at Santa Ana, due to its small size (688 ha) (R. 

 McBride, personal communication). 



Another survey in South Texas in 1976 esti- 

 mated the ocelot population at 30 to 40 in Wil- 

 lacy County, to 2 in Hidalgo County, 12 to 20 

 in Cameron County, and an unknown number in 

 Kenedy County (R. McBride personal communi- 

 cation). 



The species rarely occurs in southern Arizona 

 (Cockrum 1960). Populations are declining in 

 Texas due to predator control activities and parti- 

 cularly to brush-clearing operations in the lower 

 Rio Grande Valley (Culbertson and Schmidly 

 1974, Davis 1974). Latin American populations 

 are reduced and in some areas are seriously de- 

 pleted (lUCN 1972, Paradiso 1972). 



REPRODUCTION 



There is no fixed breeding season in the tropics 

 (Denis 1964). In Texas, breeding takes place in 

 late summer, with young bom in September, 

 October, and November (Davis 1974). Gestation 

 period is believed to be about 70 days (Guggis- 

 berg 1975). Litter size ranges from two to four, 

 with two being more common (Leopold 1959, 

 Denis 1964, lUCN 1972). In Texas, average litter 

 size appears to be one (R. McBride personal com- 

 munication). Growth and development of young 

 are not well known. 



MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



No recovery team has been appointed at this 

 time. 



Ocelots are protected in Texas and some 

 Latin American countries, but U.S. populations 

 are not listed on the official U.S. Endangered Spe- 

 cies list. 



Brush is no longer cleared on the National 

 Wildlife Refuges in the lower Rio Grande Valley 

 (lUCN 1972), in order to maintain natural habi- 

 tat. Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is 

 thought to contain habitat most similar to that 

 required by ocelots. 



AUTHORITIES 



W. C. Brownlee 



Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 



4200 Smith School Road 



Austin, TX 78744 



W. B. Davis 



Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science 



Texas A&M University 



College Station, TX 77843 



Roy McBride 

 Department of Biology 

 Sul Ross State University 

 Box 725 

 Alpine, TX 78930 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



The use of questionnaire surveys may lead to 

 overestimates of populations and inaccurate dis- 

 tributional patterns when escaped or released cap- 

 tives are sighted or even when the same individual 

 is sighted repeatedly. Intensive field surveys are 

 needed to accurately define the current status of 

 the ocelot. Its ecology and life history also require 

 further investigation. 



LITERATURE CITED/SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



Bailey, V. 1905 Biological survey of Texas, 

 Am. Fauna 25:1-222. 



N. 



1931. Mammals of New Mexico. N. Am. 



Fauna 53:283-285. 



Baker, R. H. 1956. Mammals of Coahuila, Mexico. 

 Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Natur. Hist. 9:125- 



335. 

 Bangs, 6. 1898. The land mammals of peninsular 

 Florida and the coast region of Georgia. Proc. 

 Boston Soc. Natur. Hist. 28:157-235. 



Brownlee, W. C. 1978. Feline status survey. Per- 

 formance Report, Proj. W-103-R-7. Texas 

 Parks Wildl. Dep. Austin. 4 pp. 



Calahane, V. H. 1947. Mammals of North Ameri- 

 ca. MacMillan Co., New York. 682 pp. 



Chapman, F. M. 1894. Remarks on certain land 

 mammals from Florida, with a list of species 

 known to occur in the state. Bull. Am. Mus. 

 Natur. Hist. 6:333-346. 



Cockrum, W. L. 1960. The recent mammals of 

 Arizona: their taxonomy and distribution. 

 Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. 276 pp. 



Culbertson, K., and D. J. Schmidly. 1974. Sum- 

 mary of statements on the status of the rare, 

 endangered, and peripheral mammals in Texas. 

 Texas Organization for Endangered Species, 

 Temple. 8 pp. 



Davis, W. B. 1951. Unusual occurrence of the oce- 

 lot in Texas. J. Mammal. 32:363-364. 



