Awesome Ocelots!

The Ocelot is one of the cutest wild cats. They are small and adorable. They live in southern Texas through Central America to northern Argentina in South America. Their habitats are rain forests, dry scrubland, and chaparral. Their body length can range from 26 to 39 inches. Their tail length can get from 12 to 18 inches. They weigh about 24 to 35 pounds. They can last up to 21 years in the zoo. No one knows how long they can last in the wild life.

It is very hard to study ocelots because they are only active at night, and they are very secretive. Without a lot of places to hide, ocelots cannot survive. During the day, they sleep hidden among bushes, on a tree branch, or inside a hollow tree. Nighttime is when ocelots do their hunting and moving about. If people cut down trees and bushes where there are ocelots in the area, they will leave.

Like all small cats, ocelots have very good vision and hearing. Their eyes have a special layer on the inside that collects light, so ocelots can see much better in the dark than people can. It is as easy for an ocelot to walk around at night as it is for you to walk around during the day! They have amazing hearing, better than humans, but still not better than dogs. Their long whiskers help the cat feel their way around.

Ocelots prey on rodents, birds, snakes, iguanas and other lizards, baby peccaries, young deer, rabbits, and even fish! The ocelot spends most of its time on the ground, but is a good climber, jumper, and swimmer.

Some people keep ocelots as pets, but this is not legal in California. When you see an ocelot, you may wish that you had one at home, but wild cats do not make good pets. Some pet ocelots in Florida escaped or were released when people realized that they are not nice or cuddly, and now they live in a small wild colony.

An ocelot family is made up of an adult female and her babies. After breeding, the male leaves the family. The female is pregnant for a little over two months before she gives birth to her 1-4 kittens. The mother protects her kittens, feeds them, and cares for them all by herself. As the babies grow, the mother teaches them how to hunt on their own. By the time they are eight months old they can hunt for themselves, but they may stay in their mother's home range for up to two years.

- Faith, New York, 12 (PenPal #13544)