https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140603-ocelots-cats-wildlife-recovery-habitat-loss-panther-highway/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTQ1MjQwMzc4Mjc0MjUwNjQ2MTUyGjQ0MjRhMjI0ZGZhNTczNjQ6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNG_6p_HMPTkNqJJr61hOx9hGWNCJg
Last Stand for U.S. Ocelots?
After decades of habitat loss and vehicular deaths,
only 50 of the cats are left in a corner of Texas.
Ocelots are wild cats that can be found in South America, Central
America, and the U.S.
America, and the U.S.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
PUBLISHED JUNE 3, 2014
Last November in Texas, a feline
twice the size of a house cat was
struck dead on State Highway 100,
just south of Laguna Atascosa
National Wildlife Refuge in the
Rio Grande Valley.
twice the size of a house cat was
struck dead on State Highway 100,
just south of Laguna Atascosa
National Wildlife Refuge in the
Rio Grande Valley.
Leo Gustafson, the refuge's assistant
manager, went out to inspect the corpse.
He soon found himself gazing at the cat's
beautiful tawny coat, covered with spots,
bars, and splotches—the perfect camouflage
for a thorn-scrub habitat of sun and shade.
But the pattern had proved useless as the
ocelot tried to cross the four-lane divided
highway.
manager, went out to inspect the corpse.
He soon found himself gazing at the cat's
beautiful tawny coat, covered with spots,
bars, and splotches—the perfect camouflage
for a thorn-scrub habitat of sun and shade.
But the pattern had proved useless as the
ocelot tried to cross the four-lane divided
highway.
Gustafson noted the thick radio collar
around the cat's neck and recognized
the individual as the four-and-a-half-year
-old male that refuge staff had been tracking
. Over the past few months, they had
watched with trepidation as he crisscrossed
a patchwork of cotton fields and convenience
stores, culverts and roadways, seeking to
establish a territory and find a mate.
around the cat's neck and recognized
the individual as the four-and-a-half-year
-old male that refuge staff had been tracking
. Over the past few months, they had
watched with trepidation as he crisscrossed
a patchwork of cotton fields and convenience
stores, culverts and roadways, seeking to
establish a territory and find a mate.
"It's tragic, really," said refuge manager Boyd
Blihovde. "Ocelots are so beautiful and so
rare, and to lose so many of these animals
to vehicular collision just seems senseless."
Blihovde. "Ocelots are so beautiful and so
rare, and to lose so many of these animals
to vehicular collision just seems senseless."
The death of the cat wildlife biologists knew
as OM276 (OM stands for "ocelot male")
also brought the species one step closer
to extinction in the United States.
as OM276 (OM stands for "ocelot male")
also brought the species one step closer
to extinction in the United States.
Ocelots still inhabit Mexico and every country
south of it except Chile. But the last ones left
in the United States—an estimated 50
individuals, down from about a hundred a
decade ago—live in two separate populations
in and around Laguna Atascosa and on private
land in neighboring Willacy County.
south of it except Chile. But the last ones left
in the United States—an estimated 50
individuals, down from about a hundred a
decade ago—live in two separate populations
in and around Laguna Atascosa and on private
land in neighboring Willacy County.
This is the species' last foothold in a territory
that once included Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas,
and Arizona. (Five ocelots have been sighted
in Arizona in the past five years, but researchers
say the possibility of a breeding population there
is highly unlikely.)
that once included Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas,
and Arizona. (Five ocelots have been sighted
in Arizona in the past five years, but researchers
say the possibility of a breeding population there
is highly unlikely.)
An Unfriendly Environment
The number one cause of ocelot deaths in the
U.S. today is vehicular. Six of the 14 cats tracked
with radio telemetry by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and Laguna Atascosa biologists have
been killed by vehicles. As Blihovde puts it,
"Wildcats and highways don't mix."
U.S. today is vehicular. Six of the 14 cats tracked
with radio telemetry by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and Laguna Atascosa biologists have
been killed by vehicles. As Blihovde puts it,
"Wildcats and highways don't mix."
Yet cars and trucks aren't an ocelot's biggest
foe. Habitat loss and fragmentation are.
foe. Habitat loss and fragmentation are.
Some 95 percent of the cats' native habitat in
the U.S. has been converted to agriculture or
become urban sprawl. In the Rio Grande
Valley—a border area that's one of the
nation's fastest growing regions—young
males like OM276 that venture outside the
refuge must navigate a dangerous man-made
landscape.
the U.S. has been converted to agriculture or
become urban sprawl. In the Rio Grande
Valley—a border area that's one of the
nation's fastest growing regions—young
males like OM276 that venture outside the
refuge must navigate a dangerous man-made
landscape.
Cause for Hope?
Now, after decades of inaction, some recovery
measures are finally under way.
measures are finally under way.
This year the Texas Department of Transportation
plans to install the state's first highway wildlife
crossings for ocelots. Eight underpasses, at a
cost of $1.4 million, will be incorporated into the
expansion of Highway 106.
plans to install the state's first highway wildlife
crossings for ocelots. Eight underpasses, at a
cost of $1.4 million, will be incorporated into the
expansion of Highway 106.
Such crossings, accompanied by highway
fencing, have proved successful elsewhere
in the U.S. In the 1980s, for instance, when
Interstate 75 (aka Alligator Alley) was
widened though the Everglades, Florida
invested $20 million to build 23 crossings.
Today the state's endangered panther
population, which numbered no more than
50 in the mid-1990s, has bounced back to
an estimated 160.
fencing, have proved successful elsewhere
in the U.S. In the 1980s, for instance, when
Interstate 75 (aka Alligator Alley) was
widened though the Everglades, Florida
invested $20 million to build 23 crossings.
Today the state's endangered panther
population, which numbered no more than
50 in the mid-1990s, has bounced back to
an estimated 160.
Mountain lions (another name for the panther)
imported from Texas helped the Florida
panther recover by introducing genetic
variability. So it's only fitting that Texas
ocelots may soon receive their own new
pair of genes.
imported from Texas helped the Florida
panther recover by introducing genetic
variability. So it's only fitting that Texas
ocelots may soon receive their own new
pair of genes.
Researchers from the ocelot "translocation"
team—which includes theU.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and various universities
and institutions in the United States and
Mexico—plan to appeal to the Mexican
government for permission to import
breeding-age females from Tamaulipas,
Mexico, where an estimated thousand
ocelots live.
team—which includes theU.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and various universities
and institutions in the United States and
Mexico—plan to appeal to the Mexican
government for permission to import
breeding-age females from Tamaulipas,
Mexico, where an estimated thousand
ocelots live.
Ocelots Need Room to Roam
Ultimately, the ocelot's recovery depends
on finding enough room for the population
to expand.
on finding enough room for the population
to expand.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it wants
to buy land or secure easements to create
habitat corridors. But to date the agency
has purchased only about 100,000 of the
estimated one million acres (405,000
hectares) of habitat the cats need to recover.
In Texas, which is 95 percent privately owned,
landowner incentives to restore ocelot habitat
may offer the best hope to conserve the species.
to buy land or secure easements to create
habitat corridors. But to date the agency
has purchased only about 100,000 of the
estimated one million acres (405,000
hectares) of habitat the cats need to recover.
In Texas, which is 95 percent privately owned,
landowner incentives to restore ocelot habitat
may offer the best hope to conserve the species.
In the face of such grim realities, each new
ocelot birth is significant. So on February 14,
when a juvenile never seen before took a
selfie with one of the refuge's wildlife trip
cameras, Laguna Atascosa staff felt like they'd
received a valentine.
ocelot birth is significant. So on February 14,
when a juvenile never seen before took a
selfie with one of the refuge's wildlife trip
cameras, Laguna Atascosa staff felt like they'd
received a valentine.
When wildlife biologist Hilary Swarts tracked
and radio-collared the animal a few weeks later,
she confirmed that it was a 10- to 12-month-old
juvenile female. Then in late April, another new
juvenile, a 12- to 14-month-old male, was
discovered on the refuge.
and radio-collared the animal a few weeks later,
she confirmed that it was a 10- to 12-month-old
juvenile female. Then in late April, another new
juvenile, a 12- to 14-month-old male, was
discovered on the refuge.
Two new kids on the block are hardly enough
to pull the species back from the brink. But for
an imperiled species like the ocelot, every kitten
is a sign of hope—and a step in the right direction.
to pull the species back from the brink. But for
an imperiled species like the ocelot, every kitten
is a sign of hope—and a step in the right direction.
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