A patterned cat of parts of the Americas, with black-bordered blotches arranged in chain-like rows along its body.
It has black cheek stripes and pale spots on the ear backs. Coat colour varies with habitat, from greyish to reddish tones.
Researchers studied ocelot habitat use at 12 sites across the Brazilian Amazon, placing camera traps at 899 stations from 2010 to 2017. They used detections and non-detections to estimate site use, accounting for differences among sites and how long each camera operated.
Forest cover showed the strongest relationship: locations with more forest had higher estimated use by ocelots. Proximity to rivers and lakes was also related; estimated use tended to be lower farther from water. Distance to roads and settlements and terrain were also considered, and estimated use varied among protected areas. Across this broad survey, forest cover stood out as closely linked to where ocelots used the landscape.
IUCN Red List · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The IUCN Red List classifies the ocelot as Least Concern (LC) at the global species level. It was assessed on 10 May 2014 and published in 2015, with an errata version in 2016; the listed population trend is Decreasing, and the current page is marked as needing an update. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group profile separately reports regional categories: Endangered in the United States and Mexico, Critically Endangered in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, and Vulnerable in five other Brazilian states. The global, country and state categories each refer to different assessment scopes.