Ocelot

Mary Michael Wills Ecology

Scientific Name

Leopardus pardalis

Physical Characteristics

of the Ocelot

• Size: 28 to 35 in (70 to 90 cm)• •Weight: 24 to 35 lbs (11 to 16 kg)

•Color: from light yellow to reddish •gray, with dark spots and stripes

•Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Sleeps by day, prowls by night..

• Only on moonless nights or cloudy days are they seen in open areas.

• Strongly nocturnal and sleeps in trees or dense brush during the day.

• It is not uncommon for the same sleeping spot to be used by several Ocelots.

Habitat

Live in the dense vegetation of South American rain forests but have also been found as far north as Texas.

Some have adapted to human habitats and are sometimes found in the vicinity of villages or other settlements.

Live in a variety of habitats from mangrove forests, marshes, grasslands, pastures, and tropical forests.

Eating Habits

•Diets consist of small rodents like rice rats, cane mice, and armadillos.

•They have been known to take on larger prey such as deer, anteaters, land tortoises, and squirrel monkeys.

•During the wet season, they often eat migrating fish and land crabs.

Baby Ocelots

Mating: Non-seasonal Gestation: 70 days No. of Young: 2-4 cubs

Today…

•An estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million are found worldwide.

• 80 to 120 are found in two isolated populations in southeast Texas

•In captivity, ocelots can live 20 years while in the wild they live seven to ten years.

•Ocelots are hunted for their pelts, which are used for coats and trim.

•They are able to be tamed and are sometimes kept as pets.

Saving the Ocelot

•Cooperative Conservation America and the Binational Ocelot Recovery Program

•Landowners who participating in the programs restore brush near areas where ocelots are known to occur, so that in the future these lands can be used as core habitat for the cats.

•Landowners signed agreements stating that they would protect the restored area for up to 20 years.

•The US Fish & Wildlife Service, Meadows Foundation, Houston Endowment and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have provided or are providing funds for this work.

Fun Facts

• The name "ocelot" comes from the Mexican Aztec word "tlalocelot" meaning field tiger.

• Ocelot’s fur is very beautiful and has been long sought after for fur coats.

•Some people keep ocelots as pets, but this is not legal in California.

Bibliographyhttp://www.saveamericasforests.org/Yasuni/Biodiversity/Ocelot.htm

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ocelot.html

http://www.belizezoo.org/zoo/zoo/mammals/oce/oce1.html

http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/ocelot.html

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-ocelot.html

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/ocelot.htm

http://www.cooperativeconservationamerica.org/viewproject.asp?pid=827