The Ocelot: Bringing Back the Art of the Painted Leopard

By Kyle Burch

The Ocelot: Leopardus pardalis
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata  Class: Mammalia    Order: Carnivora    Family: Felidae

Image 1: http://famebiography.net/wp-content/uploads/1618_ocelot.jpg 

What are Ocelots?
The Ocelot may look like a more exotic version of your typical house cat, but be prepared to throw that notion right out the window. Ocelots belong to the Leopardus genus, classifying them as small, spotted cats mainly native to South and Central America. There are many subspecies of Ocelots, but the two that occur in the U.S are the Sonora Ocelot found in Arizona and the Tamaulipas Ocelot found in Texas. Weighing around 20-35 pounds and growing up to 20 inches tall, Ocelots are the largest in Leopardus.  This cat is built with a slender/agile body which is optimal for climbing and traversing quickly through its habitat (Ocelot- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service).

FUN FACT- "Ocelot's can turn their ankle joints around, which allows them to literally climb 'down' a tree," (Ocelot- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service).

Image 2: http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/53/53394613-8DC1-48C2-B516-9AC2915BAA35/Presentation.Large/Ocelot-hanging-upside-down-in-tree.jpg

Image 3: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals
/7a/2d/10/7a2d10b1120667c4f06aadc957c21b2a.jpg 

Another attribute the Ocelot can use to its advantage is it's extravagant coat. It's coat features stripes that begin on its face and travel down it's neck, transitioning to unique black outlined spots that span the rest of it's body. An Ocelot's coat color can range between pale gray to yellowish tawny. This attractive coat is why the cat is also known as the painted leopard.

You may ask, what does the Ocelot use these characteristics for? To catch its prey of course!

Image 4: http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/9B//Presentation.
Large/Ocelot-with-water-opossum-prey-in-mouth.jpg

Being mostly a nocturnal species, Ocelots rest for much of the day and wait for the cover of night to hunt. Their prey items include; rodents, reptiles, birds, smaller mammals, and fish. Generally, Ocelots will hunt whatever prey they have available to them, making them opportunistic hunters (Ocelot- Big Cat Rescue).

Sexual maturity in Ocelots is reached at 18 months for females and 30 months for males. After successful mating a female ocelot will have a litter of 1-2 kittens every other year (Ocelot- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service).


Habitat Requirements and where can we find Ocelots today?

Ocelot's are best described as habitat generalists, adapting well wherever it lives. Ocelots can be found in many different dense brush habitats including, "rain forest, montane forest, thick bush, semi-deserts, coastal marsh, and along river banks, but it is never found in open country," (Ocelot-Big Cat Rescue). Ideally, these habitats need to have a lot of space. Male Ocelots need about 25 square miles and females about 9 square

miles, a lack of this amount of space can cause problems for these territorial/solitary predators. Many people do not realize that an Ocelot can be found right here in the U.S. Just around 50 individuals remain in the U.S, so they may be hard to find but they are still here in our backyard. According to fossil and archaeological record, their original habitat in the U.S was thought to have spanned much of the southern states and possibly as far north as Ohio.  But today they are limited to the extreme south of Arizona and Texas. Discluding the two U.S subspecies, the vast majority of Ocelots today inhabit much of South and Central America and are the most abundant cat species in South America (Ocelot- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service).
Why are they listed?
In 1972, Ocelots were listed as endangered in the entire western hemisphere. The state of Texas lists them as endangered and in Arizona as a species of "special concern," protected from collection and hunting. What Ocelots need most is habitat. The main threats they face are land conversion, habitat fragmentation, and habitat loss. Development in Texas and Arizona continues to fragment Ocelot habitat to the point where individuals of the same population are forced closer together and at the same time further apart from other population patches (Ocelot Recovery Plan). This allows for threats such as;

inbreeding, automobile collisions and competition between cats who are normally spaced out. 

Ocelot hide

Another possible problem for Ocelots is that females have a very long gestation period, only giving birth every other year. And when they do give birth it is only to a litter of 1-2 kittens. A combination of a slow growth rate and habitat destruction poses a big issue for this species. Ocelots are also valued in the exotic pet trade and for their beautiful coats (Basic Facts About Ocelots).

The Plan for Recovery
The main goal is to ultimately recover the Ocelot and delist it as endangered species. So how do we achieve that?

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is currently enacting a recovery plan that focuses on maintaining, restoring and connecting Ocelot habitat. This can be achieved by connecting populations in Texas and Arizona with dispersal through habitat corridors. With successful dispersal comes healthy genetic diversity in populations as well as a greater chance for population growth. Also by keeping the community aware and involved with of the problems the Ocelot faces and making sure their habitat stays protected can increase their chance for survival (Ocelot Recovery Plan).
Criteria to be delisted as endangered

• populations must consistently qualify for "least concern" under the criteria of the IUCN Red List for five consecutive years.
• above 200 and 1,000 individuals in Texas/Tamaulipas and above 1,000 individuals in Arizona for five years (Ocelot Recovery Plan).

Criteria to be delisted altogether

• Same as information above, but for 10+ years consecutively (Ocelot Recovery Plan).

 

Image 9: http://davidmixner.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c90b153ef017d409ac874970c-pi

Help Out!

Help save the Ocelots by visiting one of the sites below. Donate and learn what you can do to help!

                https://secure2.edf.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2100&2100.donation=form1

                http://ocelotrescue.webstarts.com

To Learn More!

If you would like to learn more about the Ocelot feel free to visit one of the sites below.

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A084

http://www.defenders.org/ocelot/basic-facts

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/laguna_atascosa/wildlife_and_habitat/ocelot.html

http://bigcatrescue.org/ocelot-facts/

Image Sources

Image 5: Range map  http://www.defenders.org/ocelot/basic-facts

Image 6: Habitat fragmentation https://naturalgeographic.wikispaces.com/file/view/artmax_161.jpg/343000862/artmax_161.jpg

Image 7: Ocelot hide http://www.junglephotos.com/amazon/amconservation/hunting/ 

Image 8: Habitat corridor concept http://wolvesonceroamed.com/tag/habitat-fragmentation/

Works Cited

"Basic Facts About Ocelots." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

"Ocelot." Big Cat Rescue. Big Cat Rescue, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

"Ocelot." U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Ocelot Recovery Plan."    (n.d.): n. pag. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service- Endangered Species. 22 Aug. 1990. Web.