http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/ocelot.html STATUS: Endangered.

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. SIZE: Ocelots are 20 to 40 inches long. Their tails are an additional ten to 15 inches. Ocelots weigh between 20 and 25 pounds. 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: Once ranging as far east as Arkansas and Louisiana, throughout Texas, Mexico, ocelots are currently found in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. 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 strongly nocturnal, resting in trees or dense brush during the day. Ocelots are very active, traveling from one to five miles per night. Males usually travel further than females. They capture an average of one prey item for every 3.1 hours of travel. OFFSPRING: Following a 79 to 85 day gestation, 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. THREATS: Habitat destruction for agriculture, hunting for their fur, pet trade.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ocelot/ Twice the size of the average house cat, the ocelot is a sleek animal with a gorgeous dappled coat. These largely nocturnal cats use keen sight and hearing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. They also take to the trees and stalk monkeys or birds. Unlike many cats, they do not avoid water and can swim well. Like other cats, ocelots are adapted for eating meat. They have pointed fangs used to deliver a killing bite, and sharp back teeth that can tear food like scissors. Ocelots do not have teeth appropriate for chewing, so they tear their food to pieces and swallow it whole. Their raspy tongues can clean a bone of every last tasty morsel. Many ocelots live under the leafy canopies of South American rain forests, but they also inhabit brushlands and can be found as far north as Texas. These cats can adapt to human habitats and are sometimes found in the vicinity of villages or other settlements. Ocelots' fine fur has made them the target of countless hunters, and in many areas they are quite rare, including Texas, where they are endangered. Ocelots are protected in the United States and most other countries where they live. Female ocelots have litters of two or three darkly colored kittens. In northern locations females den in the autumn, while in tropical climes the breeding season may not be fixed.

http://www.indiantiger.org/wild-cats/ocelot.html Presence on the planet: Once found in many areas of southern North America, Central America and much

of South America - today the animal has almost disappeared form its range in the southern states of North America and particular sub-species, notably L.pardalis.albescens are threatened by the conversion of large areas of plain into arable farm land - it is reported that as few as 120 ocelot survive in Texas today.
Physical appearance: The Ocelot is much larger than its cousins the Margay and the Oncilla, although they

bear a striking resemblance. The Ocelot weighs between 17-24 pounds, stands 16-20 inches tall, and reaches lengths of 48-64 inches. Its coat tends to be more blotched than spotted, and the chain-like blotches and spots are bordered with black, but have a lighter colored center. These markings run the entire length of the cat. The ground color varies from whitish or tawny yellow through reddish gray to gray. The underside is white, and the backs of the ears are black with a central yellow spot.
Diet:The Ocelot is a terrestrial hunter and active during the night (nocturnal), and the mainstay of its diet

are nocturnal rodents, such as cane mice, and marsh, spiny and rice rats, opossums and armadillos. They will also take larger prey such as lesser anteaters, deer, squirrel monkeys and land tortoises. They will also take advantage of seasonal changes and the abundance of fish and land crabs during the wet season. Occasionally, the will take birds and reptiles. However, the majority of prey items for this cat weigh less than 1-3% of its body weight.
Reproduction & Offspring: Minimum breeding age for females is 18 months, with the maximum breeding

age around 13 years. Males mature at approximately 15 months, with a maximum breeding age of 15 years. In the tropics breeding takes place year round, especially September to November. Females enter estrus an average of every 4 to 6 months, and estrus lasts 7 to 10 days unless conception occurs (in which case the average is 5 days). Gestation period varies between 79 and 85 days. Litter sizes are small, usually only 1 or 2 young, with the rare occurrence of 3. Females provide all of the care for their young, males do not provide parental care.
Conservation status: Ocelots are protected by the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to transport, import,

export, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any wild animal that was taken in violation of the law. Ocelots do fairly well living in close proximity to humans as long as hunting pressure isn't too intense and they have the appropriate habitats available to them. Habitat destruction is the primary threat to ocelots throughout some areas of their range. In the United States they are also protected by the Recovery Plan for the Listed Cats of Arizona and Texas, the primary objective of which is to maintain the ocelot populations in Texas. The plan includes provisions to further the study of ocelots in their wild habitat and an information and education program to get public support behind the effort to protect this species.
Life span: 16 - 20 years

Save Ocelot! Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). Although once commonly imported for pets, legal animals have not been available until the last 2 years, and today most ocelots are of unknown or hybrid ancestry. The TAG is recommending that the Brazilian ocelot, L. p. mitis, be the subspecies acquired by North American zoos because captive propagation now is occurring in some Brazilian zoos. Orphaned individuals also have been allowed to be exported. Recently three pairs were imported into North America by AZA zoos. The target population of this species is 120 individuals.