The Ocelot: A Humans Prey

The Ocelot has been given various names over the years, scientifically known as Leopardus pardalis, it is often called the “Painted Leopard” due to facial markings that are similar to those of a Leopards Cat (Shorter). The Ocelots biome ranges from mangrove forests and coastal marshes to savannah grasslands and pastures. All of these habitats provide areas with dense vegetation cover such as thorn scrub and tropical forests (Kids Planet). They can live in very versatile ecosystems, but never in the open country. The Ocelot ranges from Southern Texas to Mexico, and once even found in Central and South America (Shorter). These species do not migrate and are commonly solitary creatures. Ocelots are generally nocturnal animals; they will spend the day asleep on a branch, in a hollow tree, or in dense vegetations (Cat Survival, 2002). They are excellent swimmers and climbers which aids in the Ocelots ability to hunt and gather food. Ocelots are carnivores; they hunt and eat animals such as rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish (Kids Planet).

Ocelots have seen a massive blow to there population for various reasons ranging form habitat loss, human activities, fur trade, and hunting. As far back as the ancient Aztec civilization, the Ocelot has been hunted and prized for its fur (Dspace). Historically, one of the biggest threats to Ocelots was hunting – shot as nuisance predators as well as for their valuable fur, they were nearly human bullets (Galvin). Thirteen Ocelots are killed to make one fur coat and in one year 140,000 Ocelot skins were declared to have been imported by the USA. They were once the mainstay of the fur trade (Cat Survival). Today, humans are the blame for Ocelot endangerment. The more we expand our way of life, the more the Ocelot suffers to survive. For Ocelots living in the U.S. and Mexico, the major threat is habitat loss. Almost 95 percent of the region’s native land cover has been altered (Defenders 2009). Unfortunately, agriculture, urban development, and roads have fragmented and replaced the species’ territory, making habitat fragmentation the greatest threat facing this intriguing, endangered feline (Galvin). Currently, the greatest cause of mortality for the Ocelot is becoming road kill. Being nocturnal hunters, they often move at night, further increasing their risk of vehicle collisions. Almost extinct in their natural range in the USA, they are extremely rare in Mexico. Habitat loss and over hunting have decimated their populations (Cat Survival). Fewer than 100 individuals persist in the United States. The majority of Ocelots are located in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, an area critical for NAFTA projects. Globally, the species’ population is declining (Galvin).Nobody truly knows when the Ocelot population began to diminish but it was ultimately at the finger of human beings whether it is buy hunting for fur or by destruction of agriculture.

On March 30, 1972, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Ocelot as a foreign species in danger under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Only a couple years later on July 25, 1980 was the Ocelot proposed as an endangered species in the United States. July 21, 1982, The Service listed the U.S. population of Ocelot as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The agency did not designate critical habitat, claming that it might operate to the disadvantage of the species, citing poaching as a threat. It also relied on the fact that 20,000 of the 50,000 identified acres of Ocelot habitat was already protected by the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. On August 22, 1990 The Service published a recovery plan for the listed cats of Arizona and Texas, with an emphasis on the Ocelot (Galvin).

Reference Citations
Anderson, Ken. “The Last of the Ocelots in the United States”. Kenanderson.net/ocelots
Cat Survival Trust. “The Ocelot”. 10 March 2002. http://www.catsurvivaltrust.org/
Defenders of Wildlife. “Ocelot”. 2009. http://www.defenders.org/
De Magalhaes, J. P., Budovsky, A., Lehmann, G., Costa, J., Li, Y., Fraifeld, V., Church, G. M. (2009) "The Human Ageing Genomic Resources: online databases and tools for biogerontologists." Aging Cell 8(1):65-72
Dspace.dial.pipex.com. “Ocelot”.
Galvin, Peter. “Saving the Ocelot”. Center for Biological Diversity. www.biologicaldiversity.org
Kids Planet. ESpecies Fact Sheet. www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/ocelot/html.Shorter, C.M. “Ocelot-Leopardus pardalis”. Wild Cats Of the World. Tigerhomes.org