Lindy is a 9-year-old female ocelot who was born at the Dallas Zoo, moved to El Paso and made headlines in 2019 she gave birth to four kittens.  Why the headlines?   First off ocelots in Texas are critically endangered and Lindy was artificially inseminated from semen samples that were collected and frozen in 2010!   The father of the kittens was a male ocelot named Principe who at the time was living at the Cleveland Park Zoo in Ohio.  Even though only two of the four kittens survived at birth, this El Paso Zoo conservation achievement in is highly significant because for first time in 24 years, artificial insemination with frozen semen has been successful in ocelots. Because it was successful, it opens up the possibility for other zoos to increase ocelot genetic diversity using the same procedure. 

Lindy’s kittens, Tiago and Tica have since moved to another zoo in California. Here in El Paso Lindy and her 18-year-old companion Fredo, will continue to play an important role as conservation ambassadors for ocelots everywhere, especially in Texas.    Today the estimated population in South Texas is only 80 ocelots living on a private ranch and at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.   In addition to habitat loss and ocelots being killed by cars on highways, their survival is also threatened by the border wall that will prevent ocelots from maintaining their genetic diversity by mixing with their cousins across the Rio Grande in Mexico.   Their chances for survival grows dimmer when we realize that habitat on the Mexican side is also disappearing and how few ocelots have crossed the border regularly in decades.  

Close cooperation with management stakeholders in South Texas along with close cooperation between the US and Mexico, will be critical if ocelots are going to survive in this part of the world.   The only other part of the country where ocelots hang in the balance is in southern Arizona where most sightings are of lone animals going back and forth across the border from Mexico.

Join the Zoo in helping Texas ocelots

In addition to helping ocelots by being a member of the Ocelot Species Survival Plan, the El Paso Zoo has supported ocelot conservation efforts at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service coordinates ocelot conservation efforts in Texas and recommends several ways that people can support Texas ocelot conservation efforts.  One of those ways is by supporting the Friends of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Adopt an Ocelot Program.  You can also purchase an ocelot license plate from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and if you want to keep informed and encourage others you can become a fan of “Viva the Ocelot” on Facebook.

Ocelots live in many parts of Mexico and farther south in Central and South America where they occupy a wide spectrum of habitats types ranging from scrublands to tropical rain forests. In the wild they will prey on small mammals, birds, reptiles and larger sized prey such as agoutis, armadillos, pacas and monkeys.

Rick LoBello, Education Curator

Photo credits – cover Steve Ferris, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Top – Ocelot crossing sign – Brian Henderson, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Mid-way – Ocelot on a tree – Martha de Jong-Lantink, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Bottom – Valerie, Wikimedia Creative Commons