Save the Ocelot!

by Clarissa Rivas

About the Ocelot

See that cute little face? That is the ocelot, known formally as the leopardis pardalis. The ocelot is a carnivorous cat about twice the size of the average house cat and can live up to 20 years. If you live in the southern regions of Arizona and Texas, it's possible you may have seen this feline roaming around. But considering it's listing as an endangered species, they are becoming rarer and rarer. Thanks to their recovery plan however, the ocelot is hoping to get off of that list and be as strong as they were before their decline.

Ecology and Habitat

The ocelot’s habitat ranges from rainforests, dry tropical forests, savannas, shrublands and marshlands. In Texas, where they are most endangered, they occupy dense thornscrub. The ocelot preys primarily on rabbits, rodents, birds and lizards.

Geographic and population changes

The ocelot resides in areas ranging from southern Texas and Arizona, through Central America, and down into South America into the northern regions of Argentina and Uruguay. The recovery plan states that there are only two populations left in Texas, containing fewer than 50 ocelots between the two. Though they are more abundant in other areas, there are still very few remaining, hence their endangerment. 

Listing date and type of listing

The ocelot was listed as endangered in 1982. The recovery plan began drafting in 1990, and was implemented as of 2010.

Cause of listing and main threats to its continued existence

Habitat fragmentation and loss are the main threats to the ocelots. Because of human population growth and development, 95% of the dense thornscrub the ocelots inhabit in Texas have been converted to agriculture, rangeland, or urbanization. Matrixes between populations of ocelots have also been blocked off by roads and in between Texas and Mexico, the border, causing isolation of populations. Though hunting and trading of ocelots was a big problem back when they were originally listed, thanks to stricter hunting regulations and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) it is no longer as big of a threat to their existence.

Description of recovery plan

The goal of the recovery plan is to (first) get the ocelot downlisted from endangered to threatened, ultimately getting the ocelot delisted completely. The plan for recovery includes minimizing the effects of human population growth and development in areas where the ocelot resides. We want to improve and restore their habitat, while improving their overall fitness and demographic conditions. We also want to make sure people are more aware of the ocelots and their critical condition, by providing incentives for landowners near ocelot habitats and using public education to teach children the importance of this endangered animal. Even though the plan can only be ensured in the US borders, the recovery plan does include helping and supporting international efforts to conserve the ocelot in other regions, specifically that of Temaulipas and Sonora in Mexico. The total recovery plan is estimated to cost 60,870,500 over the course of 6+ years.

In order for the ocelot to be downlisted, there must be an estimated population of above 200 in Texas, 1,000 in Arizona and 1,000 in Tamaulipas for at least 5 years. In order for the ocelot to be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species, the previous numbers must be held for at least 10 years. Conservationists and management teams are hopeful that if the recovery plan is held up, the ocelot should be downlisted to threatened by the year 2030, and completely removed from the list by 2040.

What can YOU do to help?

One of the most important things you can do, especially if you live in an area where ocelots are found, is to be aware. Do not shoot an ocelot, call your local wildlife center or animal control if they roam onto your private property. Also beware while driving in these areas. Since their populations are separated by roads and highways, they may try to cross these barriers. 

If you do not live in an area close to ocelots, you can adopt one. That is, symbolically adopt one through the the World Wildlife Fund here. It only costs $25, and how cool would it be to say you have your very own ocelot roaming around?

Hopefully we can see the ocelots living abundantly once again, and get them off of the endangered species list! 

References

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

http://www.defenders.org/ocelot/what-you-can-do

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/texas/explore/mammals-ocelot.xml

To see the full recovery plan, click here.