Conserving Texas Ocelots

Article Author: Meghan Murphy - East Foundation's former Ocelot Technician, 2024.

Hello everyone! I would love to share what I’ve been doing for the past few months. I had the remarkable opportunity to work for the East Foundation , a non-profit organization and the nation's first Agriculture Research Organization (ARO), which owns and operates several large ranches in Texas and promotes the advancement of land stewardship. These private working cattle ranches support many wildlife research projects, and I was hired specifically as an ocelot research technician. In addition to studying ocelots, I aided research efforts for bobcats and coyotes. I will include more details about my specific duties in the photos, but I would love to use the main post to talk about the Texas ocelot and the exciting conservation efforts taking place! I tried to be concise, but there is a lot to cover, and I love these cats. :)

Note: All animal handling was done under the proper state/federal permits and with animal welfare as the top priority. A veterinarian participated in all workups and oversaw every procedure. East Foundation has approved photos for social media.

For anyone not familiar with this cat, ocelots are one of the larger of the small cat species, with females weighing around 15-25 pounds and males reaching over 30 pounds. Ocelots range from Mexico to Argentina and used to range over much of the southern United States. They are a stocky cat with gorgeous rosettes covering their pelts. Due to overharvesting for these beautiful pelts and loss of critical habitat, ocelots are now critically endangered in the United States. Although it is now illegal to harvest and sell ocelot pelts, Texas ocelots are still threatened by vehicle collisions, the loss of dense thorn scrub habitat to development, and small, fragmented populations.?

The only ocelots remaining in the United States are made up of two populations in southeast Texas, consisting of an estimated 80-100 total individuals. The largest population exists on private lands, including the East Foundation’s El Sauz Ranch (where I worked), and the other occurs on Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Ocelots will occasionally venture into southern Arizona from Mexico, but no known breeding population exists in that state. The two Texas populations are mostly isolated from one another due to roads, housing, and agricultural developments and, therefore, rarely come into contact to promote healthy gene flow and bolster genetic diversity.

To combat this isolation, expand ocelot populations in Texas, and promote recovery of ocelots in the U.S., a reintroduction effort has been planned by East Foundation and various partners and approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . The proposed reintroduction site is on one of East Foundation’s ranches, the San Antonio Viejo Ranch, which contains an abundance of the dense, thorny mayhem that ocelots just love. The Ranch is about 100 kilometers from the existing populations and is very remote, which means less fragmentation and more area for dispersal throughout historic ranges. This region of Texas, where reintroduction is planned, also faces less developmental pressure than the areas currently occupied by ocelots. Reintroduced cats will be captive bred in a special facility to be built soon in South Texas and will have a mix of genes from Texas and zoos, and possibly also from wild ocelots in other countries in their native range, to bring diverse genetics to the landscape.?Captive-bred cat reintroductions have proven successful with the Iberian lynx, and the first wild Scottish wildcat kittens have possibly been spotted following the release of captive-bred cats last summer. In addition, captive breeding has been instrumental in growing critically endangered Arabian leopard numbers for an eventual reintroduction effort.

Due to Texas consisting of mostly privately owned land, forming partnerships between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the East Foundation, and other ranchers in the areas surrounding San Antonio Viejo has been critical in ensuring a future for the expansion of ocelot populations. Already, private landowners are being offered inclusion in the novel Safe Harbor Agreement developed by the East Foundation. This agreement assures ranchers that they can continue to operate as normal while allowing ocelots to move through their land and providing access for researchers to monitor the cats. Ocelots do not pose a threat to cattle, so predation on large livestock would not be a concern.

This reintroduction effort includes a multitude of collaborators from federal and state agencies, zoos, universities, and private organizations. If these partnerships prove successful, they could provide a wonderful model of collaborative conservation for future endangered species projects.

We had a very successful ocelot field research season, with 11 ocelots, 21 bobcats, and 22 coyotes safely captured throughout the season!

My fellow technician and I maintained a trapline of 50 box traps to try to catch our target species. We would go out early every morning to check and close traps, release any bycatch, and notify our crew if any target species were captured. In the afternoon and evening, we would reopen traps and perform any needed maintenance. We experimented with different visuals (like this shiny ribbon) and scent lures to draw animals in.

Ocelots, bobcats, and coyotes all had their temperature, heart rate, respiration, and blood oxygen levels monitored and recorded every 3-5 minutes to ensure their safety throughout sedation. All animals also received subcutaneous fluids and supplemental oxygen via an oxygen mask. We gave each a PIT tag (microchip) so we could identify individuals if they were captured again. Other workup tasks included taking photos of the animal for future identification, ectoparasite (fleas, ticks, lice) collection, body measurements, teeth measurements, blood draws, and radio-collaring for bobcats and ocelots. Since we were not monitoring coyote movement, they did not need GPS collars.

In the areas of the existing ocelot populations in Texas, coyotes were captured as part of a disease study, and ocelots and bobcats were captured to inform a variety of research topics. These included studies on population size, genetics, parasites, movement on the landscape, kitten dispersal, denning behavior, diet, habitat selection, survival and mortality, and competition with other carnivores. This information will provide a comprehensive overview to better inform ocelot conservation and management.

Before working hands-on with a captured wild animal, we started by sedating it. The sedation combination we used was partially reversible to aid in animal recovery. Our animals recovered in a crate before being released to ensure their safety.

Some of the bobcats here had absolutely gorgeous spots! The rosettes are like those of an ocelot, but the ocelot patterns are much darker. These patterns help to distort their outline and blend in with the shadowy thorn scrub. Rosette patterns are unique to each cat, like a fingerprint. Thanks to these unique patterns, images from trail cameras can be used to determine which cats are showing up in certain areas.

You can learn more about ocelot conservation and the plan to recover Texas ocelots here .