ocelot

The Ocelot is also known as the Painted Leopard, McKenney's Wildcat,is distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean. North of Mexico, it is only found regularly in the extreme southern part of Texas, although there are rare sightings in Southern Arizona.

 

The Ocelot is similar in appearance to a domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a Clouded Leopard or Jaguar and was once regarded as particularly valuable. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ocelots were once killed for their fur. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from 1972 until 1996, but is now rated "least concern" by the 2008 IUCN Red List.

 

The name ocelot comes from the Nahuatl word ōcēlōtl (pronounced , which usually refers to the Jaguar (Panthera onca) rather than the Ocelot.

The Ocelot ranges from 68 to 100 centimetres (27 to 39 in) in length, plus 26 to 45 centimetres (10 to 18 in) tail length, and typically weighs 8 to 10 kilograms (18 to 22 lb), although much larger individuals have occasionally been recorded, making it the largest of the generally dainty Leopardus wild cat genus. It has sleek fur, rounded ears and relatively large front paws. While similar in appearance to the Oncilla and Margay, which inhabit the same region, the Ocelot is larger.

 

It has the lowest resting body temperature of any feline.

 

The coat pattern of ocelots is relatively variable, being anything from cream to reddish-brown in color, or sometimes grey, and marked with black spots and rosettes. In many individuals, some of the spots, especially on the back, blend together to form irregular stripes or bands. The fur is short, and pale or white beneath. There are also single white spots, called ocelli, on the backs of the ears, and there are two black lines on either side of the face. It has a black-banded tail

The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. In addition, the cat marks its territory with especially pungent urine. Like most felines, it is solitary, usually meeting only to mate. However, during the day it rests in trees or other dense foliage, and will occasionally share its spot with another Ocelot of the same sex. Males occupy territories of 3.5 to 46 square kilometres (1.4 to 18 sq mi), while females occupy smaller, non-overlapping territories of 0.8 to 15 square kilometres (0.31 to 5.8 sq mi). Territories are marked by urine spraying and by leaving feces in prominent locations, sometimes favoring particular latrine sites.

 

The Ocelot will sometimes take to the trees.

 

Ocelots hunt over a range of 18 km2 (7 sq mi), taking mostly small mammals (deer, various rodents), reptiles and amphibians (lizards, turtles and frogs), crab, birds and fish. Almost all of the prey that the Ocelot hunts is far smaller than itself, with rodents, rabbits, and opposums forming the largest part of the diet. Studies suggest that it follows and finds prey via odor trails, but the Ocelot also has very good vision, including night vision. The white rings around the Ocelot's eyes help to reflect extra light into the eye at night.

Ocelots typically breed only once every other year, although the female may mate again shortly after losing a litter. Mating can occur at any time of year, and estrus lasts from seven to ten days. After mating, the female will find a den in a cave in a rocky bluff, a hollow tree, or a dense (preferably thorny) thicket. Gestation lasts 79 to 82 days, and usually results in the birth of only a single kitten, with its eyes closed and a thin covering of hair. Litters of two or three kittens also occur, but are less common. The small litter size and relative infrequency of breeding make the ocelot particularly vulnerable to population loss.

 

Compared with other small cats, ocelot kittens grow quite slowly. They weigh around 250 grams (8.8 oz) at birth, and do not open their eyes for fifteen to eighteen days. They begin to leave the den at three months, but remain with their mother for up to two years, before dispersing to establish their own territory. Ocelots live for up to twenty years in captivity.

 

The Ocelot is distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean. Countries in this range are: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, Suriname, United States and Venezuela. It's likely extinct in Uruguay.

 

The Ocelot once inhabited chaparral thickets of the Gulf Coast of south and eastern Texas, and could be found in Arizona, Louisiana, and Arkansas. In the United States, it now ranges only in several small areas of dense thicket in South Texas and is rarely sighted in Arizona. On November 7, 2009, an ocelot was photographed in the mountains of Cochise County, Arizona. This is the first such verifiable evidence of the feline's presence in the state.

 

The Ocelot's continued presence in the U.S. is questionable, as a result largely of the introduction of dogs, being shot by ranchers, the loss of habitat, and the introduction of highways. Young male Ocelots are frequently killed by cars during their search for a territory. The feline was classified a "vulnerable" endangered species from 1972 till 1996, but is now rated "least concern" by the 2008 IUCN Red List.

 

Ocelots only inhabit areas with relatively dense vegetation cover, although they may occasionally hunt in more open areas at night. They are found in tropical forest, thorn forest, mangrove swamps and savanna, at elevations ranging up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).

The snow leopard (Uncia uncia) is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia. The classification of this species has been subject to change and its exact taxonomic position will not be resolved until further studies are conducted.

 

Snow leopards live between 3,000 and 5,500 metres (9,800 and 18,000 ft) above sea level in the rocky mountain ranges of Central Asia. However, their secretive nature means that their exact numbers are unknown, although it has been estimated that between 3,500 and 7,000 snow leopards exist in the wild and between 600 and 700 in zoos worldwide.

 

Snow leopards are smaller than the other big cats, but like them, exhibit a range of sizes, generally weighing between 27 and 54 kilograms (60 and 120 lb). Body length ranges from 75 to 130 centimetres (30 to 50 in), with a tail of 75 to 90 percent of that length.

 

Snow leopards have long thick fur, the base colour of which varies from smoky grey to yellowish tan, with whitish underparts. They have dark grey to black open rosettes on their body with small spots of the same color on their heads and larger spots on their legs and tail. Unusually among cats, their eyes are pale green or grey in colour.

 

Snow leopards show several adaptations for living in a cold mountainous environment. Their bodies are stocky, their fur is thick, and their ears are small and rounded, all of which help to minimize heat loss. Their feet are wide, which distributes their weight better for walking on snow, and they have fur on their undersides to increase their traction on steep and unstable surfaces, as well as to assist with minimizing heat loss. Snow leopards' tails are long , flexible, helping them to maintain their balance which is very important in the rocky terrain they inhabit, the tails are also very thick due to storage of fats, and are also very thickly covered with fur which, apart from minimizing heat loss, allows them to be used like a blanket to protect their faces when asleep.

 

The snow leopard has a short muzzle and domed forehead, containing unusual large nasal cavities that help the animal breathe the thin cold air of their mountainous environment.

 

Snow leopards cannot roar, despite possessing some ossification of the hyoid bone. The presence of this ossification was previously thought to be essential for allowing the big cats to roar, but new studies show that the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx, which are absent in the snow leopard. Snow leopard vocalizations include hisses, chuffing, mews, growls, and wailing.

 

In the past, many taxonomists included the snow leopard in the genus Panthera, together with the other largest extant felids, but later it was placed in its own genus, Uncia. It was thought not to be closely related to the leopard (Panthera pardus). However, a recent molecular study would place the species firmly within the genus Panthera, with its closest relative being the tiger (Panthera tigris), although its exact position remains unclear, and many sources still treat it as Uncia pending further studies.

 

A few subspecies have been proposed for animals living in different geographical regions. With the possible exception of U. u. baikalensis-romanii which requires further evaluation, these subspecies were generally not considered valid.However, the Handbook of the Mammals of the World recognizes two subspecies: U. u. uncia, from central Asia northwestwards to Mongolia and Russia; and U. u. uncioides in western China and the Himalayas

Both the Latinised genus name Uncia and the occasional English name "ounce" are derived from the Old French once, originally used for the European lynx. "Once" itself is believed to have arisen by back-formation from an earlier word "lonce" – the "L" of "lonce" was construed as an abbreviated "le" ("the"), leaving "once" to be perceived as the animal's name. This, like the English version "ounce", became used for other lynx-sized cats, and eventually for the snow-leopard.

 

The snow leopard is also known in its native lands as shan or "snow cheetah

The snow leopard's range in central and south Asia is rugged mountainous regions of approximately 1,230,000 square kilometres (470,000 sq mi), which extends through twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

 

The geographic distribution runs from the Hindukush in eastern Afghanistan and the Syr Darya through the mountains of Pamir Mountains, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kashmir, Kunlun, and the Himalaya to southern Siberia, where the range covers the Russian Altai mountains, Sajan, Tannu-Ola mountains and the mountains to the west of Lake Baikal. In Mongolia it is found in the Mongolian and Gobi Altai and the Khangai Mountains. In Tibet it is found up to the Altyn-Tagh in the North

In summer, the snow leopard usually lives above the tree line on mountainous meadows and in rocky regions at an altitude from 2,700 to 6,000 m (8,900 to 20,000 ft). In winter, it comes down into the forests to an altitude of around 1,200 to 2,000 m (3,900 to 6,600 ft). They prefer broken terrain and can travel without difficulty in snow up to 85 centimetres (33 in) deep, although they prefer to use existing trails made by other animals.

 

It leads a largely solitary life, although mothers may rear cubs for extended periods of time in dens in the mountains.

 

An individual snow leopard lives within a well defined home range but does not defend its territory aggressively when encroached upon by other snow leopards. Home ranges vary greatly in size. In Nepal, where prey is abundant, a home range may be as small as 12 km2 (5 sq mi) to 40 km2 (15 sq mi) and up to five to ten animals are found here per 100 km2 (40 sq mi); whereas in habitats with sparse prey, an area of 1,000 km2 (400 sq mi) supports only five of these cats.

 

Like other cats, snow leopards use scent marks to indicate their territory and common travel routes. These are most commonly produced by scraping the ground with the hind feet before depositing urine or scat, but they also spray urine onto sheltered patches of rock.

 

Snow leopards are crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk. They are known for being extremely secretive and well camouflaged.

 

Leopards are carnivores and actively hunt their prey. However, like all cats, they are opportunistic feeders, eating whatever meat they can find including carrion and domestic livestock. They are capable of killing animals three times their size but will readily take much smaller prey such as hares and birds. While unusual among most cats, snow leopards also eat a significant amount of vegetation, including grass and twigs.

 

The diet of the snow leopard varies across its range and with the time of year, and is dependent on prey availability. In the Himalayas it preys mostly on bharals (Himalayan blue sheep) but in other mountain ranges such as the Karakoram, Tian Shan, and Altai, its main prey consists of Siberian ibex and argali, a type of wild sheep, although this has become rarer in some parts of the snow leopard's range. Other large animals eaten include various types of wild goats and sheep (such as markhors and urials), other goat-like ruminants such as Himalayan tahr and gorals, plus deer, boars, and langur monkeys. Smaller prey consists of marmots, woolly hares, pikas, various rodents, and birds such as the snow cock and chukar.

 

It is not averse to taking domestic livestock, which brings it into direct conflict with humans. Herders will kill snow leopards to prevent them from taking their animals. However, snow leopards have not been reported to attack humans, and appear to be among the least aggressive of all the big cats. As a result, they are easily driven away from livestock, readily abandon their kills when threatened, and may not even defend themselves when attacked.

 

Snow leopards prefer to ambush prey from above, using broken terrain to conceal their approach, and can leap as far as 14 meters (46 ft).They will actively pursue prey down steep mountainsides, using the momentum of their initial leap to chase animals for up to 300 metres (980 ft). They kill with a bite to the neck, and may drag the prey to a safe location before feeding. They consume all edible parts of the carcass, and can survive on a single bharal for up to two weeks before hunting again.

 

Snow leopards usually mate in late winter and have a gestation period of 90–100 days, so that the cubs are born between April and June. Oestrus typically lasts from five to eight days, and males tend not to seek out another partner after mating, probably because the short mating season does not allow sufficient time to reliably do so. Paired snow leopards mate in the usual felid posture, from twelve to thirty six times a day.

 

The mother gives birth in a rocky den lined with fur shed from her underside. Litter sizes vary from one to five cubs but two or three is more usual. The cubs are blind and helpless at birth, although already with a thick coat of fur, and they weigh from 320 to 567 grams (11 to 20.0 oz). The eyes open at around seven days, and the cubs able to walk at five weeks and are fully weaned by ten weeks.

 

The cubs leave the den at around two to four months of age, but remain with their mother until they become independent after around 18–22 months. Once independent, they may disperse over considerable distances, even crossing wide expanses of flat terrain to seek out new hunting grounds. This likely helps reduce the inbreeding that would otherwise be common in their relatively isolated environment. Snow leopards become sexually mature at two to three years, and normally live for 15–18 years, although they may live for up to 21 years in captivity.

The total wild population of the snow leopard was estimated at only 4,080 to 6,590 individuals by McCarthy et al. 2003 (see table below). Many of these estimates are rough and outdated.

 

In 1972 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the snow leopard on its Red List of Threatened Species as globally "Endangered"; the same threat category was applied in the assessment conducted in 2008.

 

There are also 600-700 snow leopards in zoos around the world

There are numerous agencies working to conserve the snow leopard and its threatened mountain ecosystems. These include the Snow Leopard Trust, the Snow Leopard Conservancy and the Snow Leopard Network. These groups and numerous national governments from the snow leopard's range, non-profits and donors from around the world recently worked together at the 10th International Snow Leopard Conference in Beijing. Their focus on research, community programs in snow leopard regions and education programs are aimed at understanding the cat's needs as well as the needs of the villagers and herder communities impacting snow leopards' lives and habitat.