The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research folks At Texas A&M are studying the interactions and populations of Bobcats and Ocelots in southern Texas...........There does not seem to be competition and fighting between the two feline species with Bobcats using a wide arrary of terrain and the Ocelots prefering the most tangled and brushy habitat in the region.......10% of the Bobcats have similar markings to the endangered 80 remaing Ocelots in Texas............There is some speculation that the two species might interbreed and hybridize periodically,,,,,although there is currently no hard evidence to prove that hypothesis

 Bobcat Captures

by Richard Moore; The Nature Report

Biologists with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M Kingsville are studying both bobcats and endangered ocelots on the Willacy County Ranch. Dr. Mike Tewes, Regents Professor at Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute said, "We have a bobcat study here in Willacy County to look at the competition of bobcats with ocelots."

Bobcats are common throughout Texas and occur in virtually every county in the state, but there are estimated to be no more than 80 ocelots remaining in the thick brush of Deep South Texas.

While their range overlaps, ocelots depend on extremely dense thickets of brush and bobcats are more adaptable utilizing a variety of habitats.

"We have found that bobcats and ocelots can coexist pretty well together and so far we have not found major competition between the two cat species,” said Tewes.

Bobcat

Researchers have captured two bobcats this day and will affix GPS tracking collars to both. While the first has a normal mostly solid brownish coat pattern, the second bobcats fur resembles an ocelots.
"Most bobcats have a pretty solid brown coat pattern, and then some of them have black spots or even circles on their coats, but about one out of every ten seems to have spots very similar to ocelots, rosettes that are very difficult to distinguish from an ocelots," said Tewes.

Ocelot

While there is no evidence of interbreeding between bobcats and ocelots, it is fascinating how striking the similarities are in the coats of some ten percent of bobcats to the rare ocelots.