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The American Ocelot
By: Aidan James Marvick
Bio 227-01; Fall 2017; L. Needles
Description and ecology of organism:
The Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, is a medium sized cat,
7-16 kg in weight, somewhere between a cheetah and a fat house cat. Its facial
structure is characterized by roundness; the ocelot has rounded ears, large
round eyes and a fluffy round mouth. The patterning of its fur is characterized
by two black striped across the cheeks which fun down the neck and chains of
black spots originating from the forehead, running down the back, and across
the body. Its color is lighter on its belly, bordering on white, and fades into
a burnt cinnamon color towards the top of its back (the overall tone of the fur
can range from a desaturated grey to the full burnt cinnamon). This cat is a
strikingly cute predator, which, in the wild could surely be considered
majestic.
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Thornscrub
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The Ocelot has been
broken down into 11 different sub-species due to it wide range, stretching from
the southwestern United States all the way to northern Argentina. The
Sub-species covered by the Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
are commonly the Texas Ocelot and the Sonora Ocelot. These ocelots range from
the southern tip of Texas into the Tamaulipas region of Mexico and from
southern Arizona into the Sonora region of Mexico respectively. The Texas
Ocelot has a semi-arid costal grassland habitat, while the Sonora Ocelot has a
semi-arid thornscurb habitat. The other sub-species of Ocelot can range from
desert-like habitats all the way to rainforests and jungles. The Ocelot is a
predator here and uses its heightened nocturnal senses and skill of swimming to
hunt rabbits and rodents as well as iguanas, fish, and frogs.
Geographic and population changes?:
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| Habitat Range http://www.catsg.org/typo3temp/pics/664b6cc6aa.jpg |
In
the late 19th century these two subspecies of Ocelot ranged further
into the United States. The Texas Ocelot lived throughout southern and eastern
Texas with evidence of them extending as far as Louisiana, while the Sonora
Ocelot maintained its range to southeastern Arizona. Recently and currently,
the two subspecies have been pushed to the extreme southern portions of their
respective states, largely due to human population growth and development,
habitat fragmentation and loss, commercial exploitation and illegal hunting,
and the US Mexico border. It is estimated that the prehistoric range of this
creature could have extended as far north as Ohio and now it is blockaded by
human expansion, grasping at the southern corners of our country.
In 1986, 120 Ocelots were estimated to live in lower Texas; currently, there are 19. This population is severely fragmented, with up to 30 km between individuals, and further still, it is cut off from the rest of its sub-species 200 km south of the border. This greater population is estimated to be at a number of 874 individuals. The striking thing about the Texas population is their habitat can now only serve an estimated 38 individuals, when 30 years ago it held 120. Not only is the population decreasing at an alarming rate, but the habitat which they used to claim will soon be gone. 95% of the dense thornscrub which the Ocelot claims as its habitat has been converted to agriculture lands in Texas. In the Arizona portion of the Sonora population there are no estimates for number of individuals, yet there are four known individuals to exist there now. The greater Sonora region is home to approximately 1,421 individuals. The Ocelots in Arizona are believed to be threatened by the difficulties of the border and manmade infringements on its habitat. The ocelot is in significant peril of no longer existing in the United States.
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| American Habitat http://cronkitenews.asu.edu/assets/images/11/02/9-ocelot-map-full.jpg |
In 1986, 120 Ocelots were estimated to live in lower Texas; currently, there are 19. This population is severely fragmented, with up to 30 km between individuals, and further still, it is cut off from the rest of its sub-species 200 km south of the border. This greater population is estimated to be at a number of 874 individuals. The striking thing about the Texas population is their habitat can now only serve an estimated 38 individuals, when 30 years ago it held 120. Not only is the population decreasing at an alarming rate, but the habitat which they used to claim will soon be gone. 95% of the dense thornscrub which the Ocelot claims as its habitat has been converted to agriculture lands in Texas. In the Arizona portion of the Sonora population there are no estimates for number of individuals, yet there are four known individuals to exist there now. The greater Sonora region is home to approximately 1,421 individuals. The Ocelots in Arizona are believed to be threatened by the difficulties of the border and manmade infringements on its habitat. The ocelot is in significant peril of no longer existing in the United States.
Listing date and type of listing:
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The
Ocelot was first listed in 1972 as endangered under the Endangered Species
Conservation Act of 1969. Then, in 1974, under the Endangered Species act of
1973, the Ocelot was relisted. This listing covered USA to Central and South
America, and was primarily the result of trapping and illegal trade for pets
and skins. The listing type is 5C, which means a high level of threat with a
low potential of recovery due to a high level of conflict with human
development interests. CITIES, as of 1990, banned the trade of Ocelots and
listed all subspecies as having threat of extinction. However, the Red List by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as Least
Concern. This listing assumes that all Ocelot populations are linked, and they
have a combined minimum of 50,000 individuals. In 2008, the IUCN formally
recognized the fragmentation of the populations and subspecies and showed many
of the populations to be threatened and decreasing.
Cause of listing and main threats:
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| Ocelot Pelt on the right https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2016/1-howahuntingb.jpg |
While
the Ocelot was originally listed due to trade, the primary cause of the listing
today is habitat conversion, fragmentation, and loss. Much of the land which
Ocelots claim as their habitat is being turned into agricultural developments,
divided up by roads, and restricted by human borders and pollution. As stated
before, 95% of the Texas habitat for Ocelots has been converted into lands for
human use, i.e. agriculture and urban development. This habitat degradation and
destruction is not only local to the United States, it exists across the range
of the species as a whole. While Illegal killing of the Ocelot has dwindled, it
is still a significant threat. In fact, many of the confirmed siting’s we have
of Ocelots come from those killed on roads and in cities. This death, as well
as overharvesting of its prey, habitat loss and fragmentation, and the forced
isolation of the species due to this, has driven Ocelots into the endangered
species category.
Description of recovery plan:
The
road to recovery for the Ocelot is a long one. If the recovery plan is
implemented, it is estimated the Ocelot could be downlisted from endangered to
threated by the year 2085 and delisted completely in the year 2115. To meet
these goals, a strategy has been put into place:
First,
is the protection and restoration of the Ocelots thornscrub habitat in Texas and
Arizona. There has to be room for the Ocelot to grown before anything can be
done.
Second,
is to put previsions in place where highways are fenced with under/over passes,
developments won’t fragment the population as it grows, and fatalities don’t occur
from human intervention.
Third,
is to maintain and improve the genetic fitness of the Ocelot population and
monitor the animals’ health. This involves introducing new breading pairs into
the borderlands from further south and decreasing overall fragmentation with
habitat corridors.
Fourth,
is to educate the population on protecting the Ocelot and incentivizing landowners
to maintain habitat for the Ocelot with tax breaks and grants. This will help
ensure the long-term viability of the animal so humans don’t infringe on the
habitat down the road.
Lastly,
it is important to consistently monitor the Ocelot with planned Bi-national
recovery teams between America and Mexico ensuring the recovery efforts respond
consistently to new information. This includes reacting to and supporting the
efforts internationally which protect the species as a whole.
To
effectively downlist the Ocelot, the Red List status of the Ocelot needs to
maintain at “Least Concern”, and the threats of habitat loss and poaching need
to not put the animal in peril of extinction. There also needs to be a
population of at least 200 Ocelots in Texas with either a 150 ocelot
meta-population or two populations of 75 ocelots each. In both cases there
needs to be sufficient genetic variability and have a connection to a
population of 1000 in Mexico. And finally, there needs to be a meta-population
of 1000 Ocelots in the Sonora region which includes Arizona. All of which needs
to be maintained for five continuous years.
To
ultimately delist the ocelot, it needs to maintain the downlisting criterion
for 10 more consecutive years with another population in Texas of 75 more
Ocelots which have branched back into the currently unoccupied historical range
of the animal. All habitat corridors and linkages need to also be maintained so
as to have little to no fragmentation and the Red List listing needs to stay at
“Least Concern,” only then will the Ocelot be delisted in America.
What can you do?:
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| https://media.koreus.com/201611/ocelot-regard.jpg |
The
final recovery of the Ocelot in America is quite a lofty goal, and is estimated
to cost a total of $343,972,000.00. That’s a lot of coin. $126,117,000.00 needs
to be raised just to fund the first six years. This is the budget of a creature
listed as 5C, high threat, low likelihood of recovery. The most prudent thing
you can do to help is to donate to the recovery effort. Some of the last
remaining American Ocelots live in the Laguna Atascosa
National Wildlife Refuge (LANWR) in Texas and they offer many ways to help.
A fun one, if you are from Texas, you can buy a save the Ocelot License plate which
has an image of the majestic creature on it, which two thirds of the proceeds
go directly to the Ocelot recovery. And, who wouldn’t want an Ocelot on their
car. The creature is gorgeous. You can also do things like Adopt an Ocelot and
get a certificate showing you the picture of the Ocelot or Ocelot family. The link
to this is down below in other resources.
You
can also donate to other organizations such as American Forest which protects
and revitalizes the natural habitat of the Ocelot in Texas, part of the first
major step in the Ocelot Recovery plan. Or, Gladys Porter Zoo, which funds
veterinarian doctors to do health evaluations on all Ocelots found in LANWR
ensuring they survival of as many individuals as possible. The link to both are
listed below. If you really don’t have money to spare, but you still care, please
take a minute and write a letter to the Texas legislative representatives and
tell them. They won’t do anything unless people like you and me remind them to
care. Its either going to take the government to allot tax dollars based on
citizen concern, or you, I and everyone else in this country need to give just
a dollar to see this majestic creature survives. Thank you.
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Resources:
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge: http://friendsoflagunaatascosanationalwildliferefuge.org/
American Forest: https://www.americanforests.org/ways-to-give/donate-now/
Gladys Porter Zoo: http://gpz.org/cause-view/saving-the-american-ocelot/
The official recovery plan: https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/Ocelot%20Final%20Recovery%20Plan_Signed_July%202016_new%20(1).pdf
IUCN Red List for Ocelots: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0
Sources:
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. No Species Profile, ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId.
“Leopardus Pardalis .” Leopardus Pardalis (Ocelot), www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0.
“Ocelot.” International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada, wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/south-america/ocelot/.
Sources:
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. No Species Profile, ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId.
“Leopardus Pardalis .” Leopardus Pardalis (Ocelot), www.iucnredlist.org/details/11509/0.
“Ocelot.” International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada, wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/south-america/ocelot/.
The ocelot is a very important animal and unfortunately its endangerment is not well known. It is important to understand the consequences of habitat destruction and what we can do to help this species have a vital and liveable environment. This post was very enlightening to what is being done and what we can do to help this species.
ReplyDelete- Lili LeBaron
DeleteAn interesting fact I came across online is that the Ocelot needs to capture an average of one prey item for every 3.1 hours of travel (http://www.defenders.org/ocelot/basic-facts). I wonder if this could be another factor that has lead to their threatened state due to the fact that it seems like they are very active with a high metabolic rate.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this blog, I was unaware that the ocelot solely exists in Texas within the United States. This was a well done blog and I enjoyed reading it!
-David Klopp
The way that you described this animal was so cute and shows personality. Sometimes it was hard to read because of the font changes. I really enjoyed your pictures. They were so majestic! Overall, great blog.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer Marinov
ugh, the font changes. I tried so hard. It was absolutely obnoxious. The fonts just wouldn't stay the same. It looked fine and then they would change when I published them :(
DeleteIt is incredible and unfortunate that this animal has been endangered for such a long time that it was even before the implication of the ESA of 1973! But the animal seems to have great hope and the pictures here were fantastic.
ReplyDelete-Miles Loef
What a great post—so insightful and full of inspiration! I’ve just written about Tadoba Safari Bookingwhich I think your readers would really enjoy, especially nature lovers. Please have a look!
ReplyDelete