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Leopardus pardalis
– Least Concern
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CARNIVORA
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Family:
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FELIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Leopardus pardalis
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Species Authority:
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(Linnaeus, 1758)
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Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:
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See Leopardus pardalis ssp. albescens
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Common Name/s:
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OCELOT (Eng, Fre)
GATO ONZA (Spa)
MANIGORDO (Spa)
OCELOTE (Spa)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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LC ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2002
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Assessor/s:
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Cat Specialist Group
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Evaluator/s:
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Nowell, K., Breitenmoser, U., Breitenmoser, C. & Jackson, P. (Cat Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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Based on estimates of density and geographic range (Nowell and Jackson 1996), the ocelot’s total effective population size is estimated at greater than 50,000 mature breeding individuals, but with a declining trend due to degradation of its habitat and prey base.
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History:
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| 1982 | - | Vulnerable as Felis pardalis (Thornback and Jenkins 1982) |
| 1986 | - | Vulnerable as Felis pardalis (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) |
| 1988 | - | Vulnerable as Felis pardalis (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) |
| 1990 | - | Vulnerable as Felis pardalis (IUCN 1990) |
| 1996 | - | Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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The ocelot is widely distributed through Central and South America, found in every country except Chile. Only a small remnant population is found north of the Rio Grande in the United States (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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Countries:
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Native:
Argentina; Belize; Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El Salvador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; United States; Uruguay; Venezuela
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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The species occupies a wide spectrum of habitats including mangrove forests and coastal marshes, savanna grasslands and pastures, thorn scrub, and tropical forest of all types (primary, secondary, evergreen, seasonal and montane, although it typically occurs at elevations below 1,200 m) (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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System:
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Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine
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Threats
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Threats:
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The ocelot has been described as being tolerant of disturbed habitat and persists in wooded patches near human settlements. However, studies in the early 1990s have depicted a more specialized animal operating under rather harsh environmental constraints. Although widespread commercial harvests for the fur trade ceased decades ago, some illegal trade still persists. Emmons (1988) and Sunquist (1992) differ on the potential impact of direct human hunting pressure. Sunquist (1992) suggests that, given the ocelot’s low recruitment rate, offtake of more than 2-3% of a population per year is likely to be unsustainable and result in declines. Emmons (in litt. 1993), on the other hand, believes that the ocelot populations have proved resilient to harvest because of their social organization (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix I. The species is protected across most of its range, with hunting banned in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Trinidad, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela, and hunting regulations in place in Peru (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Part of their range also includes protected areas.
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