THE PAINTED OCELOT. 
Fells picta. 
Plate Y. 
The small Leopardine Cats of South America included under the general designation of Ocelots, will, when 
properly understood, he di s ided into several species. Their diagnosis, is however, extremely difficult, from the 
great variation which takes place in their individual colouring and size, especially as regards the living 
specimens which are so frequently seen in captivity. 
It occasionally happens however, that they become completely developed under favorable treatment, even 
in captivity; and a pair of Felispardalis, nearly allied to the rarer species here depicted, of which the male was 
presented to the Society by His Majesty the King of Portugal, have bred for two consecutive years in the 
Society’s Menagerie. 
The present Ocelot, called by Dr. Gray Felis picta, is stated to be from Central America. Whether it entirely 
replaces the true Felis pardalis to the north of the Isthmus of Panama, or whether it is really anything more 
than a variety of the latter species, are questions still to be determined. In the Annals and Magazine of 
Natural History (vol. x. p. 260) in which it was described, we find no comparison of the supposed new animal, 
with previously known species, and not even the dimensions given. 
The Naturalists of the United States include the Ocelot of Texas and Mexico in their recent publications, 
under the Linnean name of Felis pardalis, stating, however, that it can be only ascertained by the examination 
of a large number of South American specimens whether it is really entitled to bear that name. The Ocelot 
of Texas is called there the Tiger-Cat or Leopard-Cat. In the Report on the Mammals met with during the 
Survey of the Mexican boundary, lately published by the Government of the United States, we find the 
following interesting notice of this animal by Mr. Schott. 
“This beautiful Cat, though quite common through the western wilds, was met with by our party but once, 
on the lower Rio Bravo. The dogs started it first and “ treed it,” as the hunters say. One or two pistol bullets, 
however, drove it down again, to seek a safer place in a dense nopal thicket, a common resort of persecuted 
animals. 
“ In taking off the skin of this specimen I found its inside all over covered with Opuntia prickles, which, 
naturally, barbed as they are, had worked themselves in with the movements of the skin. The animal, 
however, did not seem to have suffered by this otherwise dreaded annoyance, for all the prickles lodged 
themselves horizontally, or in an oblique direction, into the skin, so that the points would not reach the 
muscles and nerves. I observed subsequently the same circumstance on other animals, which accounts for the 
readiness with which they take to these bushes unapproachable for men. 
“ As the Ocelot is but a small robber, his importance, as regards the development of civilization, stands in 
a strict proportion to the size of the game he preys on. He is, however, eagerly pursued, for the sake of his 
beautiful fur.” 
