[Animals] What happened to the ocelots of the United States?

[FNX Magokiler]

Just a few centuries ago, the boreal ocelot was a quintessential American cat, roaming places as diverse as Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona.

But decades of widespread hunting and habitat loss have reduced their numbers in the United States to fewer than a hundred individuals, which now roam the thorny thickets of southern Texas. They are divided into two po[CENSORED]tions, one living on private ranches and the other in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, located further south in the rapidly developing Rio Grande Valley along the Gulf Coast. Although ocelots are abundant in parts of Central and South America, the northern subspecies is endangered in the United States.

These cats weighing about 11 kilos, known for their attractive spotted fur, face several challenges. Human development prevents the two American po[CENSORED]tions from mixing, making them vulnerable to inbreeding, which can end up harming their ability to reproduce. Collisions with vehicles are the main cause of death for animals, especially young males that leave in search of new territories, and the total po[CENSORED]tion of the United States is so small that a single tropical storm could wipe this feline off the map. coastal.

To protect the species, in 2021 several non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and private owners launched a major effort to establish a new po[CENSORED]tion of ocelots in Texas, the goal of which is to increase the total number to at least 200 animals over a period of 10 years , the benchmark necessary to remove it from the list of endangered species.

 

 

"We're optimistic," says Grant Harris, chief biologist for the Southwest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "That's how it should work: all these groups united by a common goal."

One of the partners, the East Foundation, a Texas-based agricultural research organization that promotes land stewardship, has completed the first step of the project: extracting semen from wild Texas ocelots in hopes of breeding the feline in captivity. . By inseminating ocelots already in American zoos with semen taken from these Texas animals, experts could create a pool of genetically diverse animals to bolster the wild po[CENSORED]tion, says Ashley Reeves, a research veterinarian at the East Foundation.

Over time, if the USFWS approves the plan, the team will reintroduce these cats to private lands not occupied by ocelots, which are further from the coast and its threatening storms. Cats provide key ecological benefits by keeping rodent po[CENSORED]tions in check, preventing smaller mammals from spreading unchecked and wreaking havoc on native thorn forests.

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales/2023/10/ocelotes-causas-peligro-icono-estados-unidos