Ocelot

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Ocelot

The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also known as the Painted Leopard, McKenney's Wildcat, Jaguatirica (in Brazil) or Manigordo (in Costa Rica) is a wild cat

Felidae

Felidae is the family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the most strictly Carnivore of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora....
distributed over South

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
and Central America

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, but has been reported as far north as Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
and in Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and islands of Trinidad and Tobago which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago....
, in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
.

The Ocelot's appearance is similar to that of the domestic cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
. Its fur

Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
resembles that of a Clouded Leopard

Clouded Leopard

The Clouded Leopard is a medium-sized felidae, 55 to 110 cm long and weighing between 15 and 23 kilograms . It has a tan or tawny coat, and is distinctively marked with large, irregularly-shaped, dark-edged ellipses which are said to be shaped like clouds, hence both its common and original scientific name....
or Jaguar

Jaguar

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Taxonomy and name

The name ocelot comes from the Nahuatl word ocelotl , which usually refers to the Jaguar (Panthera onca) rather than the Ocelot.

Subspecies

The following are the currently recognized subspecies:

Leopardus pardalis pardalis, Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest , also known as Amazonia, or the Amazon jungle, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America....
Leopardus pardalis aequatorialis, northern Andes
Andes

The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
and Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
Leopardus pardalis albescens, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, southwestern Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
Leopardus pardalis melanurus, Venezuela
Venezuela

Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
, Guyana
Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America....
, Trinidad
Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and islands of Trinidad and Tobago which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago....
Leopardus pardalis mitis, Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, Paraguay
Paraguay

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay , is one of the only two landlocked countries in South America . It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River and is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest....
Leopardus pardalis nelsoni, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
Leopardus pardalis pseudopardalis, Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Leopardus pardalis puseaus, Ecuador
Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west....
Leopardus pardalis sonoriensis, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
Leopardus pardalis steinbachi, Bolivia
Bolivia

The Republic of Bolivia , named after Sim?n Bol?var, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west....

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), making it the largest of the generally dainty Leopardus
Leopardus

The genus Leopardus consists of small spotted Felidaes mostly native to Central and South America. Very few range into the southern United States....
wild cat genus. While similar in appearance to the Oncilla and Margay

Margay

The Margay is a spotted felidae native to Central America and South America. Named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, it is a solitary and nocturnal animal that prefers remote sections of the rainforest....
, which inhabit the same region, the Ocelot is larger. The Ocelot has the lowest resting body temperature of any feline. It has a tawny to reddish brown coat marked with black spots and rosettes

Rosette (zoology)

A rosette is a rose-like Animal markings or formation which is found in clusters and patches on the fur of leopards, jaguars, and other big cats....
. 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.

Behavior

The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. 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 , taking mostly small mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s (deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae . A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order even-toed ungulate are often also called deer....
, various rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an Order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing Incisors#The_Rodent_incisor in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s), reptile

Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s and amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians, are cold-blooded animals that metamorphose from a juvenile, water-breathing form to an adult, air-breathing form....
s (lizards, frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
s, and turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s), crab

Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
, bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s and fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
. 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

Night vision

Night vision is the ability to see in a dark environment. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range....
.

Distribution and habitat

The Ocelot is distributed over South

South America

Central America

Mexico

Texas

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and islands of Trinidad and Tobago which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago....
, in the Caribbean

Caribbean

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or Heath plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of Lower California, Mexico....
thickets of the Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast of the United States

The Gulf Coast region of the United States comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are known as the Gulf States....
of south and eastern Texas

Texas

Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, 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

Endangered species

IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global Conservation movement status of plant and animal species....
. The Texas Ocelot subspecies, Leopardus pardalis albescens, is still classified as endangered as of the IUCN's 2006 red list.

Other

Like many wild cats, it is occasionally kept as a pet. Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dal? i Dom?nech, 1st Marquis of P?bol was a Spain Catalonia surrealist painter born in Figueres.Dal? was a skilled Technical drawing, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealism work....
frequently traveled with his pet Ocelot, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a passenger ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule....
SS France

SS France (1961)

The SS France was a Compagnie G?n?rale Transatlantique ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962....
.

The Moche

Moche

The 'Moche' civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 C.E. to 800 C.E., during the Cultural periods of Peru. While still the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state but rather as a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite cu...
people of ancient Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
worshiped animals and often depicted the Ocelot in their art.

The TV series Honey West

Honey West

Honey West is a fictional character created by Gloria and Forest Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling", and appearing in numerous Mystery fiction novels by the duo....
featured a pet ocelot.

Ocelot

Taxonomy and name

Subspecies

Physical characteristics

Behavior

Distribution and habitat

Other

External links