Ocelot Infomration
Diet
The ocelot has a carnivorous diet. The ocelot eats animals such as rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish.
Threats
Illegal hunting for beautiful fur; habitat destution; pet trade; and retaliatory killing due to depredation of poultry.
Off Spring
Following a 79 to 85 day gestation, young are born in litters of one to three. Kittens are independent after about one year, but may stay with their mother for an additional year.
Range
Once ranging as far east as Arkansas and Louisiana, throughout Texas, Mexico, ocelots are currently found in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. They are also found in every country south of the United States except Chile.
Family
Genus
Population
An estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million are found worldwide. An estimated 80 to 120 are found in two isolated populations in southeast Texas.
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Size/Weight
The ocelot is 24 to 35 inches in size. It weighs 24 to 35 pounds, which is twice the size of the average house cat.
Actions Made
Laws have been past to illegalize hunting of ocelots, but the killing of them continues. Also Appendix II listed that animals cannot be traded commercially if it harms their survival.
Life Span
In captivity, ocelots can live 20 years while in the wild they live seven to ten years.
Habitat
Ocelots live in a variety of habitats, ranging from mangrove forests, coastal marshes, savannah grasslands, pastures, thorn scrub and tropical forests. All of these habitats provide dense vegetative cover.
Kingdom
Order
Population Status
The ocelot is a least concern in some areas while in the USA(Arizona + Texas ) to central and south America it is threatened.
2002–Least Concern 1990–Vulnerable (IUCN 1990) 1988– Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) 1986–Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) 1982–Vulnerable (Thornback and Jenkins 1982) |
Fast Facts
~Despite threats, it is the most abundant cat species in much of its range.
~Ocelots catch an average of one prey item for every 3.1 hours of travel.
~Ocelots tails are 10-15 inches long.
~Low Reproductive Rate + Need For Dense Cove and Abundant Small Prey = Possible Increase in Vunerability to Environmental Disturbances
~The ocelot exerts a negative effect on the population of the smaller sympatric species. <The Ocelot Effect>
~The ocelot is one of three (Ocelot, Margay, an Clouded Leapord) cats that is able to rotate its ankles 180 degrees so that they can climb head first down a tree.
~Ocelots catch an average of one prey item for every 3.1 hours of travel.
~Ocelots tails are 10-15 inches long.
~Low Reproductive Rate + Need For Dense Cove and Abundant Small Prey = Possible Increase in Vunerability to Environmental Disturbances
~The ocelot exerts a negative effect on the population of the smaller sympatric species. <The Ocelot Effect>
~The ocelot is one of three (Ocelot, Margay, an Clouded Leapord) cats that is able to rotate its ankles 180 degrees so that they can climb head first down a tree.
Symbiotic Relationships
Commensilism
Ocelots have a symbiotic relationship with trees. The ocelots use the shade of the trees to sneek up on their prey and lay in it for comfort. This relationship is commensilism because the oceots benefit, while the trees are niether helped nor harmed.
Predator-Prey Relationships
The ocelot preys on animals such as rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish. The ocelot also has many animals that prey on it. Felines, including Jaguars and Pumas, prey on the smaller Ocelot, along with Birds of Prey such as the Harpy Eagle and the world's biggest snake, the Anaconda.
Ocelot Habitat
Ocelot Population Chart
*Sources*
~http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/ocelot.html
~http://www.arkive.org/ocelot/leopardus-pardalis/
~http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ocelot/?source=A-to-Z
~http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0
~http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/animals/animal_detail.aspx?FACT_SHEET_ID=100023
~http://qpanimals.pbworks.com/w/page/5925178/Ocelots
~http://a-z-animals.com/animals/ocelot/
~http://www.arkive.org/ocelot/leopardus-pardalis/
~http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ocelot/?source=A-to-Z
~http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0
~http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/animals/animal_detail.aspx?FACT_SHEET_ID=100023
~http://qpanimals.pbworks.com/w/page/5925178/Ocelots
~http://a-z-animals.com/animals/ocelot/