Ocelot
For ocelots living in the U.S. and Mexico, the major threat is habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. Almost 95 percent of the region’s native land cover has been altered. Remaining ocelots can be found primarily on three refuges, the Laguna Atascosa, Santa Ana and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuges.
Without adequate travel corridors between these isolated patches of habitat, the cats must traverse privately owned land and cross countless roads and highways. As nocturnal hunters, they often move at night, further increasing their risk of vehicle collisions. Currently, the greatest cause of mortality for the ocelot is roadkill. Since 1984, at least nine cats have been killed on roads in Laguna Atascosa NWR alone -- 2% of the refuge population per year.
Past efforts to develop underpasses for the ocelots have been unsuccessful. Cats have not used the drainage culverts installed by Texas DOT, and in fact, dead ocelots were found within 100 yards of the culverts. Experts suggest that these culverts are too small and not located at the established cat crossing sites. Using what is known about this species’ behavior and information from successful crossings for other species, new crossing structures need to be designed in order to accommodate the needs of the ocelot.
In addition to building better crossings, Defenders recommends the following measures for protecting and eventually restoring the ocelot and its habitat:
- Keep road density to a minimum. Because roads and highways are the number one threat to the ocelot, it is important to limit new road building and development in this region.
- Retrofit existing roads to reduce risk of vehicle collisions. In addition to the underpasses, several measures, such as additional signage and lower speed limits can help reduce roadkill.
- Promote alert and cautious driving. Local residents should be reminded to be alert and cautious when driving through wildlife areas.
- Increase land acquisition. To supplement the refuges and to reestablish travel corridors between them, private lands can be purchased to expand the ocelots’ habitat.
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