Ocelot: The Dwarf Leopard

By: Nicole Mogg

 

Credit: Photo taken by Big Cat Rescue

Listing Type: Endangered
Listing Date: The ocelot was first listed as endangered in 1972, but was only listed on the foreign list. In July of 1982, the status of endangered species was enlarged to include the ocelot’s range in the U.S.
Plan Date: August 26, 2010 

 

Description and ecology of organism: 

The ocelot is one of the least known wildcat species in the world. It is medium-sized, nocturnal, and carnivorous. The ocelot’s beautiful coat is covered in black spots, the tail is ringed with stripes, and there is a white spot on each ear. There are about eleven subspecies, two of which occur in the United States—the Arizona/Sonora subspecies and the Texas/Tamaulipas subspecies. 
Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

 

Credit: http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/ocelot-dwarf-leopard-nice-spots.html

Geographic changes:

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

The ocelot ranges from southern Texas and southern Arizona through Mexico. Ocelots are also found in Central America, Ecuador, northern Argentina, Trinidad and Isla de Margarita (Venezuela). In the past the ocelot was also found in California and Florida, but there have been no recent sightings or reports of ocelot presence in either of these two states.

Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

Depending on the location of the ocelot, the habitat may differ. In Venezuela, its habitat consists of palm savanna, sandhills, shrub woodlands, and deciduous or gallery forest. However, in South Texas, the ocelot’s habitat is primarily dense thornscrub communities. Within this habitat, ocelots prefer more than 95% canopy cover. Unfortunately, humans have altered more than 95% of this habitat for agriculture and urban development. The ocelots’ habitat within the U.S. is even smaller considering that less than 1% of south Texas supports this particular habitat. Due to insufficient research, there is not much information regarding the habitat of the Arizona population.  
Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

Credit: Dr. Jan Janecka and Dr. Michael Tewes

Population changes:

There are approximately 80-120 ocelots in southern Texas. In the wild, population densities range from between 5 and 100 ocelots per 100 km sq. However, the ocelot population is declining, especially in Texas and Arizona. Due to its declining population, the ocelot is also facing problems with genetic variation. This can lead to problems with resistance to disease. 
Sources: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf and http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/ocelot

Causes of listing:

There are five main reasons for listing the ocelot as endangered:

1.  Destruction or modification of its habitat or range
2.  Overuse for commercial, recreational (e.g. whale watching), scientific, or educational purposes
3.  Disease or predation
4.  Inadequate regulatory mechanisms
5.  Other natural or man-made factors affecting its continued existence (e.g. roads,   border issues, genetics, agricultural pesticides and herbicides, climate change)

 Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

Threats to continued existence:

The biggest threat to the ocelot's continued existence is a lack of suitable habitat. The ocelot's habitat is being converted for human use, fragmented, or completely destroyed. Another major threat is human population growth and development. As the number of humans increase, the amount of suitable space for ocelot's decreases at an alarming rate.

Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

Description of recovery plan:

Credit: http://www.defenders.org/magazine/winter-2015/worth-defending-ocelot

The recovery plan focuses mainly on the populations in Arizona/Sonora, Mexico and Texas/Tamaulipas, Mexico. One of the main goals of the recovery plan is to gather more information, especially about the ocelots in Arizona/Sonora because we don’t have much information about this population. A main threat to ocelots in this area is international border issues. Some other goals are to improve genetic variability and population size, protect and restore habitat, enhance landscape linkages among populations, and promote range expansion. Hunting and poaching of ocelots for their skins was a big problem historically, but is still a major source of ocelot death in some countries.
Sources: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf


The six objectives stated in the recovery plan are: 

1. Assess, protect, and restore sufficient habitat to support viable populations of the ocelot in the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico
2. Reduce effects of human population growth and development
3. Maintain or improve genetic variation and health of the ocelot, including a healthy population demographic (age, sex, etc.)
4. Assure the long-term protection of the ocelot through public education and outreach
5. Adapt as new information becomes available
6. Support international efforts

Source: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf

Watch this video for some more great information!!

 

For more information, visit these sites:

Recovery plan: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100826.pdf
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0
http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/ocelot
http://bigcatrescue.org/ocelot-facts/