ANIMAL REPORT
By: Joe Hoffmann
Ocelot
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Scientific Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Scientific Genus: Leopardus
Species: L. pardalis
Common Name: Ocelot
Biome [Where are they found?]: Ranging from mangrove forests, coastal marshes, savannah grasslands, pastures, thorn scrub and tropical forests.
Countries: Currently found in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. They are also found in every country south of the United States except Chile.
Type of Body Covering: Fur
Name of Young: Kittens
Symbiotic Relationship: Commensalism. Ocelot's benefit from trees because they like to lay in the shade and they can seek out prey.
Related Species: Jaguar and tiger
Forms of Communications: Growling and body movements (Hear an ocelot. Click & scroll down to multimedia)
Endangered Species: Its hunted for its beautiful coat.
General Description of an Ocelot:
An ocelot weighs 20 to 35 pounds is 38 to 60 inches long and 16 to 20 inches tall. Males are slightly larger than females. This image is the size relative to a 6-ft man:
Their markings include black rings on the tail, stripes on the cheeks and white markings around the eyes and mouth. The coat of the ocelot is a mixture of stripes and spots . The coat of the ocelot may vary in color ranging from pale yellow to reddish grey. The underside is white. Videos of ocelot's are difficult to find because they are endangered.
Ocelots are good swimmers and climbers. They have powerful legs and are one of the fastest wildcats. The average lifespan of the ocelot is 7 to 10 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity.
Ocelots like to rest in trees and although they are solitary and territorial animals they have been known to share their resting spots with other ocelots.
Ocelots are now legally protected. The species is listed as endangered because they were hunted for their beautiful coat.
Ocelots can mate any time year round. Females give birth to 1 to 4 kittens. By the time the kittens are 8 months old they can hunt for food.
Ocelet's are carnivores and a secondary consumer. Their diet consists of: Rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish.
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