DESCRIPTION:

Ocelots range in color from light yellow to reddish gray, with dark spots and stripes. They have dark stripes on their cheeks and their tailed have rings of dark fur.

POPULATION:

An estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million are found worldwide. 80 to 120 are found in two isolated populations in southeast Texas.

LIFESPAN:

In captivity, ocelots can live 20 years while in the wild they live seven to ten years.

RANGE:

Ocelots are currently found in extreme southern Texas. They are also found in every country south of the United States except Chile.

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 only live in areas with dense vegetative cover.

DIET:

Ocelots are carnivores, they hunt and eat animals such as rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish.

BEHAVIOR:

Ocelots are nocturnal; they rest in trees or dense brush during the day and are active at night. Ocelots are very active, traveling from one to five miles per night. Males usually travel further than females.

OFFSPRING:

Following a 79 to 85 day pregnancy, 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.