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The McAllen South Texas ocelot, a medium-sized spotted wildcat known for its parallel stripes on its neck, has been on the federal endangered species list for more than 50 years.
Officially, there are only about 100 of these creatures left in their native south Texas, mostly concentrated in Cameron and Willacy counties on the state’s east coast.
So when two conservation groups learned that the DNA of a male ocelot killed by a motorist in 2021 dozens of miles away in Hidalgo County indicated the existence of a previously unknown population of the animal, they celebrated.
Sharon Wilcox, Texas senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement that the results suggest the cat may live in an area of south Texas unknown to ocelot researchers. area. Hidalgo County may have more ocelots in more remote areas where suitable habitat and prey are available.
Ocelots once roamed much of South Texas. Ocelots live in the southern Edwards Plateau region and along the Coastal Plain, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Service records. However, populations have declined due to erosion of their natural habitat, hunting and road kill.
This decline has reduced their contribution to local ecosystems, often the dense thorny scrub of the Rio Grande Valley, where they hunt rabbits, small rodents and birds, keeping these populations in check.
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However, some scientists warn it may be too early to celebrate.
Dr. Mike Tewes, a biologist at Texas A&M University-Kingsville who has studied ocelots for 42 years, said DNA analysis does not provide enough evidence to conclude that the ocelot’s range is expanding in South Texas. He expressed doubts about statements made last week by Friends of Lake Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and Defenders of Wildlife.
Tevez said the only conclusive information from the analysis was that the ocelot was unlikely to be a captive cat.
“I would be very cautious about trying to make any other generalizations or conclusions beyond that,” Tevez said.
Tewes said that throughout his time studying ocelots, there have been many cases of what he calls “frustrated dispersal,” in which ocelots leave their population and move some distance, usually 10 miles or less, but they can move up to 25 to 30 miles.
“I would be very cautious in saying or even suggesting that this population is expanding as a result of this one road death in the last 40 years,” Teves said.
But Dr. Tom DeMar, a wildlife veterinarian in the Rio Grande Valley who was part of the team that received the ocelot’s genetic information, thinks there are several possibilities to explain the cat’s DNA.
The ocelot was found along Highway 281 north of Edinburg, about 50 miles from known wild ocelot habitat in the state. Scientists determined the ocelot suffered blunt force trauma, likely caused by being struck by a vehicle. DNA samples were eventually tested in January.
During DNA testing, scientists look for genetic markers. DeMar said ocelots have seven unique markings among the ocelot population in Texas, and this animal has all seven. However, two markings are also found in Mexican ocelots.
He said the results lay out three possibilities.
Echoing Tevez’s sentiments, DeMar said it’s possible that ocelots spread out of Mexico, but he thinks that’s unlikely because the animals would have had to travel through Reynosa, Pharr, Edinburg, McAllen, and possibly and other areas along the Texas-Mexico border.
A second possibility is that the cat represents a population that researchers have not yet recognized and has retained some Mexican DNA.
Ultimately, DeMar said, it’s possible that these Mexican markings do exist in Texas’ ocelot populations and are just undiscovered.
Laura De La Garza, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said more information is needed before any conclusions can be drawn.
She agreed with Tevez’s reluctance to expand the ocelot’s range and said scientists and agencies need to continue working together to learn more.
“When we share information, we’re going to get an answer to that question, and that’s the information we have to be very careful about giving to people,” De La Garza said. “We have to be very careful and give educated answers because We want to make sure that we are doing our due diligence on the species and that we are never taking away from this recovery and protection, but rather adding to it ”.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed a safe harbor agreement with the Eastern Foundation, an organization that owns and manages ranch lands in South Texas.
Through the agreement, participating landowners will allow ocelots to use habitat on their lands and work with the foundation to allow ocelots to monitor.
Wilcox of Defenders of Wildlife told The Texas Tribune that the findings require them to think broadly about these conservation efforts.
“In South Texas, ocelots are making their last stand against human advances at an unprecedented rate,” Wilcox said. “These cats need space and places to roam in the wild, and this cat was seen on record Giving us hope, they persist in the most desolate corners of our region.”
The challenge now, she said, is to protect existing habitat while restoring habitat in places across Texas that connect ocelot populations and give the cats room to roam.
“Ocelots are emblematic of this region, and their struggle to survive on the wildest edge is representative of the larger fight to protect South Texas’ native landscape,” Wilcox said. As open space rapidly disappears, the ocelot’s The dilemma illustrates the larger issue of development and loss of wild areas across Texas.
Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by Methodist Health Ministries of South Texas.
Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find their full list here.
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