Is the ocelot, the endangered South Texas wildcat, making a comeback?

[TexasTowelie]

McALLEN — It’s been more than 50 years since the South Texas ocelot — a medium-sized spotted wildcat known for parallel stripes running down its neck — was put on the federal endangered species list.

By official counts, there are only about 100 of these creatures remaining in their native South Texas, concentrated in Cameron and Willacy counties, on the state's eastern coast.

So when two conservation groups learned that DNA from a male ocelot killed in 2021 by a motorist dozens of miles away in Hidalgo County suggested a previously unknown population of the animals, they celebrated.

“The results suggest that this cat possibly occupies a region of South Texas not yet known to ocelot researchers,” Sharon Wilcox, senior Texas representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement. “Hidalgo County may have more ocelots present in its more remote sections where appropriate habitat and access to prey exists.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/south-texas-ocelot-population/



The ocelot found in South Texas is classified as endangered.