Ocelot

Ocelot
The Ocelot, //Leopardus pardalis//, is named after the latin word //cellatus//, meaning "having little eyes". It is found in South America and because it has a beautiful coat which is high in demand, it is one of the most hunted of small cats. It is about the size of a bobcat, weighing from about eight to ten kilograms. The ocelot has a dappled coat and a white neck and belly, making it similar to that of a margay.


 * Domain || Eukaria ||
 * Kingdom || Animalia ||
 * Phylum || Chordata ||
 * Class || Mammalia ||
 * Order || Carnivora ||
 * Family || Felidae ||
 * Genus || Leopardus ||
 * Species || Pardalis ||

__Habitat__
Ocelots are found in tropical rain forests, savannahs and chaparrals. They typically live in warm areas that get a good amount of rainfall, especially the ones that live in the rain forest. The diet of the ocelot consists mostly of small mammals like frogs, turtles, birds, and fish. They also eat larger animals such as rabbits and rodents. These larger animals make up the majority of their diet. The fauna which the ocelot interacts with is mainly the trees they sleep in.

Adaptations allow the ocelot to be more suited in its environment. Because it is a carnivore, it has pointed fangs and sharp back teeth for killing its prey. However, its teeth were not made for chewing, so it rips its food into pieces and swallows it whole. Studies have shown that the ocelot is able to track its prey with odor trails. They also use night vision to see their prey in the dark. Unlike other cats, the ocelot likes the water and is actually a good swimmer.

**__Species Interactions__**
Ocelots are solitary animals so they do not tend to interact much with other organisms. Even the amount of interaction between ocelots is little. They usually hunt alone, except for when a mother his hunting with her young. Each night, ocelots travel an extense amount within their environment, ranging up to seven kilometers. There have been occasions where male and female ocelots were observed being together for several hours outside of mating periods. Both male and female ocelots leave scent marks throughout their territories by spraying urine onto bushes and trees.

Outside of interacting with eachother, interactions with other species mainly consist of feeding. Most of their prey is nocturnal and gernerally weigh less than a kilogram. The ocelot is the top predator within its food web and does not have any predators.

__**Reproduction**__
Compared to other cat species, the ocelot usually has smaller litters. In the wild, ocelots can mate at any time of the year and give birth to a litter once every two years, with a gestation period of about eighty days. The average litter size is one, but in extreme cases, they can give birth to up to three ocelot kittens.

Ocelot kittens have one of the slowest growth rates of all small cats. They open their eyes around fifteen to eighteen days after their birth. Because the kittens require milk from their mother, the mother must spend more time hunting, to keep up with the nutrition demands of her young. The ocelot's slow growth rate is likely to be an adaptation since it is harder to find food in the environments they are found in. The kitten begins hunting with the mother when it is close to three months old, and is ready to leave its mother when it is one year old.

__Conservation__
In the 1960s, populations of ocelots began to deminish as the fur trade increased. Ocelot fur was highly valued, so they were being hunted for their pelts. It takes about 13 ocelots to make one fur coat, which explains why so many were hunted. The United States enacted legislature prohibiting the hunting of ocelots shortly after. This made the amount of ocelot skins in trade drop dramatically, and the amount has been dropping ever since.

In 1986, the European Economic Community put a ban on the import of all ocelot skins and in 1989 all international commerce in skins of ocelots was prohibited. Today ocelots are still hunted for their skins, but the amount has decreased greatly.