inca was born) before moving jointly to the North Carolina Zoo in 2010. Together, the duo made a home in the Desert building, successfully rearing 10 kittens (born in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2018, and 2020) helping to combat a declining population of ocelots due to habitat loss, hunting, and traffic accidents.
The post went on to say “Her absence is already felt by her keepers. She will be greatly missed not only by the Zoo staff but by the countless visitors who had the privilege of seeing her.”
“Keepers will miss Inca’s big personality. Though she may not always have been the easiest to see on habitat due to her amazing camouflage, she was one of the most “in-your-face” animals in the Desert. Whenever keepers were in the area—no matter where, or what they were doing— they knew Inca would be watching.”
Currently, the zoo says they do not anticipate bringing another ocelot to the Desert building. The outdoor habitat, where ocelots have resided since 2015, will now house white-nosed coati, a new species to the Zoo.