Questions and answers about the ocelot and project impacts
What is an ocelot and where are they found?
Ocelots are a small, spotted wild cat species typically weighing between 15 and 35 pounds. They can be found in the United States in South Texas and sometimes Arizona as well as nearly every country in Central and South America. The cats are notoriously elusive because they are shy, are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk), and they live in dense vegetation, such as thornscrub brushlands in Texas. In Texas, one population of ocelots is found on private ranches in Willacy, Kenedy, and Kleberg Counties and a separate population is found in and around the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County. Ocelots are solitary and territorial cats that hunt mostly for rodents, rabbits, birds, and reptiles. They can live over 10 years in the wild and can typically have 1-2 kittens every few years.
Why are ocelots federally endangered?
Across its range, the ocelot faces threats from overexploitation and habitat loss. In the United States specifically, ocelots used to exist throughout Texas and in a few other southern states. Today, however, there are believed to be fewer than 100 resident breeding ocelots–all found in deep South Texas–because of historical habitat loss and overexploitation (through predator control activities like hunting, trapping, and poisoning). Ocelots remaining in Texas continue to be threatened by low genetic diversity due to inbreeding as well as mortalities from vehicle strikes.
What would it take for ocelots to be recovered in the United States?
For ocelots to be recovered and delisted from the Endangered Species Act, one criterion is that there needs to be at least 200 ocelots in the wild in Texas for at least 10 years. This goal can be supported by both an increase in the size of existing populations in Texas and the establishment of a reintroduced population on historical but currently unoccupied habitat.
What has and hasn’t been done for ocelot conservation in the United States?
Ocelot populations and habitat in Texas have been protected by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the National Wildlife Refuge System and at conservation easements as well as by private landowners like the East Foundation and the Yturria Ranch. Restoration of ocelot habitat (Tamaulipan thornscrub) promoted by agencies and non-governmental organizations on public and private lands aims to increase the available area for ocelots to live and breed. Additionally, the Texas Department of Transportation has constructed wildlife crossings near ocelot habitat to reduce ocelots’ risk of mortality from vehicle strikes. A new ocelot population has never been reintroduced to Texas nor have any wild ocelots from other countries been translocated to Texas to add genetic diversity.
Why do the partners want to reintroduce a new ocelot population in Texas?
Project partners want to increase the number of ocelots in Texas to contribute to ocelot recovery. Reintroducing ocelots to part of their historical, but now unoccupied, range in Texas would increase the number of ocelots in the state, expand ocelots’ range in Texas, and spread out extinction risk for ocelots in Texas. Further, partners support the ocelot’s intrinsic existence and are committed to supporting their long-term survival in Texas as a native, iconic species for generations to come. The partners are proud to work with landowners to move recovery efforts forward and improve the landscape as stewards and conservationists.
Where is the ocelot reintroduction site and what is it like?
The ocelot reintroduction site currently has no ocelots. It is an approximately 470 square kilometer area of potential ocelot habitat encompassing the southern part of the East Foundation’s San Antonio Viejo Ranch and other nearby private lands. The habitat exists within an area of remote working ranchlands, and it contains mostly Tamaulipan thornscrub composed of diverse brush species. The San Antonio Viejo Ranch itself is a working cattle ranch as well as an educational site and a laboratory for wildlife research. On the ranch, there are limited roads, human residents, and buildings, and around the ranch, there are no high-traffic highways, only smaller Farm-to-Market roads.
If a new ocelot population is established, what type of impacts could there be on humans or our natural resources?
As an elusive and small cat, ocelots do not have any impact on human safety. Ocelots are a predator species. However, they do not impact cattle or other livestock. Instead, in Texas, ocelots are known to consume a diet consisting of mostly of various species of mice, gophers, rats, rabbits, and passerine birds. Though the ocelots’ diet has been shown to include white-tailed deer, this is likely the result of scavenging of young dead deer, not hunting.
Where could we get ocelots for a reintroduced population?
There are too few ocelots remaining in Texas today to remove enough individuals from the existing populations to translocate them to the reintroduction site and start another ocelot population in Texas. Rather, ocelots for the reintroduction will be sourced from a breeding program at the Ocelot Conservation Facility to be established in Kingsville, Texas. This Facility will propagate a genetically diverse, healthy, and behaviorally prepared source stock of ocelots for reintroduction.
What are the details of the breeding program?
When built, the Ocelot Conservation Facility will be populated with available zoo-based ocelots provided by Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutions, or others zoological institutions, and potentially with wild-born ocelots. It will be required that any potential source population of ocelots–in the wild or in captivity–can sustain the donation of individuals to the breeding program at the Ocelot Conservation Facility. Ocelots at this Facility will be bred naturally or with assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as artificial insemination. ARTs will allow the incorporation of genetic material collected from wild ocelots in Texas or other countries. Any ocelot released to the reintroduction site will be required to have at least 75% genetic makeup originating from the northern subspecies of ocelot (Leopardus pardalis pardalis) that is found in Texas, Mexico, and the rest of Central America. All ocelots with suitable genetic makeup will go through a behavioral preparation program before release to the wild where they will learn to hunt, socialize, move, and avoid humans–as they would naturally. Read more about plans for breeding ocelots, preparing them for the wild, and releasing them in the Manual for Ocelot Breeding and Reintroduction.
Where will the released ocelots come from?
Ocelots reintroduced to the San Antonio Viejo Ranch may be acquired from sources such as an ocelot breeding program to be established in South Texas. The breeding program will produce ocelots who are physically, genetically, and behaviorally suitable for reintroduction into the wild. More information about the breeding program can be found at RecoverTexasOcelots.org/resources.
When will the ocelot start getting released?
Once the breeding program begins in 2026, it will still take several years to acquire ocelots for release to the reintroduction site. Parent ocelots need to be identified and successfully bred at the breeding facility in Kingsville, Texas. Depending on the genetic makeup of the offspring, additional generations may need to be bred before there are ocelots genetically eligible for release. From there, ocelot offspring need to reach over one year of age before they will be behaviorally ready to be released. It is a long process but one that is necessary to make sure that all released ocelots are suitable for life in the wild in South Texas.
Are there any risks for the released ocelots?
Ocelots face risks from possible vehicle collisions, predation, competition, and harsh environmental conditions at any location in the wild. The East Foundation will provide veterinary care to injured or ill ocelots after their release if possible. Despite the risks, it is expected that this program will benefit ocelot recovery.
How will the ocelot reintroduction impact the existing ocelot populations in Texas?
Because the longest known distance an ocelot has ever dispersed is 50 kilometers and the existing ocelot populations in Texas are over 100 kilometers east of the San Antonio Viejo Ranch, ocelots in the existing population and the reintroduced population will not have any contact.
What are the details of the Safe Harbor Agreement for ocelot reintroduction?
The Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for ocelot reintroduction allows the East Foundation to reintroduce ocelots to its San Antonio Viejo Ranch while still maintaining existing legal land uses. Landowners who sign up for the SHA will allow reintroduced ocelots to disperse to their properties and are also assured of no restrictions on their land uses. Even landowners who decide not to sign up for the SHA, but who are within 50 kilometers of the San Antonio Viejo Ranch, are assured by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that their normal land uses will not be restricted due to the presence of the reintroduced ocelots or their descendants.
How would the Agreement benefit ocelots?
The Agreement authorizes the reintroduction of a new ocelot population on private lands where ocelots do not occur. If successful, the reintroduction will support ocelot recovery from the Endangered Species Act by: increasing the number of ocelots, the amount of ocelot genetic diversity in the wild, and the area of occupied ocelot habitat in Texas. Creating an additional, geographically distinct ocelot population in Texas through reintroduction will also create a safeguard against the loss of ocelots in Texas in case of a catastrophic event – like a disease outbreak, fire, or tropical storm - impacting the small existing ocelot populations in Texas. Finally, monitoring and research activities associated with the reintroduction program will provide an important opportunity to expand knowledge of ocelot conservation in Texas.
Have other species been reintroduced to their former range in the United States?
Bald eagles, gray wolves, black-footed ferrets, and California condors are all species that have been subjects of reintroduction programs.
Can local communities contribute to the effort? If so, how?
Local communities are encouraged to follow and participate in the progress of this project to educate themselves and each other about the conservation status of ocelots and this project. Communities can watch for further updates on how to participate.
Why is the East Foundation involved and working with USFWS on this project?
Through its commitment to being a good land steward and protecting ocelot habitat and the most known individual ocelots in the United States, the East Foundation is demonstrating at El Sauz Ranch in Willacy County that ocelot conservation and research is compatible with ranching operations on private lands in South Texas. By involving itself in ocelot reintroduction on the San Antonio Viejo Ranch in Jim Hogg and Starr Counties, the East Foundation will not only help ocelots recover from endangered status but will also continue to lead the way forward in stewardship of protected species on private lands. The USFWS is the regulatory agency responsible for protecting endangered species like the ocelot. By working closely with the USFWS to create the Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for Ocelot Reintroduction, the East Foundation has created assurances for both itself and other landowners that the ocelot reintroduction will not lead to USFWS restrictions on land uses.
What is the East Foundation going to do for ocelots?
The East Foundation will, over time, release ocelots to its San Antonio Viejo Ranch and allow those ocelots to establish a population on available habitat on the Ranch and surrounding lands. The East Foundation will monitor the fate of all released ocelots to evaluate ways to further support ocelot population establishment.
How will the East Foundation monitor the reintroduction program?
The East Foundation will place tracking devices (e.g., collars) on all released ocelots to monitor their survival, movements, and reproduction.
