A nocturnal wildcat (Felis pardalis or Leopardus pardalis) of the brush and forests of the southwest United States and Central and South America, having a grayish or yellow coat with black spots.
[French, from Nahuatl ocelotl.]
ocelot
Dictionary:
oc·e·lot (ŏs'ə-lŏt', ō'sə-)  |
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Leopardus (Felis) pardalis
SUBFAMILY
Felinae
TAXONOMY
Felis pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Mexico.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Ocelot; German: Ozelot; Spanish: Tigrillo, ocelote, gato onza.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Length 26–38 in (65–97 cm); tail 11–16 in (27–40 cm); weight 18–35 lb (8.5–16 kg). Ocher to orange yellow coat in forest animals, grayer in arid scrub, striped and spotted black, white underside. Ringed tail.
DISTRIBUTION
Southeast Texas to north Argentina.
HABITAT
Varied, including tropical forest, savanna, marshes, mangroves. Needs dense cover. Tolerates disturbed habitat and human settlement.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial and strongly nocturnal. An excellent climber and swimmer. Homes range of 0.8 to 12 mi2 (2 to 31 km2), depending on habitat. Population also includes significant numbers of nonbreeding transients.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Small mammals, birds, reptiles. Prey varies seasonally, may take spawning fish and land crabs in wet season. May follow prey odor trails.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Polygamous. Gestation 79–85 days, litter one to three. Young independent at one year, but may be tolerated in adult's range for another year.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by IUCN. Hunting and trapping severely reduced populations in some parts of range, but populations may now be recovering and recolonizing.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Heavily exploited for fur trade from early 1960s to mid-1970s, when up to 200,000 a year were trapped. International trade fell from mid-70s and ceased in late 1980s.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: ocelot |
(click to enlarge)
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). (credit: Warren Garst/Tom Stack and Associates)
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). (credit: Warren Garst/Tom Stack and Associates)
For more information on ocelot, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: ocelot |
ocelot (äs'əlŏt', ō'sə–) , medium-sized cat, Felis pardalis, of Central and South America. It is occasionally found as far N as Texas. The ocelot has a yellow-brown coat with black spots, rings, and stripes. It is about 30 in. (76 cm) long, not including the 14-in. (35-cm) tail, stands about 16 in. (41 cm) high at the shoulder, and weighs up to 35 lb (18 kg). Ocelots live in forests, where they hunt, mainly on the ground, both by day and by night. They prey on birds, snakes, and small mammals. Litter size varies from 2 to 4. Ocelots are hunted for their pelts, which are used for coats and trim. They are able to be tamed and are sometimes kept as pets. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.
| Veterinary Dictionary: ocelot |
One of the nine species in the group of New World cats in the family Felidae. Called also Panthera pardalis and painted leopard. It has a small, 3 ft long body, golden to silver color with dark metallic spots on the body and stripes on the head and neck.
| Wikipedia: Ocelot |
For other uses, see Ocelot (disambiguation).
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 Ocelot range
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The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also known as the Painted Leopard, McKenney's Wildcat, Jaguarete (in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina), Cunaguaro (in Venezuela), or Manigordo (in Costa Rica and Panama) is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean.
The Ocelot's appearance is similar to that of the domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a Clouded Leopard or Jaguar and was once regarded as particularly valuable. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ocelots have been killed for their fur. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from 1972 until 1996, but is now rated "least concern" by the 2008 IUCN Red List.
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Etymology
The name ocelot comes from the Nahuatl word ōcēlōtl (pronounced [oːˈseːloːtɬ]), which usually refers to the Jaguar (Panthera onca) rather than the Ocelot.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy
The Ocelot's genus Leopardus contains a number of other similar species such as Geoffroy's cat and the Margay which are also endemic to South and Central America.
Subspecies
The following are the currently recognized subspecies of Ocelot:[1]
- Leopardus pardalis pardalis, Amazon Rainforest
- Leopardus pardalis aequatorialis, northern Andes and Central America
- Leopardus pardalis albescens, Mexico, southwestern Texas
- Leopardus pardalis melanurus, Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad
- Leopardus pardalis mitis, Argentina, Paraguay
- Leopardus pardalis nelsoni, Mexico
- Leopardus pardalis pseudopardalis, Colombia
- Leopardus pardalis puseaus, Ecuador
- Leopardus pardalis sonoriensis, Mexico
- Leopardus pardalis steinbachi, Bolivia
Physical characteristics
It can be up to 1 m (3'2") in length, plus 45 cm (1'6") tail length, and weighs 11.5–16 kg (25–35 pounds),[7] making it the largest of the generally dainty Leopardus wild cat genus. While similar in appearance to the Oncilla and Margay, which inhabit the same region, the Ocelot is larger. The Ocelot has the lowest resting body temperature of any feline.[citation needed] It has a tawny to reddish brown coat marked with black spots and rosettes. The fur is short, and lighter beneath. There is a single white spot on the back of each of its ears, and there are two black lines on either side of its face. It has a black-banded tail.[8]
Behavior
The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. In addition, the Ocelot marks its territory with especially pungent urine. Like most felines, it is solitary, usually meeting only to mate. However, during the day it rests in trees or other dense foliage, and will occasionally share its spot with another Ocelot of the same sex. When mating, the female will find a den in a cave in a rocky bluff, a hollow tree, or a dense (preferably thorny) thicket. The gestation period is estimated to be 70 days. Generally the female will have 2–3 kittens, born in the autumn with their eyes closed and a thin covering of hair.
The Ocelot will sometimes take to the trees. Ocelots hunt over a range of 18 km² (7 sq mi), taking mostly small mammals (deer, various rodents), reptiles and amphibians (lizards, frogs, and turtles), crab, birds and fish.[8] Almost all of the prey that the Ocelot hunts is far smaller than itself. Studies suggest that it follows and finds prey via odor trails, but the Ocelot also has very good vision, including night vision. The white rings around the Ocelot's eyes help to reflect extra light into the eye at night.
Distribution and habitat
The Ocelot is distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean.
The Ocelot once inhabited the chaparral thickets of the Gulf Coast of south and eastern Texas, and was found in Arizona. In the United States, it now ranges only in several small areas of dense thicket in South Texas. The Ocelot's continued presence in the U.S. is questionable, due largely to the introduction of dogs, the loss of habitat, and the introduction of highways. Young male Ocelots are frequently killed by cars during their search for a territory. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from 1972 until 1996, but is now rated "least concern" by the 2008 IUCN Red List.[2]
Other
Like many wild cats, it is occasionally kept as a pet. Salvador Dalí frequently traveled with his pet Ocelot, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner, SS France.[9]
The Moche people of ancient Peru worshiped animals and often depicted the Ocelot in their art.[10]
References
- ^ a b Wozencraft, W. C. (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 539. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.
- ^ a b Caso, A., Lopez-Gonzalez, C., Payan, E., Eizirik, E., de Oliveira, T., Leite-Pitman, R., Kelly, M. & Valderrama, C. (2008). Leopardus pardalis. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ "ocelot, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (draft revision Mar. 2004 ed.).
- ^ Pickett, Joseph P. et al. (eds.) (2000). "ocelot". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- ^ Karttunen, Frances (1983). An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 176.
- ^ Lockhart, James (2001). Nahuatl as Written: Lessons in Older Written Nahuatl, with Copious Examples and Texts. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 228.
- ^ Burnie, David; Don E. Wilson (2001). Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife. New York City: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7894-7764-5.
- ^ a b Briggs, Mike; Peggy Briggs (2006). The Encyclopedia of World Wildlife. Parrgaon Books. ISBN 9781405436793.
- ^ Huggler, Justin. "Chic ship too toxic for scrapping". ssMaritime.com. http://www.ssmaritime.com/norway-Justin%20Huggler.htm.
- ^ Museo Arqueologico Rafael Larco Herrera (1997). Katherine Berrin. ed. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueologico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York City: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500018026.
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Animal Encyclopedia. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ocelot". Read more |
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