Hopeful News! Endangered Ocelot Captured On Arizona Trail Camera: Only 100 Remain In The U.S.

Photo by: Russ McSpadden / Center for Biological Diversity

The Center for Biological Diversity released stunning new video footage this week of a rare wild ocelot in Arizona, within the ancestral homelands of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

The footage, captured on a trail camera on July 24th, 2024, is from a location where ocelots have not recently been detected. For the safety of the cat, the Center is not specifying the location.

“I shouted with joy when I realized what I was seeing on the trail cam. This incredible footage shows us that ocelots belong in our Sky Islands, despite all the threats they face,” said Russ McSpadden, a Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These elegant, elusive and fiercely resilient felines are an important part of what makes southern Arizona so special. Capturing footage of this cat in the wild gives me hope for their survival.”

Protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1982, ocelots are known for their striking, chain-like rosettes and spots, which allow researchers to identify individual animals, much like human fingerprints. These distinctive markings also provide excellent camouflage in the dense forests, rugged terrain, and thornscrub that make up their habitat.

After analysis and consultation with several experts — including Carmina Gutiérrez González, Ph.D., research coordinator for the Northern Jaguar Project — the Center confirmed that the latest detection is the same ocelot recorded on June 12th, 2024, in the Atascosa Highlands west of Nogales by researchers at the Phoenix Zoo. The ocelot traveled at least 30 miles between detections.

Sometime in June or July, the ocelot crossed the Santa Cruz River — in a stretch proposed to become a national wildlife refuge — crossed I-19, and moved into an area with several Sky Island mountain ranges.

“The Sky Island Mountains are not just beautiful landscapes; they are living parts of our culture and identity. Seeing the return of an ocelot to these ancestral lands reaffirms our sacred connection to this place and reminds us of our duty to protect these lands and the creatures that depend on them,” said Chairman Austin Nunez of the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation. “The ocelot’s survival is intertwined with ours, and we must ensure that this species endures for future generations.”

Ocelots rely on the intact, interconnected wildlands of the Sky Islands. The fragmentation of their habitat due to roads, urban sprawl, mines, and border barriers is a serious challenge to their survival. In Sonora, Mexico, ongoing construction of a freight railway between Imurís and Nogales is destroying crucial ocelot breeding habitat, posing another threat to the imperiled species.

Fewer than 100 ocelots are thought to remain in the U.S., with the majority residing in southern Texas. Arizona is home to a small but critical population, existing at the northernmost part of the species’ range.

The Sky Islands are a series of isolated mountain ranges that rise dramatically from the desert floor, stretching from northern Mexico to southern Arizona. These ranges are biologically rich, creating unique ecosystems that support an incredible diversity of plants and animals. The Sky Islands serve as vital habitat corridors for species like the ocelot, jaguar, and black bear, enabling them to move between different mountain ranges in search of food, mates, and safe shelter.