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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about ocelots. No, not Revolver Ocelot, though I’m sure we’d all be happy to see that kitty. The ocelot is a feline living in parts of Mexico and South America. There are also extremely limited populations of ocelots in the United States in small sections of both Texas and Arizona. Previously, these cats were found more commonly in the U.S., but hunting and habitat loss have significantly hurt their populations in these areas. Still, ocelots aren’t extinct and they might have been if bans hadn’t been placed on the fur trade.

Ocelots have beautiful fur with striking patterns, called rosettes, which are similar to the markings found in snow leopards. Apparently some really misguided people thought ocelot fur was better suited for coats and hats as opposed to, y’know, the ocelots - so ocelots had a tough time, especially in the 1960s and 70s when more then 100,000 ocelot skins were traded each year. Thankfully, nowadays, their numbers are increasing, and ocelot fur is illegal to trade.

Ocelots are funny little cats. Well, maybe “little” isn’t the right word to use. Sure, they’re not as big as their neighbors the cougars or the jaguars, but ocelots can more than double the size of your average house cat - though, to be fair, that’s mostly the males. Female ocelots are smaller than males and a heavy sized house cat could rival a female ocelot in size. Chester only wishes he could be that big. What’s funny about ocelots, however, is that they have short, stumpy tails and really big feet. Some ocelot tails are so short they don’t even reach the ground while the cats are standing; and ocelots paws are so big that they have another name in some of the areas they inhabit - this name is: manigordo - or fat hands. Also, like tigers, ocelots don’t mind swimming, though this can present issues when they run into an anaconda or crocodile.

Ocelots are predators and generally don’t have to worry about somebody coming along to eat them, however, they can be taken by crocs, anacondas, harpy eagles, and the aforementioned neighbors - cougars and jaguars. To avoid these predators, ocelots will hide in thick vegetation, caves, hollow logs, or even up in trees. These cats can be considered arboreal creatures and may even be found napping the day away in the tree branches. Ocelots are mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, meaning they’re most active during the night and twilight hours. During these times they hunt prey in the form of rats, iguanas, agoutis, opossums, armadillos, anteaters, deer, monkeys, tortoises, birds, fish, and crustaceans. They may also be hunting for a mate if the timing is right.

For the most part, ocelots breed year round, though individuals living further north may have peak breeding times during the fall and into the beginning of winter. A female will let a male know she’s ready to mate but letting out loud wailing calls. They’ll spend a few romance packed days together and then he’ll leave. The female will gestate for about eighty days and give birth to one to three cubs in a dense thicket. The babies are weaned at six weeks of age, and grow to their adult sizes by ten months of age, but they’ll often stay around longer, with some ocelot moms tolerating their kids until they are two years old - at which point they have to move out and find their own territories. Other than this period, ocelots are generally solitary animals, and they can live to be a decade old in the wild, though most don’t live to see this age.

For more facts on ocelots, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.