The Ocelot - by: Brydon Clark

Hello!

Widely regarded as the most beautiful cat in the Americas, the Ocelot's coat is distinctive and unique; no two animals are alike. The species occupies a wide spectrum of habitat types, ranging from scrublands to tropical rain forests. However, the species' abundance is negatively affected by anthropogenic effects like poaching and logging. If you'd like to learn more about the Ocelot and what you can do to help, then you're in the right place!

Description and Ecology

             Topping out at 35 pounds, the ocelot has a graceful body that can reach four feet long, including the tail. Varying in color from pale to dark tawny hues, the ocelot’s coat has brown spots with black borders that are elongated, like chain links, and follow downward sweeping lines.

            Primarily night creatures, these muscularly formed cats are solitary and territorial. Ocelots are generalists, and their diet varies with prey availability. Their diet often includes small mammals, birds and reptiles, but include also larger sized prey, such as agoutis, armadillos, pacas, and monkeys. Interestingly, the cats will also sometimes cover these larger kills with debris to save for later. Strong swimmers, Ocelots take aquatic and semi-aquatic prey throughout the year as well, and also consume a high portion of grass.

            Active 12-14 hours per day, they rest while the sun is up—concealing themselves in brushpiles, clumps of vines or amidst the roots of large trees. Sometimes covering their entire range every two to four days, they spend the majority of their time walking slowly throughout their land, often strolling down game trails looking for prey. They are also ‘sit and wait’ predators, waiting motionless for 30-60 minutes at a den or burrow site, then moving rapidly to another site where they sit and wait again. They typically foster litters of kittens around one to four in number after a 70-80 day gestation period. Longevity has been reported at 27 years.

Geographic Range and Population
Distribution

            The species occupies a wide range of habitat types, varying from mangrove forests, coastal marshes, and savanna grasslands to thorn scrubs and tropical forests. What all these habitats share in common is well-structured vegetation cover.

            The Ocelot is widely distributed from the United States and Mexico through Central and South America south to North Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay, found in every country except Chile.  In the United States, Ocelots have been recorded in Arizona and in two isolated subpopulations within the southern tip of Texas.

            Ocelot population densities throughout its range varies greatly. At a continental scale, Ocelot densities decrease with latitude and increase with rainfall. At a local scale, their abundance may be affected by logging and poaching or by competition with other species. The lowest densities are found in the Pine Forest of Belize, dry areas of Mexico and the Caatinga in northeastern Brazil. The maximum estimated density was found at the Barro Colorado Island in Panamá.

There is a direct correlation between amount of available resources and ocelot sightings. If we want to experience these beautiful creatures, we need to keep their environments healthy.


Listing Date & Type of Listing

            Although some parts of the world's ocelot populations are sustainable, the species is nevertheless impacted by habitat loss and fragmentation in the form of intense logging activities, vehicle collisions and poaching. The species is considered Endangered in Mexico and in United States, Vulnerable in Colombia and Argentina. In Brazil, populations outside the Amazon are listed as Vulnerable.

            Listed in 1982 as endangered, the ocelot is protected by the Endangered Species Act. The ocelot is also listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Commercial trade of CITES Appendix I species is strictly prohibited. Since its original listing, the Ocelot has made strides toward recovery (with some populations recently being re-listed as Least Concern) but there is still much work to be done, especially in the state of Texas in the United States. The number of Ocelots in Texas is believed to be between 50 – 80 individuals. These areas need attention or Ocelots are likely to be extirpated there.

Cause of Listing & Main Threats

             Historically, during the 1970’s and 80’s, the Ocelot population was decimated by the fur trade, with as many as 200,000 hundred thousand taken annually. Poachers would kill the mother to obtain the kittens. These cats can still be found in local markets in Central and South America for sale to tourists as pets, although it is illegal to transport them without a permit. The implementation of strict controls has seen a marked decrease in the number killed.

            At present, the major threats for the species are habitat loss and fragmentation, retaliatory killing due to depredation of poultry, and the ongoing illegal trade of pets and pelts. Specifically, one of the greatest threats to the species in Texas has been the automobile. Patches of proper habitat are widely spread out and the migration of adolescents looking for their own territory result in the death of many animals as they attempt to cross roads.

Description of Recovery Plan

            Initially, habitat loss and hunting pushed the species to the brink of extinction. Now, continued habitat loss, collisions with vehicles, and inbreeding resulting from small and isolated groups are keeping the species’ population numbers low. The recovery plan for the species includes connecting the populations in Texas and Mexico to provide a migratory corridor and expand the gene pool. In Texas specifically, conservationists and universities are working to establish corridors between habitat patches that will allow the animals to migrate safely.

            The species is also Included in CITES Appendix I. The species is protected across most of its range, with hunting banned in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela, and hunting regulations in place in Peru. Part of the species range includes protected areas, including some capable of maintaining long-term viable populations.

What Can WE do?

     1. Consider a symbolic adoption. Purchasing ocelot-themed products from the WWF will ensure that the money spent will go towards those organizations who are working to help ocelots. 

             http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/ocelot.aspx

     2. Write your representative. Always a worthy option, a letter to a representative can go a long way. Follow the link to find out who your representative is.  

             http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

      3. Spread advocacy! Just by reading this blog, you're already helping! Feel free to share, and remember that the more people that are made aware, the greater the chance of a full recovery becomes.

Works Cited

Ocelot - International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://www.wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/south-america/ocelot/

Leopards pardalis (Ocelot). (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2010. Draft Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) Recovery Plan, First Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

PICTURE URLs ( In order of appearance)
1. http://freewallpaperspot.com/wallpapers/a1-ocelot-5.jpg 
2. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/ocelot.pdf
3. http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2010/feb/images/AFOceCrouch.jpg
4. http://orig10.deviantart.net/2494/f/2012/347/f/8/ocelot_by_monsta90-d5hrmxi.jpg
5. http://paradoxoff.com/files/2011/06/yawning-ocelot.jpg
6. http://www.mineimatorforums.com/uploads/monthly_2015_07/OCEW.jpg.5c951524d8a8c56a259a74cf487e5b7d.jpg
7. http://www.zooborns.com/.a/6a010535647bf3970b019b046e4395970d-800wi