Ocelots are small spotted cats found as far south as Argentina, and as far north as southern Texas and Arizona.
Ocelots are about twice the size of housecats, with males being larger than females.
Ocelot spotted coats serve as camouflage, and are so unique they can be used to identify individuals, much like a fingerprint.
The ocelot name comes from the Aztec word “tlalocelot,” which means field tiger.
The constellation commonly known as The Big Dipper was known to Aztec people as “Tezcatlipoca”, a great god who took the form of an ocelot.
Ocelots are solitary and primarily nocturnal, meaning they are mostly active at night and sleep during the day in trees, thick vegetation, or rocky bluffs to avoid predators.
Ocelots are adapted to living in thorny scrublands, coastal marshes, mangroves, grasslands and tropical forests.
Ocelots eat everything from frogs, lizards, snakes, rabbits, rodents, birds, fish, crabs and even occasionally coatis or small deer.
Ocelots are considered endangered in the United States and Mexico.
Ocelots are threatened by loss of habitat, vehicular collisions, the fur trade and retaliatory killing for their perceived threat to livestock.
It is estimated that there are less than 50 ocelots left in Texas and only 5 individuals have been confirmed in Arizona in the last decade.
The most recent AZ ocelot is now affectionately known as Lil’ Jefe (the boss-elot)
Ocelots are native to the U.S. and once lived throughout Arizona, Texas and even into Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Ocelots in the U.S. rely on populations in Mexico to maintain genetic diversity through dispersing individuals and are threatened by the U.S.- Mexico border wall.